Christmas 2013~Seattle

 The Cotters have traveled to Portland for Christmas since 2005, and many years prior to that,  too.  This year they wanted to wake up in their own beds and host the event...so we headed to Seattle for the holiday.

 Cousins.  We missed Mark, Claudine, Catie and Will...they stayed in Portland. 

 Lovely hostesses!  Carrie was all fancy in her new red dress and shoes with heels.  So her. So sassy.

 Dinner on the first night.  A tasty soup, salad, and yummy bread. 

 Santa did find us in Seattle...the boys were a little bit worried.  I found this scene when I went to get some water in the night.

 Dan and I don't exchange gifts...just an ornament for each other.  However, I did have a present under the tree this year, as the boys bought a gift for me when they were out and about with a teacher friend.  They kept this shiny red gnome a surprise.  I was thrilled to open the hand twisted brown bag that he came in.  I'll treasure it forever!

 Susan went all out  with the meals.  On Christmas night, she served these amazing flank steaks that were stuffed with a mixture of arugula, white cheddar, garlic, etc.  Then they were rolled into pinwheels.  I think she was going for the Strengthstudio swirl look.  :)  Dinner was amazing!!

 Movie time with the cousins at the end of Christmas day.

 Ahh.  Aunt Susie finally sitting after a busy day.

As we were getting ready to head back to Portland the next morning, Aunt Susie was predicting that we would forget something at their house.  Sure enough, Nate left his most important possession...Big Raffi.  This special giraffe still travels with us wherever we go for an overnight trip.  This picture showed up on mine and Dan's phones as we were about an hour out of Seattle.  Nate crumbled into tears when we showed him the picture and he saw what he had left behind.  Raffi had tons of fun with the cousins!  Luckily, he is back in our home now.

Thank you for the wonderful Christmas 2013, Cotters!  xxoo

Chris Paints

 Last week it was Christopher's turn to paint a picture.   He decided that he like the one called Portland Stroll, so we signed him up to paint at VineGogh and the class started at 11:00 on a Sunday morning.

  He did the whole masterpiece all by himself.   We were there for 2 1/2 hours. 

The woman who teaches this  painting said that it's her most challenging one, and that Chris is the youngest person to do this particular painting.

 Ta-Da!  

The finished product.  I love it, and it's on our fireplace mantle opposite the giraffe.

But more importantly......Chris loves it.

Portland's Purple Stride Walk for G'ma

Last year when my mom was recovering from her Whipple surgery, the Portland Purple Stride walk for Pancreatic Cancer took place in Portland.  I remember talking with her about it.  It was one of those things that only when something comes into your life, do you take notice.  But since this was her cancer,  we said that next year we would walk it.  Unfortunately,  she wasn't here to do just that...so we carried on with the plan.

The name of our team was Shortchanged Cheryl.  She was shortchanged by this cancer.  Our team raised nearly $3000.00 which goes directly to helping families/patients who are fighting this disease.  Thank you to friends and families that supported us!

 The night before the walk, we had dinner at Mark and Claudine's new house.  The cousins worked on posters for the walk.  I tried to help them, but saying that it would be good to  write some sort of catchy phrase, like "Our Grandma was shortchanged!" or "Walking  for Whipple Warriors."  But of course, they didn't take any of those suggestions..they came  up with their own.  Maybe it was the wine, or just feeling punchy by the end of the week on a Friday night, but we (the grown ups) got a serious case of the giggles at some of  the 'catchy' phrases they created.  Good stuff.  G'ma would have been cracking up, too.

Nate and Chris painting purple ribbons at the event. 

 Cotter girls in the home stretch across the Hawthorne Bridge. 

 We miss Grandma.

Karen and Dick striding right along. 

 Chris having fun with his cousins.

 Will, Asa, Mark, Dan, and Maria.  What a great day for a walk in our beautiful city!

The Cousins.  I just love how much they all love each other.

Susie on the Hawthorne Bridge.  A beautiful rainbow appeared as we neared the finish line.  I think that it was from all of the pancreatic cancer people up in the heavens saying thank-you~especially G'ma.

Good times. 

Since Cheryl couldn't be there, I walked in her shoes.  Literally.

These were the sneakers that she got prior to surgery so that she could do lots of walking during recovery.  They had purple accents and fit my feet perfectly.  The only thing better would have been if she was the one wearing them today.

Halloween

 How did we get to the end of October already?  This year Nate was a dancing pumpkin, and Chris was a lumberjack.  The weather was beautiful for trick-or-treating.

 Serious pictures are a thing of the past. 

 Don't mess.

They got a ton of candy...and yes...I have snuck my fair share.

End of Summer wrap-up...and heading into Fall

 Here are a few photos from this season of our lives.  

No soccer this year~the boys decided that they wanted to play 'Fall Ball' instead.  2 games each weekend.  They do love this game!

 My classroom.  I was hired back at Ainsworth to teach 1st grade.

Happy to have a job!

 On Labor Day Weekend we went over and spent time in Sunriver with Uncle Greg.  It was tons of fun.

 Harry.  Just because.  He sure hated it when he would see our suitcases out for packing over the summer.  He can finally settle down~we have no plans to go anywhere for a while.

 Chris.  On this particular day, he was feeling super awesome about his outfit.  Flat bill hat from Concordia, 'Science Geek' t-shirt, plaid cargo shorts, and Nikes.   His black socks had to do, because I refuse to spend $14.00 for a pair of these socks.

First day of school.  4th grade!!

The Slater household has been sold.  The deal was finalized near the end of August. It's so strange to think that another family will be making this their home.  I also need to give props to brother Greg, who has worked tirelessly to manage both of the estates of my mom and dad since they passed away.   Huge job~and he has managed it all beautifully.

Clear Lake Resort

As a native Oregonian, I'm not sure how I went 46 years before discovering this wonderful spot in the Oregon mountains.  We spent 2 nights at Clear Lake Resort in a rustic cabin.   This spot was amazing, and we will definitely return again next year...and the next year...and the....

The word 'Resort' in the name is a little bit misleading, but it was perfect for us.  There was a lodge with a restaurant, a very small General Store area, boat rentals, and clean bathrooms with showers that took tokens.  Compared to tent camping, this was super fancy. 

We rented a boat so that we could go fishing and cruise around on the water.  Clear Lake is a very appropriate name for this body of water~it was so clear and pristine that it was almost creepy to look out over the boat's edge to see down, down, down to the bottom. The water in this lake was extremely cold, so there was no swimming, but lots of people were out in their dive gear looking below the surface.

I loved the lodge.  There was a stuffed bobcat on display above the cash register, and we all agreed that it kind of looked like Harry, with the same spots and coloring.

This was the cabin that we stayed in, #8.  We felt like the 3 bears...but we did have electricity.

We were very thankful for our shelter as a MASSIVE thunder/lightening/rain storm came through the area.  Seriously....the thunder was so loud, the lightening so bright, and the rain just poured out of the sky. 

Well, 'cozied up' makes it sound like we were all snuggled into beds, quietly reading books, and enjoying the sounds of nature.  Actually we got a little bit stir-crazy in our tight quarters.

Nate out fishing. 

After the big storm on Saturday, we ventured back out onto the lake.  It was calm and foggy.

This photo makes me laugh.  It may look like a smile, and that I'm enjoying my fishing trip.  But really, I am clenching my teeth because obviously Dan is standing up in that tippy boat taking my picture and I was freaking out and telling him to sit down.  I had no intention of ending up in the ice-cold water.

Chris and Nate.

This was the maiden voyage, and the boys used the life-vests that were provided.  I think that they were from the 1970's. 

Dan and the boys out on the lake. 

Up and attem'!  Ready to head back out bright and early Sunday morning!

Success!  Nate was the only one to catch a fish on this trip.  This boy was SO PROUD.

It was a treat to be able to eat some meals at the lodge restaurant.  There was nothing of the color 'green' on the menu.  Biscuits and Gravy, bacon, eggs,  pancakes, french toast, burgers, french fries, etc.  Typical mountain-man food.  With 2 lefties in our household, during this meal we were all bumping elbows. 

Clear Lake Resort claims to have 'world class' cinnamon rolls.  Mmm.  Gotta get em' while they're hot, because when the tray of rolls is gone...they're gone. 

Until next year......(which is already booked!)