Back to School Breakfast

I have a little bit of blog catch up to do!  I realized I never posted about the first day of school.

We actually celebrated the first day of school one day early.  Our high school starts early - about 7:30 a.m. so Tessa leaves the  house about 7:15 a.m. so I have lived with Tessa long enough to know that trying to have a nice, sit down breakfast the first day of school before she left was just  not reasonable.  So instead I decided to do it on Monday and have her invite a few of her friends.

It was great fun and I think the girls really enjoyed it.  It was a nice chance for them to sit, relax and visit before the whirlwind of school and their senior years begins.

Of course I had to set a pretty table....  with the help of a few items from the Dollar Store and the craft store I think I succeeded

Tessa requested blueberry muffins and we also had yogurt/granola/fruit parfaits, an egg frittata and breakfast potatoes.

The girls each had their own little chalkboard place card.

 The girls had a toast to their senior year with their orange juice.

It was fun to see them enjoying each other.

Here's to the start of a great senior year!

Beach Weekend

I thought September was going to be a quiet, stay at home, kind of month.  Guess I forgot Jim was going to be in Utah one weekend, I was headed to Northern California with the Beach Babes one weekend (a post on that trip still coming) and then this weekend, at the last minute (Friday) we decided to head to the beach.

Jim was looking at the beach house calendar and realized it wasn't booked this weekend.  He asked if I wanted to go but I said that  Tessa had a babysitting job on Saturday.  Tessa then informed us that we should go because we needed to practice being empty nesters!  So we did.

We called our friends the Jensen's to see if they would be spontaneous with us at the last minute and they agreed and we are glad they did!  The weather forecast for the beach wasn't great - 70% chance of rain one day and 100% the next day but we went anyway. and we actually ended up with some decent weather.

We left about 4pm on Friday and arrived at the house in time for dinner (leftovers from the night before)  We went for a walk on the beach and then played some cards and ate M & M's and black licorice (they all ate black licorice, I hate black licorice.  I just ate M & M's)

Saturday we woke to no rain and a little peek through of the sun.  We headed to one of our favorite breakfast spots - Wanda's.  I love Wanda's and all it's retro/vintage charm!

We enjoyed a yummy breakfast.  I went for the granola with fresh strawberries and yogurt - so good and it gave me lots of energy for our hike!

While eating breakfast we struck up a conversation with the couple at the table next to us who were from Ohio but owned a home in Nehalem and were avid hikers.  They over heard us talking about hiking and suggested a hike for us and shared their great hiking book with us over breakfast.

We decided to take their advice and head to Short Sands Beach and hike out to Cape Falcon.  But before we did that we had to make a stop at the dump in Manzanita.  Now the Manzanita dump is just not any dump - it's a pretty dump!!

They also have a great thrift shop where they sell some of the things they get at the dump.  I always find some kind of treasure.  Remember The Chair I found this summer!?!?  This trip was no exception.  I found a great new bundt pan.  I've decided I want some new, more decorative shaped bundt pans.  Saw a cute idea on a blog I want to recreate.  Found one!

Jim found some old tools that will be perfect for sand castle building.  I also found some great old vintage books that I love to use in tablescapes etc. But the best find of the day was The Door.  Yes, we had The Chair and now we have The Door.

The only problem was the door is about 6 feet or longer and we were driving Marsha's small Volvo sedan.  Fortunately for us those Volvo designers are smart guys and the back seat flips down and there is an opening through the trunk so we just slid that puppy right in there!  I got to sit on Marsha's lap the rest of the way home.

I know what you are thinking.  Because it is probably the same thing that both Jim and Larry asked me when I showed them what I had bought - "What are you going to do with it?"  My response was "I don't know, but I'll find something"  I always do.  Marsha and I were throwing all kinds of fun ideas around.  I think I may hang it in the front entry way - May even hang a wreath on it.


The best thing about the door?  It only cost $1.50!!!

Front the dump we headed out hiking hoping the rain would stay away.  We started at Short Sands which is a very popular beach with surfers.  They were out there in force on Saturday but there weren't very many waves to be had.

It was a great, fairly easy to moderate hike.  The trail was pretty muddy because of the rain we had had so we ended up pretty muddy too.  We got rained on some during the hike but the downpour waited until later that afternoon fortunately.

The view from Cape Falcon was beautiful.

Jim and Marsha hiked a little farther around the bend and saw a rock covered with a 100 pelicans or so!
After the hike we went back to the house and dried off and then the boys went downtown to the Tavern to watch the OSU game and called Logan for updates on the BYU game.  Marsha and I hit the shops in Manzanita and went over to the antique mall in Wheeler where we found a few more treasures!

We got a pizza from Marzano's for dinner and took it back to the house where we ate and watched The Italian Job.

We headed home Sunday morning in time for church.  It was a very fun and relaxing weekend with good friends.

Tessa did fine home alone.  She went to the Westview football game Friday night (they lost) and two of her friends spent the night.  She had a babysitting job at 3pm until 10 p.m. on Saturday and then spent the night home alone.  She told me when we got home that she DOES NOT like being home alone!



Logan had spent the last part of the week and part of Saturday up at Snow Bird at a retreat with Corporate Alliance.  He had a beautiful view from his room and it was a successful weekend.

Clark continues to study hard for the LSAT which is coming up in a couple of weeks.  He also enjoyed a fun group date to the Utah State Fair.

Cali is continuing to adjust to her cast and her new little scooter which helps her get around campus better.  She was able to spend some time hanging out with friends, enjoyed a home cooked Indian dinner and a movie with friends.  Keep her in your prayers that her foot heals quickly and well!

Thank You!

If you are a follower of Calis blog - Quirky Cali you are updated on her situation and most recent adventure.  It has been a hard week for her and me!  It is hard to be a mom, 700 miles away and have your daughter call you crying from an urgent care.

I am so grateful for all the loving people we have in our lives who have helped make this hard week easier.

Thank you to Cali's RS President and home teacher and friends who are helping give her rides to and from school.

Thank you to Emily who picked her up and took her fabric shopping so she would have something for her sewing class.  Emily then took the fabric home, washed it and delivered it to Cali at her class on campus!

Thank you to Cade who took Cali to her appointment with the orthopedic doctor.

Thanks to Logan who left work to go pick up her x-rays and deliver them to the orthopedic's office and then stayed with her while she got her cast.  Just wish he had gotten a photo of her in those blue paper shorts!

Thanks to Aunt Tricia who went to Lehi to pick up her scooter and to Costco to pick up her Calcium pills.

Thank you to Uncle David who took her back to the orthopedic's office to get a handicap parking form and then to the DMV to get the parking pass and then took her back to their house and fed her dinner!!

Thanks to Tami Stanley (the mother of a former missionary in our ward and her husband was in Cali's bishopric her freshman year) for taking Cali a chair for the shower, a cast cover and giving her lessons on how to use crutches!

Thanks to the nice boy who helped her up the stairs and then made her lunch!

I have probably forgotten someone and if I did I apologize but know how much I appreciate you all.  It's hard to have to call people all the time to do things with you because you are too far away to do them yourself and I am so blessed to have so many people in my life who are willing to help!


To check out Cali's new neon green cast go here.