presidents' weekend

On Sunday of our three day weekend, we decided to get out of Corvallis and drove to the coast.  We enjoy staying at the Best Western Agate Beach- it's right on the beach, nice size rooms, and warm indoor pool.  We all enjoyed a long pool time Sunday night followed by dinner and a movie in our room.  Monday morning we did another dip, and intended to get to the tide pools at low tide.   Our timing was good but the weather was not- sideways cold rain aborted the hike.  We did the lighthouse tour, with both boys climbing to the top, then got lunch and warm coffee's in Newport, said hi to the sea lions and headed home.

the rainy months

I shouldn't complain, though- it's been a reasonably warm and not too rainy January and February, by Oregon standards.  We have had a lot of fun, even if we can't always get outside.

Some captions to the pictures above:

Owen's second grade class put on the Wednesday service, and he was John the Baptist.  Owen had a bunch of lines and delivered them all clearly and did a great job Baptizing the third grade Jesus.  Aunt Susie and Laurel were able to come to cheer him on and took some pictures of him and his class.

I snuck away for a weekend with Russa and really got out of town- we went to Tepoztlan Mexico for a cooking class.  The boys had a fun weekend with Richard, and got wrestling masks out of the deal.

Zion had a twin day, and Owen and Ben decided to dress up like twins.  Both were excited about it at first, Owen got a little less excited on the ride to school when Ben kept talking about how the teachers would be getting them confused.  We had a window of sunshine that afternoon and played at Wildcat Park- that cheered up them both.

A couple of boys and couch pictures.  A bunch of love around here.

Russa's family had us over to celebrate Mardi Gras.  We had done the King Cake earlier in the week to kick of New Orleans' month.  Russa made amazing shrimp and chicken dishes, and Richard prepared the banana's foster for dessert.  They all turned out wonderful.

Owen and Richard have now done 3 trips to the mountain to go skiing this year.  This past trip, the ski instructor said Owen was ready to be released into the wild.... or at least ready for the lift.  He and Richard spent the afternoon going up and down Sleepy Hollow a few dozen times.  I think we have an addict on our hands!

car-go ship car

Owen created a cargo ship car for the Cub Scouts Pine Wood Derby.  It wasn't the fastest car of the day, but it won for "funniest".  He did a great job with the design, cutting and sanding, and painting.  He had a lot of fun working on it this year.

ben turns 4!

As the holidays wind down, the McManus family prepares for another big event- Ben's 4th birthday!  We had a low-key party with the Muhly's on the Thursday of his birthday, opened more superhero gifts from our families and ate a yummy pirate ship cake.  On Saturday we had Ben's birthday party, which he chose to be Pirate themed.  Richard and I enjoyed preparing for this one- the whole family dressed up and prepared extra costumes for his guests.  Ben's friends from the current and his old day care were able to come, as well as Valerie, Maggie, and Laurel.  We had pirate crafts, a pin the treasure on the map game, pirate cupcakes, and a pirate ship pinata full of booty.  Ben enjoyed the entire party and his guests had fun as well.

closing out a wonderful year

After Christmas, we packed up our winter gear, and Dad and the Muhly family joined us in Sunriver for a long weekend of snow fun.  It was cold, but dry and covered in snow.  The first night, we went ice skating.  It was the boys first time.  Ben made it for one lap, but Owen did well and made several laps with Richard.

Susie and Todd got our family a dog sled trip for our Christmas gift, which we did on Saturday morning.  It's not something I had ever considered doing before.  The dogs are amazing athletes, and they love running and pulling the sled.  We learned a lot about the sport plus had a beautiful ride through the Mt. Bachelor forest, with clear skies and mountains around us.  All of us loved the experience.

Owen took another ski class. He did a great job and enjoyed it. Richard got a few runs in on the powdery snow as well.  Ben and Laurel went tubing down Sunriver's sled hill.  Ben loved just playing and rolling around in the snow- and there was plenty of it.  Owen and Laurel enjoyed the hot tub on the deck of the rental house, and made use of it while it continued to snow on their hair.  We all enjoyed playing games and doing puzzles and watching movies and football and had a great time together.

Back in Corvallis, we spent New Years Eve with the Muhly's, Dad, and Russa's family.  Richard and Russa cooked up a Mexican themed dinner.  We did our traditional Wii Dance off, and did a big toast at the East Coast New Year.  Owen and Andrew both made it up for the West Coast New Year as well, though he was pretty beat on New Year's Day.  We took down all the Christmas decorations and stored them for another year.  We prepped for Ben's upcoming 4th birthday, and then said goodbye to Grandpa after a wonderful visit.

christmas day with boys

A day spent in jammies.  Seeing the bounty that Santa brought this year.  Double checking that no coal was left in the stockings.  Unwrapping gifts from family and friends from around the country.  Superheros.  Legos.  Mighty Machines.  Playing playing laughing.  Snacking snacking snacking.  Pizza and lobster tail.  A good day.