Work Break....

Forgive me for not posting much lately, but we are in the midst of a major job. We have been removing the carpet in the house, painting, and putting in new flooring. It has been nearly two weeks of work, but we are nearing the end. I will post pictures when the job is done, but for now, here's a sneak peak of what we've been up to:


The only reprieve from work these days has been taking the girls to swimming lessons, which they love! It's been about two years since they last took lessons, and they have overcome a lot of fears, especially Jaelyn. She is even putting her head underwater in one of the photos below. The photos aren't the best inside the pool, but you can see that they are
having a good time.

Summer Boredom....

This is evidence of what happens when a 15 year old has too much time on their hands in the summer:

God's Beauty....

I thought I would post some nature shots from our vacation, as we saw so many beautiful places while we were there.

We spent one morning viewing the tide pools at Seal Rock. We saw sea anemones, starfish, mussels, etc., and a stinky dead sea lion. It was early and cold, due to the mist in the air, so Jaelyn didn't have so much fun. I ended up taking her back to the car while the others explored. On the other hand, Kaia couldn't get enough of the water and stepped in every puddle she could!


The picture doesn't do the Devil's Punchbowl justice. It looks like a tiny pool of water in the photo, but trust me, it's not!

This is my favorite area on the coast, Devil's Churn. I could stay here for hours watching the waves crash into the rocks. You just have to be careful, or you'll get soaked, or worse yet, fall in!


This is taken from Cape Perpetua. The first photo is looking over the top of Devil's Churn. This is the highest viewpoint on the Oregon Coast, and if the day hadn't have been so cloudy, we could have seen much further.


I forgot to include a funny story from the trip, although it wasn't so funny at the time. Wednesday morning my nephew Morgan asked the adults "Is that a tsunami warning I hear?" We thought he was joking around until we looked out at the beach and saw an older couple quickly walking away from the water towards our house. We turned on the radio, but could not find anything about it, so we then got on the Internet. We did find out that there had been a 5.2 earthquake off the coast of Oregon about an hour previously (gulp), but could find nothing on a warning. By that time the couple had made their way to our house, and they were asking about the warning. They said that they had heard talking over loudspeakers, but couldn't understand what was being said (another gulp). At this point we decided to call the local fire department....
their response was (chuckling as they said this), "Wednesdays are tsunami warning testing days, and your rental should have a flier posted regarding this." Gee, I think the rental agency missed out on that one. In fact, there is probably a hidden camera posted somewhere and they get a kick out of watching their tenants panic! Just happens that this test time there really was an earthquake off the coast, but not one that caused any tidal surges. We all got a laugh out of it later:)

Girls vs. Sand Dune...

Here's the video I tried to post earlier. Notice the smiles they had on their faces the whole way down, even after "the shove!" Jaelyn had to have eaten some sand....

Vacation Pt. Deux....

For the second half of our Oregon getaway, we headed to the Oregon Coast. On the way we stopped by our old stomping grounds, OSU, to show the kids the campus. It had been nearly 20 years since I had been there, so some of the campus had changed much, yet some stood still in time.


We met up with Mike's twin brother Pat and his family in Waldport, Oregon. We rented a beach house that was the perfect setting for us. The front door view was of the Alsea Bay Bridge and blue sky, while the back view was all beach, overcast skies, and the beautiful Pacific Ocean! In between was sand, and I mean lots of sand! We had snow shovels so that the sand could be moved off of the driveway, and there was literally a sand dune right next to the house. As the kids ran, jumped, and boarded their way down it, I was sure one of them was going to come straight through the window! I have tried several times to post video I have of this, but for some reason it is not working. I will try and post it later as its own entry.

Our days were spent kite flying, rock hunting, exploring tide pools, playing in the sand, wild adventures that made moms nervous, and just plain chillin'. Oh yeah, maybe some swimming in skivvies and a little shopping too! Nights were spent around the campfire, and staying up late watching movies (the teenage boys, that is).

The Oregon Aquarium was entertaining for all ages. The sea otters and the shark tunnel were favorites.

We finished off the week by visiting old friends (I say that lightly) from our Navy days, the Whitehursts. Another family from our Navy days also happened to be in the area at the time, so we had a wonderful evening together eating great BBQ, reminiscing of days gone by, and catching up with family life. Was a great way to wrap up the week!

If you noticed that Kellen is missing from the coast pictures you are very observant! Following the tour of OSU he headed out on his first road trip to Sacramento to see one of his good friends. I am happy to say he has made it home safely, and although he was missed by us, he had a good trip of his own. Of course, he forgot to take any pictures!

The Wedding...

Remember the engagement I wrote about a few months back? Well the big day was finally here, and it was memorable! Tiff and Nate got married under a tent on his Grandma's property, surrounded by farmland. Thank goodness for the breeze, as it was in the 90's that day! The bride was gorgeous, and a good time was had by all. Other highlights were: Grandpa Inks, at 91, dancing with Jaelyn, Kaia getting into quite the tug-of-war over the bouquet (and not crying when she lost), the girls spending the evening taking turns playing photographer (took quite a few of the photos below), and the entire Crebbin Crew cutting it up on the dance floor!

Can You Help Diana....

Diana is a 16 year old orphan who shares the diagnosis of Type I Diabetes with me, so I have an extra soft spot for her. Diana lives in an orphanage in Kazakhstan where they don't have the finances/know-how to help her get things under control. She is now too old to be adopted, but has an opportunity to return to the United States (she got some care in Texas awhile back, but the doctor then said she needed more help) to get care. The medical expenses and a host family have been arranged through the Antares Foundation, but help is needed with her travel expenses, which will be around $5,000. You can go to The Crab Chronicles to see a picture of this beautiful girl, as well as find out how to contribute and possibly win a Russian Nesting Doll for your efforts. Thanks for considering how you can help this young lady live a healthy, full life!