"Explorer Spirit…Servant Heart…"
Feb 13th, 2022 by leigharev2
My friend Michelle serves with me with the women’s retreats we create with Bev Bradley. She and her husband were going to be in Oregon and I took them on a day trip to explore the coast. We drove up to Astoria and drove around there, then had lunch at McMenamin’s Sand Trap Pub in Gearhart. Hiked Hug Point and Short Sands. Then drove down to Tillamook. Made it back to Manzanita at dinner time.
Feb 13th, 2022 by leigharev2
Antee Sara and Uncle Charlie, too 😉
Feb 13th, 2022 by leigharev2
Our local fire department hosts a Christmas tree bonfire on the beach as a fundraiser for their volunteer fire department. The firefighters collect the trees and then build a big bonfire on the beach!
Feb 13th, 2022 by leigharev2
So beautiful.
Feb 11th, 2022 by leigharev2
I wish I have photos to post for New Year 2022. We had a fun family evening in Manzanita. I captured some video, but the files are too large to post. However, I posted on YouTube, so hopefully you can see them there. Two fun things we did…
I decided my word of the year is ‘CELEBRATE’. We have had a rough few years with Covid and I want to focus on celebrating something every single day this year. There is ALWAYS something worth celebrating, and coincidentally, there are actual holidays every day of the year! So, I am posting my holiday of choice everyday on social media and celebrating something every day. Here are my holidays for the month of January…
January 1 : New Year’s See above. I also hiked one New Year’s Day with a group of ladies at Bayocean Spit. Great way to start the New Year!
Day 2: World Introvert Day – attended church online. A little cleaning, reading, walking, watching ‘Anxious People’ on Netflix, some decaf, and cocoa
Day 3: Festival of Sleep Day – Tried to sleep in and also nap, but my brain (whom I affectionately call ‘Myrna’,) would not let me. Watched two documentaries on sleep. Watched the movie, ‘while you were sleeping’
Day 4: Trivia Day – played an online trivia game with the boys. David popped in for a little as well. It was a bunch of fun. We played way longer than I had expected.
Day 5: National Bird Day – For our 27th anniversary, David and I picked up a bird feeder to enjoy watching the birds in our California backyard. I also watched a documentary on birds, and donated to the Audobon Society of Portland. Watched Portlandia’s ‘Put a Bird on It’
Day 6: Beans Day – drank coffee. Made a pot of multi bean chili. Watched episodes of ‘Mr. Bean’
Day 7: Old Rock Day – Enjoy the polished rock collection that my great grandfather had created. Went on a hike with David and focused on the geological rock formations around us.
Day 8: Bubble Bath Day –
Day 9: Word Nerd Day – Looked up ned words to use through the day. Look up words in a different language.
Day 10: Houseplant Appreciation Day – Bought fresh dirt to replant our small display of plants in Manzanita.
Day 11: National Human Trafficking Awareness Day – Wore the color Blue. Donated to Agape International Mission. Watched a documentary. Was going to watch the movie, ‘Taken’, but ran out of time.
Day 12: National Hot Tea Day – Drank a variety of hot tea through the day, in a special teacup…
Day 13: Rubber Ducky/Duckie Day – I bought 50 little duckies and set them free to find a forever home in our town of Manzanita. Watched a few clips of Sesame Street’s Ernie with his rubber ducky…
Day 14: Organize Your Home Day – Decluttered a few ‘hot spots’ in the house.
Day 15: National Hat Day – Looked up fun facts about hats. Wore a hat…
Day 16: Appreciate a Dragon Day – Looked up online all the different real life dragons…Komodo dragon, ruby seadragon, blue dragon sea slug, pink dragon millipede,black dragon fish, flying dragons. Read about the difference between the eastern and western cultures regarding dragons. Watched with the family the movie ‘Dragonheart’
Day 17: Martin Luther King Jr. Day – Watched his “I Have a Dream’ Speech. Watch a few online documentaries. Watched the movie, ‘Selma’. Donated to Equal Justice Initiative.
Day 18: National Gourmet Coffee Day – Drank a gourmet coffee drink
Day 19: National Popcorn Day – Learned some fun facts on popcorn. Made a big bowl of popcorn for a treat.
Day 20: Penguin Awareness Day – Watched a documentary on penguins. Actually, it was a documentary on the filming of filming a documentary on penguins. Made a donation to the World Wildlife Fund.
Day 21: National Hugging Day – Hugged my loved ones through the day.
Day 22: National Hot Sauce Day – Watched episodes of ‘Hot Ones’. We had our own ‘hot ones’ challenge and ate a dinner with different grades of hot sauce…
Day 23: Child Labor Day – Learned statistics about child labor through the world and the different kinds of child labor abuse that exists. Read about ‘fair trade’ and the shift to buy fair trade as much as possible. We currently sponsor children through ‘Compassion International‘. Our sponsorship pays for the tuition and books for the children, so they do not have to work.
Day 24: National Peanut Butter Day – Learned a bunch of peanut butter fun facts. Made a ramen meal with peanut butter.
Day 25: Burns Night – Celebrating the Scottish poet Robert Burns. Wore plaid. Listened to online recitations of his poetry. Listened to music with bagpipes in it. There is a special dinner that goes with this, but I did not make it. If I do this again next year, I will plan for it. You are supposed to drink Scottish whiskey as well.
Day 26: Library Shelfie Day – Take photos of your book display or those at a library…
Day 27: National Geographic Day – Watched National Geographic documentaries.
Day 28: Gift of the Ladybug Day – A day that honors all children with life-threatening illnesses. Embrace your loved ones exactly as they are!
Day 29: National Puzzle Day – Started a new puzzle. Did a crossword puzzle.
Day 30: National Croissant Day – Bought croissants and had them for breakfast with jam, and for lunch as a sandwich.
Day 31: Inspire Your Heart with Art Day– Volunteered for Blue Line Arts Gallery and helped with one of their fundraisers. Looked at different art pieces online.
Feb 11th, 2022 by leigharev2
Jan 13th, 2022 by leigharev2
It does not happen often, so when it does, it’s very exciting! Dealing with the roads is another matter, but we had no place to go, so we enjoyed the lovely blanket of white.
I took a walk with my friend, Michela, whose family visit from L.A., and rented a house nearby. We got to catch up on all the things and enjoyed our time together.
Jan 13th, 2022 by leigharev2
When we were a young couple, one of the things we enjoyed doing together was camping and hiking. Over the years, we kinds of got away from it. Being in Manzanita has helped spark this joy again. Here are some shots from a recent Short Sands hike…
Jan 13th, 2022 by leigharev2
We decided to go to Manzanita for a month over Christmas. The boys had a substantial winter break and we were able to go up for a month. Covid numbers are still sketchy so we decided to keep it just us and see family in smaller batches. Plus, the weather has been pretty ‘winter-y’, so keeping travel down made sense.
We had a hard time finding a Christmas tree and had made peace that we would not have one this year. On a related yet unrelated note, my friend Liann had told me to expect someone to drop something off at my house in a couple of days. She apparently has a friend who was visiting Manzanita over Christmas and had her bring a surprise to me! It was such a delight to learn that it was a handmade pinecone wreath that Liann and her children had collected and made! David purchased a gorgeous holiday bouquet. We placed it in the center of the wreath. Surrounded the wreath with lights and that became our ‘tree’ for the year!
The oatmeal t-shirts were envisioned by our little niece, ‘M’, and made by Uncle Paul. So fun!
Jan 13th, 2022 by leigharev2
I was talking to a friend recently who has younger children. She asked me if I missed certain stages when our kids were younger and if it was hard to have our kids as adults now. I can honestly say that, no, I do not miss any of the earlier stages. I loved going through them with my boys and I love the memories and moments we captured. But, I also love who they are, now. I enjoy my time with them, now, and I look forward to witnessing who they become in the future.
Alex is now 19, and what a treasure he is. He is kind, and funny, and seeks joy everywhere. He is easygoing and always up for an adventure. He is my foodie buddy, movie buddy, and can carry a conversation with pretty much anyone.
Alex is now a Freshman in our local community college. He made the President’s Honor Roll his first semester with a 3.81 and plans to pursue a Business degree, with a minor in Film.
Our family tradition is that the birthday person gets a special “whatever you want for breakfast” made by me, and then we go out for lunch or dinner later. This year, we were in Manzanita for his birthday. I forgot to bring our ‘Celebration’ plate, so I wrote ‘Celebrate Alex’ on the place in gel icing. Alex’s breakfast of choice: Oreo cereal, Pop-Tarts, Pizza Rolls, Sausage, and an energy drink. After that, we went to Seaside and watched the new Spiderman movie, then went to The Sea for linner. Cake later that evening at home. <3 Happy Birthday, beautiful boy-ee!!
