NOTE: I STARTED TO DELETE THIS AS IS WAS A YEAR OLD AND THEN I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE GOOD TO LEAVE IT ON DURING THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON OF 2007 - KEEPING IN THE SPIRIT OF THE HOLIDAY AND ALL.
MERRY CHRISTMAS,
BARB (2007)


December, 2006:
I asked my three daughters to each write their portion of our Christmas letter for 2006. Following is their description of their lives with a few pictures of each. Needless to say I am very proud of them, and especially of my five grandchildren: Scott, Wayde, Cassidy, Addison and Sunny.

I am Bonnie, the wonderful older sister of Mariah and Beth. I have been married for 19 years to West and we have 2 boys, Scott, a freshman in High School and Wayde who is a 4th grader. Scott is adjusting to the teenage life (sleeping and eating), and Wayde keeps us busy with his active mind (many questions and not enough answers). I spend my day working with children ages 4-6 and West is a CNC Machinist.

I am Mariah, the favorite middle child. My husband (Eddie) and I moved to the Pacific Northwest to be closer to my family. We have two wonderful daughters, both quite unique and beyond what we could have expected. I never expected to be this lucky but I thank God that I am. I work for in the provider contracting department of a health care organization . Most don't understand what that is or what I do, so I will spare you all the boring details. Eddie is also in the health care field but he chose to work on the dental side. Our daughters are aged 5 and a typical 2. They keep us happily busy. I don't recommend raising highly energetic children in your late 30's, that is what young and naive is for. Our 5 year old is our little sweetheart. She is bright and caring and very artistic. Our sweet 2 year old is a sweetie if it suits her mood. She is full of hugs and loves to run. She is a perfectionist and I see great things in her future. Just try not to catch her on a bad day. Right now she is perfecting the terrible twos.

My name is Beth Ann. I live in Jackson, Wyoming with my boyfriend Wade Boudreau and our 2 month old daughter, Sunny Day. I am in the accounting department at the Four Seasons Resort in Teton Village. Wade is a snowboard instructor but due to an injury he is sitting this season out and staying home with his new daughter. He is also the owner of a small taxi business. Our days used to be spent enjoying wine tastings, movies and football. Now, they are filled with cooing, diapers and all the joys that come with a newborn.

Wayde left Portland on October 21st to meet his brother, Parus, in Cabo San Lucas to fish in the Dark of the Moon fishing tournament. This is the second year Wayde has been lucky enough to go. They had a storm and the fishing wasn't very good (Wayde caught the only fish) but still they had a good time.

"I caught 1 sailfish that looked about 6 or 7 feet long. The crew guessed it to weigh 90#. We released the fish to get more points in the tournament. The deckhand cut the leader when I had the fish up to the boat. Once the crew touches the leader it counts as a caught fish. Too bad we only got 1 but it was still a fun trip."
Wayde

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Wayde and I decided about July of 2005 that we would go to the Glock World Match in September, 2006. We knew we would be retired then and it would probably be the only time we would get a chance to do it. After much planning we set the date to leave as September 7th. We started our 5 week journey a week ahead of schedule by having Bonnie and Mariah (and, of course, their families) over for one last visit before we left.

We left Newport on September 7, 2006 and met our friend, Judy, at the Glenwood in Eugene for breakfast. We also said farewell for a couple of months to our friend, Linda, our favorite waitress at the Glenwood. We made it to Carson City by early evening and were thrilled to see our wonderful, dear friend, Jeannette Miller. We hugged and talked and had a great time. She had the family over the next night for supper so we got to see Caroline and Eric, Brian and his family and Ehren's new wife Jen who is staying with Jeannette until Ehren gets home from Iraq. It was amazing to look at Brian's kids, Parker, Nathan and Casey, and remember when we were watching our kids playing and growing with John and Jeannette. It seems like a hundred years ago. We can never keep the thought from entering our minds that we wished John and Mark were able to be there with us. It's a good thing we all believe in Heaven because we could imagine them there. We had a great time but had to leave for Elko to visit Wayde's mom so we were only able to spend two days. We were able, however, to eat at a Basque restaurant in Carson City and have a chorizo sandwish. Yummo!!!

We left Elko, after having breakfast with Wayde's mom, and headed south. We found the cheapest gas in Elko at $3.33. We hoped that wasn't a sign of things to come. We took the turnoff through Secret Pass, outside of Elko. As we looked back at the Ruby Mountains I felt a little homesick. This was our Nevada and I still love it. We were going to visit friends in Elko and Ely but decided we wanted to make Las Vegas by that night so we didn't have time to stop. It was great getting to Vegas and pulling up to Cozette's house. She came running out to greet us. There's nothing like a hug from an old friend. We were able to take some time and visit another old friend, Sam McMurray. We hadn't seen him in about 17 years so that, too, was a moving moment. We have been very blessed to have had really good friends over the years. We were also lucky to meet some new ones in Cozette's young room mates, Sean and Michael. Wayde, Cozette and I went to lunch at Bellagio's on the Las Vegas Strip. It was a beautiful setting and a perfect place to have a nice, long lunch and chat with a friend. It felt like time slipped away and it was as it had always been. We certainly hope both Cozette and Sam will be able to visit us in Oregon soon.

We left Las Vegas on September 13th. I think both Wayde and I wanted to package Cozette up and throw in the car and take her with us. Of course, we couldn't so we had to say good-bye. We were amazed to see the construction of a new bridge across Hoover Dam. It was quite a sight. I was glad Wayde wasn't the surveyor on that job. We had some intense rain showers between Kingman and Flagstaff, but it was otherwise an uneventful day. We stayed in Flagstaff, Arizona that night. I had always heard it was a beautiful spot and everyone was right. It is so different from what I had seen before of Arizona. Our friend Sam McMurray recommended we eat at a Cracker Barrel when we found one. We saw our first one in Flagstaff and ate breakfast there the next morning. We loved it and knew we would eat breakfast there whenever we could. We left Flagstaff and, of course, had to stop in Winslow, Arizona. Wayde kept singing ". . . standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona . . ." We couldn't figure out why anyone would stay in Winslow long enough to stand on a corner, or even go through Winslow. It was certainly not our idea of Heaven. We saw lots of petrified wood between Winslow and Gallup. There were also lots of fantastic rock formations around Gallup. They looked like something out of a movie and we kept expecting to see a war party of Indians looking down on John Wayne in the valley below. We had lunch in Grants Pass, New Mexico. We remembered when Wayde worked for Anaconda Copper and could have moved there when they closed the Victoria Mine in Elko County down. Sure glad we never made it! We went through Lincoln, New Mexico, specifically Lincoln County. It was clear why ranchers would fight a war over this country. As Wayde said, "There is grass up to a cow's belly." The buildings around there were really old and we saw a sign that said "Site of Billy the Kid's Last Escape." We then went to Roswell, New Mexico. Wayde really had high hopes for Rosewell but have to say we didn't see any aliens, unless you count the one they had in the McDonald's play area. We did find a postcard from the museum there which we had to send to our son-in-law, West. We spent the night but were ready to leave early in the morning.

We left Roswell on September 15th, went through Carlsbad but didn't take time to stop at the Caverns. The country was surprisingly green with the Pecos River running through it. We were happy when we finally crossed into Texas. We saw a lot of live oil wells but many more that were silent. They looked like big black and yellow chickens pecking at the ground. They were much nicer than the ugly black ones I remembered from my childhood. We stopped in Pecos and went through their museum. It was on the site of an old hotel and tavern, which was the site of a shootout. The world's first rodeo was held in Pecos in 1883. Had to buy Bonnie a book about "Pecos Bill", one of her favorite heros. We stopped in Junction, Texas (about 40 minutes out of San Antonio) for gas, looked up and there was a Cooper's BBQ. We have eaten several times at the one in Austin and loved it so we had to pick some up for dinner. It was really nice pulling up to Wayde's brother's house in Garden Ridge, Texas. Parus and Sue looked great, as always. We had a really nice visit and especially enjoyed watching the deer playing and eating in the yard. They have a beautiful home and we hated to leave them.

We hated to leave Parus and Sue (and San Antonio) but it was time. We headed out early as we were meeting an old friend from Eugene, Mike Dunaway, in Austin where we played golf with him and his Dad. It was 67 degrees when we started playing golf and 85 degrees when we finished. We saw several Texas-sized squirrels and then some turtles lazing around one of the ponds. It was really an enjoyable morning. We then had the long drive to Dallas and didn't get there until early evening. We stayed in Grapevine, had an early supper and went to bed. We woke up the next morning, found a Mimi's Restaurant fairly close (we love those restaurants) and headed out the Bass Pro Shop. It seemed bigger and better than the last time we visited in 2004. We got to the Dallas Cowboy Golf Club about 2:00 p.m., ate a leisurely lunch, bought a few items in the pro shop (mostly for our daughter, Mariah, who is a big Dallas Cowboy fan) and got ready to play golf. I was glad to see the life-size poster of Troy Aikman still in the lady's restroom and would have liked to take it home to Mariah. We were one of the last ones to tee off for the day so we basically had the whole, beautiful course to ourselves. It was a dream and, for some reason, we both golfed really well. It started getting a little dark to play so we were only able to golf through the 15th hole, but it was really a nice experience. Wish we could always golf like that!

Left Dallas September 21st and headed east. This will all be new territory for us. We crossed the border into Shreveport, Louisiana. We were surprised at the size of it and the number of big casinos. You'd think we were back in Nevada. We then crossed the Mississippi River into Vicksburg, Mississippi. Wayde was disappointed that the River wasn't as big as he thought it would be but I was thrilled at all the boats and barges. Vicksburg was the first Civil War battlefield we saw and I was sorry we couldn't spend more time there. We passed the turnoff to Natchez Trace. I have read about it so many times it was exciting just to see the turnoff. Wayde rolled his eyes and and I knew he thought "It's going to be a long trip." We spent the night in Jackson, Mississippi and it was "hotter than a pepper sprout."

Septemer 22nd, we left Jackson and headed up the road to eat breakfast at a Cracker Barrel. We are going to miss these restaurants when we get home. We crossed into Alabama and noticed the country was a little more open than Mississippi, but still not a hill in sight. We do miss our mountains. One thing we noticed, instead of potato chips they had Salt and Vinegar Cracklins - only in the south. We ate really good bbq at a little restaurant in Selma. Went through Montgomery and, hate to say it, couldn't wait to get out. The downtown area is a ghetto and really run down. Shortly after that we crossed into Georgia at the Chatahoochie River. It actually seemed bigger than the Mississippi. We got as far as Albany, Georgia and decided to spend the night at a cute motel called "Merry Acres". It was originally built in the 1930's and some of it was quite quaint. The clerk in the motel had a brother who lived in Albany, Oregon and she had been to Newport several times. Once again, it is a small world.

September 23rd we left Albany, Georgia and headed east. Wayde wanted to go through Waycross, Georgia to see Miller's Cave (from the song). We found out there was no such place, much to Wayde's disappointment, but we did go to Obediah's Okefenok. It was about 88 degrees and humidity was about 85 so it was not a pleasant place. We saw snakes, bears, birds, foxes and ostriches in the "critter center" and an alligator was nudged into the water for our benefit. It was a little tacky but I decided if I never saw a swamp again it would be too soon. We were, however, glad we got off the main freeway. Traffic and drivers were crazy on the freeways and we enjoyed taking our time and enjoying the scenery and the small towns we passed through. We got our first sight of the Atlantic Ocean that afternoon. We then drove a few miles south to Jekyll Island. It was really beautiful and we hoped to stay there but the rooms were all booked. We drove north to Brunswick, Georgia and spent the night there. They have some gas stations there called "El Cheapo Fuel Stop". How can you not love it!

We arrived in Savannah on September 26th. That afternoon we walked on the boardwalk on the Savannah River. It was originally built in the 1700's and part of the cobblestones in the roads and several buildings are original from that time. It was like walking by the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland, but it was the real deal. I was charmed! We booked passage, which sounds cool in and of itself, on a dinner cruise on a stern wheeler. We boarded and were pleasantly surprised to find only about 24 people on the cruise so we were free to explore. We had a nice meal and Wayde and I spent quite a while out on the deck watching the big freighters pass right by us. The Port of Savannah is the second largest container ship port on the east coast (next to New York), so the River was busy. We then went inside and listened to the music and even danced a little. It was really nice. The next day we went on the Paula Deen tour. That will mean something to those of you who watch the Food Network and mean nothing to you if you don't (Wayde doesn't). She is one of my favorite personalities so I was very excited, plus it was a good way to see Savannah. We ended up with lunch at Uncle Bubba's Oyster House (Paula's brother). We ate at a table with a couple from Florida who had lived in Genoa, Nevada for several years. We were able to talk about Elko and Cowboy Poetry! What a small world. Since I didn't feel like standing in line for an hour, we went by Paula Deen's restaurant, Lady and Sons, and I went inside, looked around, bought a coffee cup, took my picture out front and called it good. It was hot and humid and I was melting. We then took a horse carriage ride around one of the squares in town. So many of the houses and buildings have been maintained, it is one of the nicest historic districts I have ever seen. We even passed by the house they used as the model for The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. Wayde was such a good sport for giving me this day. I will forever be grateful to him for it. Savannah is one of those cities you could spend weeks in and not see everything. I could go back several times and never tire of it.

When we first got to Savannah we decided to stay a little out of town and drove about 15 miles to Tybee Island. What a great deal that turned out to be! We were half a block from the ocean and we could see the freighters coming and going from the Savannah River to the Atlantic Ocean. We walked out to the end of the pier and watched people fishing, dolphins swimming and pelicans flying. The water was warm (we had to put our feet in the Atlantic Ocean!), and the sand was white and beautiful. Being the end of September there were very few people. It was heaven and we loved it. The last morning we were there we saw a freighter pass in front of the sun coming up. It was really breathtaking.

September 26 and we decided to drive the short distance to Hilton Head, South Carolina. It took about 20 minutes, even though it was only about five miles as the crow flies. We drove through a few miles of fairly rural country, crossed the bridge and we were in a different world. All along the main road there was a golf course or tennis court on either side of the road and beautiful houses and shopping centers. Even the Target was upscale! We drove to the Harbour Yacht Club - very classy. We saw the Stars and Stripes sailboat which won the Americas Cup. There was a tour going out on it as we drove up so we got to see it moving. It was beautiful. There were yachts of all sizes and shapes, although none of them were small. It was really a lovely spot.

September 27th we left Savannah and headed for Atlanta. I really hated to leave Savannah and Tybee Island. I don't know if we will ever have another chance but I would come back here in a heartbeat. I love it. We got into Conyers, outside Atlanta, late in the afternoon so we just checked into the motel, ate supper, and went to bed early. Great news, there was a Cracker Barrel restaurant right next to the motel so it was really handy. We got up on the morning of September 28th and drove into Atlanta. We passed the Georgia Dome where the Falcons play football, the Turner Broadcasting building complex, and Georgia Tech, to name a few familiar sounding buildings. We went downtown and toured the World of Coke building. Coca-Cola has been around since the late 1800's and it was interesting to see how Coke survived through history with very little change. We then went to the Margaret Mitchell museum. Part of the museum is in the apartment she lived in with her husband when she wrote "Gone With the Wind". She was quite a forward thinker and accomplished quite a bit for a woman in the 1930's. The museum held many momentos from the filming of the movie. I sure wished Bonnie could have been with us. Gone With the Wind is her favorite book and movie and she would have loved seeing the museum and finding out even more about Margaret Mitchell. We ate lunch at a sports bar called Jocks & Jills. Wayde went to the restroom and came out laughing because there was a signed poster of Coach Belotti (Oregon Ducks) in the men's bathroom. It was great since Wayde had on his yellow hat with his U of O pin. We went to the Kennesaw Mountain Civil War battle site. As always with these places, it was a very moving experience. It is so hard to imagine, with all the buildings of Atlanta in the distance, how is must have been in 1864. We got to the Atlanta Airport that afternoon in time to pick up our friends, Gary and Joyce Smith, who are joining us for a few days so Gary can shoot the Glock match with Wayde.