Our Houseboat Vacation

We enjoyed eight days of family vacation on this houseboat at Lake Shasta. We all had a lot of fun and all of us girls took a lot of pictures. I had a hard time choosing and believe it or not this a very few of the many we have. We spent the week swimming, exploring, playing games, fishing, tubing, and eating. It was a fun week!!! This was my anniversary gift from Bry for our last anniversary. We just had to wait for summer for me to enjoy my gift. We had everyone together, all six kids and two grandkids. The six of us, Bry & I, Jimmy & Natalie, and Tyler & Crystal drove down from Albany. Dustin, Candi and the kids drove up from Bakersfield, after having Rick and Rhonda bring them Rhonda's van because Candi's car brokedown on their way up. But after they arrived it was all worth it. We had so much fun we are already planning on the next trip. We decided we should do this every five years at least. I'm sure we may outgrow one boat and have to get two boats eventually but it sure is a great family vacation. Fun Fun Fun!!!! Enjoy the many pictures I have posted an leave me comments please. Thanks, Kathy

All 5 of us girls

All five of us girls inside Shasta Caverns. This is taken just below the bats. The caverns haven't changed...just like they were when we took the kids when they were little.

Taylor Nikole Harris

Taylor is the cutest little girl!!! She loved the water and was swimming every chance she had. She even jumped off the top of the houseboat. Brave little five year old! Just like her Auntie Sissy...a little dare devil. I just love those eyes!!!

Jayden love dirt!

Look Grandma, my hands are dirty! Jayden loved to play in the dirt. He would entertain himself for hours just playing in the dirt. It was great!! Isn't he just the cutest little boy...and all boy!!!

Isn't this how everyone washes their hair?

Natalie and Crystal washing their hair in the lake. It was fun watching them rinsing it out and trying not to loose the raft.

Games, Games and more Games

We spent a lot of time playing games on our vacation. Especially all of us girls. We played a lot of Phase 10, Skip-bo and Sequence. We even played a few games of Connect 4 and Uno with Taylor also. It is fun that she is now old enough to enjoy family games with us.

Taylor and her favorite chip

Taylor eating cheetos and being silly while we were waiting to go into the Shasta Caverns. Isn't she cute even with food in her mouth.

Jayden and a deer

Jayden at the lake shore throwing rocks into the lake. He was happy the deer was his friend. The deer didn't seem the least bit frightened of Jayden. And Jayden wasn't quiet either.

Candi & I

Candi and I hanging out in the boat... it's great to be together for the week. I miss this girl!!!

Jayden & Granddad

Jayden and Granddad enjoying the ride....Jayden loves hanging out on the front deck while driving around the lake. Better yet hanging out with Granddad on the front deck while driving around the lake.

Tyler & Crystal

Tyler driving the houseboat and Crystal always stands behind her man. What a supportive wife...

Crystal & Tyler

Tyler and Crystal at the end of the day after tubing and knee boarding around the lake.

Jimmy & Natalie

Jimmy and Natalie over looking the mountains. We just finished touring Shasta Caverns and this was on our way down back to the boat.

Jimmy & Natalie

Jimmy and Natalie out on the ski boat, while tubing for the afternoon.

Dustin and Candi

Here's your proof Dustin, she was trying to choke you... and she looks very happy too!

Candi and Dustin

Look they do actually love each other.... they just like to joke around alot.

The end of our week :(

Here is all six kids, well they're kids to me anyways. lol
Tyler, Crystal, Natalie, Jimmy, Candi and Dustin

McDowell Creek

These are the falls at McDowell Creek Park. It is about 15 miles from our house to the park. Bry and I enjoyed a walk around the park, viewing the falls and I even got my feet wet to cool off. After all we went during the record breaking triple digit weather. It is a beautiful area and Sunday I took Jimmy up to see the park and waterfalls.

Home Sweet Home

Here is a finished picture of our new home. Sorry it took so long between construction picture and the finished picture. We sure love our new home! Everyone is welcome, we love company.

Taylor And Jayden at the Zoo

We enjoyed a day at the Oregon Zoo in Portland. We were able to see all the animals. When we got to the elephants Taylor reminded me that the elephants are her momma's favorite. So she called Momma while at the elephants to tell her all about them. It was a fun day and a perfect way to spend the afternoon.

Silly Granddad !! We can drive this thing straight !!

Taylor and Jayden were visiting us for a couple of weeks. Can you believe they thought mowing the lawn with a push mower with Granddad was fun! I bet their Uncle Bubba would have a different view. We sure enjoyed them being here. And we sure enjoy the quiet after they left. At least for a little while. Now it's been long enough...come back...please. We've caught up on our rest.. we have a little energy again. Never as much as they have. lol

We have settled back down into the work force.

We are now real estate brokers! We finished all of our schooling and testing. We now work for Prudential Real Estate Professionals in Corvallis, Oregon. We are looking forward to our new careers together. We will soon have a web site for our business also and I will have to let everyone know after we get that started. We still plan on traveling, although now we will be making shorter trips and then coming home. This is one of the pictures we had taken when we got them done for work. Just thought everyone may enjoy seeing of new picture of us. Thanks for keeping up with us. Bryant and Kathy

Our new House

Well, we will once again have roots. We are buying our new house. It will be finished soon. I can hardly wait to get in and decorate again. It is three bedrooms, a den that opens up to the living room and open to dining and kitchen. Spilt wing with the master to the left and quest bedrooms to the right. We have a rv pad there next to the garage that is already in. It is only a few blocks away from Tyler and Crystal. Jimmy and Natalie will be moving here soon. When we get, in our new address will be 3801 Avalon Ave, Albany, Or 97322. But for now our mailing address is still Texas. Our new phone numbers are Bryant 541-979-2360 and myself 541-979-2361. We should be in our house by the beginning of next month. I took this picture of our house this morning so you can see it is almost finished. Exciting! 

Tulips, Tulips, and more Tulips

 

Tulip Festival

On Friday, April 14th Bryant took we to Woodburn, Oregon to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Company Tulip Festival. It was so beautiful!! It was raining but we enjoyed walking through the tulip fields anyway. I little water is something you get used to living in Oregon. Okay, a lot of water. For anyone who didn't already know, I love tulips! 

Candi, Jayden and Taylor

I spent two weeks down in California, taking care of Taylor and Jayden. We had a good time together. It is so fun to play with the kids. Their laughter is wonderful!! We shared meals, bedtimes, movies and Disneyland together. Jayden loved showing me his favorite ride, Buzz Lightyear. Taylor thinks she is a princess and loves her second home (Disneyland). 

Sweet Moment

I love when they are sweet to each other. It is so refreshing to see children care about each other and these two really do love each other. Our grandkids are the best!! 

Silly Grandkids

They love to be silly, what a joy. There is nothing better than children's laughter!!! 

Jayden Bryant Gene

Jayden is learning to pose for the camera, but only when he has time for pictures. He likes to stay busy. All boy!!! But the most handsome one around!!! 

Taylor Nikole

Taylor loves to pose for the camera. And of course Grandma loves to take pictures. She is the cutest little girl!!! 

As another beautiful day come to an end.

We really enjoyed our day at the coast. As the day of walking and enjoying the coastline came to an end I was able to try to capture the moment with a picture. We had a wonderful relaxing day at the coast, strolling along the beach together. Now we are off to see Leslie play in her last game of the regular season. Glad there are playoffs yet to enjoy. 

Oregon Coast

While driving south on the 101 going from Newport to Waldport, which is where Leslie's game was that night we stopped to enjoy the coast line. We went for a few walks along the beach in different areas of the coast and of course take a few pictures. This one was one of my favorites showing the beautiful pacific ocean coastline. God sure has created so many masterpieced for us to enjoy. I am very blessed to be able to stop and take the time to enjoy them with my husband. 

Newport Bridge

We drove over to Newport, Oregon which is about an hour's drive from Albany. We spent the day shopping along the waterfront and walking along the shoreline. Leslie, our niece had a basketball game at the coast so we made a day out of it and enjoyed the coast beforing going to her game. The day was wonderful, the sun was shining and the sky was blue. This is the bridge in Newport where the water goes into the bay under highway 101. I thought this was a great view of the the bridge. 

Santiam River Oregon

We went for a drive last week along highway 20 alongside the South Santiam River. We really enjoyed the drive, it was a beautiful view all the way. We stopped a few times to get out and walk around enjoying the river. It was raining (it is Oregon afterall) so we were the only ones around. We found several good spots for Tyler to go fishing, but what do we know about fishing. Tyler will have to let us know if the fishing is as good as the scenery. 

We spent Christmas morning at Candi and Dustin's. We enjoyed watching the grandkids opening their gifts and all their excitement of Christmas morning. Thank you Candi and Dustin for a wonderful morning and a great Christmas breakfast.