Rockin' Reunion

What is a family reunion without someone writing about it and telling their view of the event. As if one person summarizing the event is actually the story. It can't be. I teach that to my fifth graders every year. Primary documents are only as good as the vision. A picture can only tell part of the story. A newspaper writes the facts, or does it? A post on a blog... have I enticed you to comment and add your take on the whole family get-together. Wait, there is more. I had my head behind a camera for a good portion of the 3 days spent in some pretty high temperatures. I love taking pictures, I love not talking to anyone, I love not being in any pictures, I love nature? You decide which one is right. Or, maybe you have your own idea for me. Either way, the food was good. Thanks for the spagetti and pancakes, cobblers and eggs. My favorite day was golfing with the boys. I really like to see Charlie so happy with his cousins. He just loves being with them. So, thanks for making that possible for him. The rock painting was great, Marne's foot zoning was a definite 'high', and I had a blast riding bikes around the lake with Kyler and Charlie. The sunset from there was breathtaking. But did I have a camera? No. D.J. would have taken his, was all I could think. I was just excited to go and do something with somebody. I traded the camera for a bike. Go figure. I also really appreciate the fact that getting the family together is important enough for my brothers and sisters to want to come long distances to be with each other. I can honestly say that renting the motor home and watching all of you put up camp, then take down camp was nice. When you were fineally ready to go, we pushed a button to bring the bump-out back in, tied the bikes to the back, folded up our camp chairs and waved goodbye. No really, I had a great time. Mom and Dad, thanks. I will put the pictures into some kind of slide show and send them out in the near future. In the meantime, look at the slides and see if you can guess whose t-shirt belongs to who? Love you guys.

The Grasshopper!

He was small and cute, friendly and... can you really say a grasshopper is friendly? Tami chose his first name and Charlie decided on the middle name. Manchester? It just sounded right. I was just grateful the weeds were being pulled with happy hearts. The hopper didn't stay long. Tami decided to set it free an hour later, the cat decided to watch, Charlie decided to cry and the cat spat at it with her paw. I had a hard time convincing Charlie that the cat did not crush Philip Will Smith Manchester! He jumped into the cracks of the deck ... The whole affair was more than mom could take! It was a grasshopper, I think, for crying out loud. Now if it was a 'Cricket'.... well, that is a whole other story, place and person! (You have to know my neice's name to get that one :D )

Summer Party All the Time!

It has been a summer full of events. Jay and I purchased 4 wheelers to enjoy and that is just what we have done! When you have a family as big as mine, there is a never ending party [it seems] for birthdays and baptisms, temple dates and farewells, anniversaries and the out of towners. The latest party for Sophia, Justin's little 1 year old, was a swim party! It is always a good idea to take the party out of doors for our size. Check out the pictures and if you want any for your own use, just click on the slide show and it will take you to my web album where you can download the ones you want!

Fireworks from the Coast!

What better place to visit than a spectacular warzone for the fourth of July. This year the beach called us home. And she didn't let us down. July 4th was just as we remembered. Only this time, we put ourselves right down in the thick of it and built ourselves a bonfire. Every year, Long Beach, WA puts on a display of fireworks that draws its biggest crowd of the year. Even better, the beach is filled with spectators waiting for the big show by putting on their own show. All around us the fireworks were sent into the air and there we sat, stupid as ever, right down in the middle of it all. Charlie was amused. I kept wondering when I was going to get a firework shot in the back of my head, and Tommy (Jay's nephew) and Zach kept us entertained with our little (NOT!) batch of noise and light makers.

The pictures tell the rest of our vacation. We pulled the four wheelers with us because we wanted to make sure we only got 10 MPG (Yikes!) with gas prices shooting higher than the fireworks! Riding four wheelers in the rain was quite the experience. I gave up after one ride. The boys held out for another hour than we all packed it up and thought, "At least we got an ice cream from the Tillamook Factory out of it."

It was great to see our old stomping grounds. North Head Lighthouse, bumper cars and Jake the Alligator man. For those of you who visited us when we held fort on the beach, you may remember. Zach had to take a picture of the one plank in the tree that survived the enwowners renovations on our old property. The tree use to be a fort that Curt and he put long rainy and cold hours into building.

Lots of memories! And Charlie loved seeing what we were doing while he was waiting around for his turn on earth!