Some lovely and some funny

Silly times with a sweet boy

What is it about boys, especially, that makes them want to be silly in pictures? I rarely get a picture of the grandsons that they aren't doing something goofy. Garrett has learned from his big brother the fine art of sticking his tongue out for the camera.

He still has his sweet and smiley moments too.

A lunch treat and some play time

I need to have more patience with my cell phone camera. I don't give it long enough to focus between snapping pictures. Somehow I think that it's not my fault but the iPhone's. The kids and their mom look pretty cute regardless if they are in focus or not.

Garden statuary is getting gruesome 

I thought of Kieth Domina's garden gnomes when I saw this bear at Freddy's :) I think this guy would fit in their back yard quite nicely near the deck as a reminded not to track stuff into the house.

Some of Freddy's flowers

My mom planted dahlias every year at our Calumet house. In winter climates the tubers need to be dug up every fall. Here they can winter in the ground and need to be dug up to be divided periodically. These ones at Fred Meyer aren't meant to grow for multiple years. They are only for this summer. They would make a lovely addition to my flower beds though!  I love the peach one that looks like a water lily.

Courtney's first Partylite Party

A co-worker booked a candle party for Courtney to start her business. If she decides that she doesn't want to sell them for long she still has an amazing start on her home decor for their place when Charlie gets done with his training.

Another chuckle at Fred's

For those people who need a list to accomplish things.

I love those things that "may not apply to all"!

Comb Hair? It still does apply to a degree. Right, Har?

Breakfast? Yes please

Where has this week gone?

My week has flown by with not a whole lot to show for it. I did get to the pool three times and that is an accomplishment.  I ran a taxi service for Cameron for the last half of the week as he's attending a conference at the Oregon Convention Center and I got to hang out with some of my favorite people.

I guess I did do quite a bit.

Breakfast delivery

It was a  really rainy morning when I was frying up breakfast for my guys. I thought I'd check to see if Har had taken the time to get himself something to eat yet. He hadn't so I hopped in the van and delivered a yummy egg sandwich and a piece of toast with lingonberry jam on it.

You know it is really raining when Harlan comes out of the building wearing the back up jacket and ball cap that he keeps for just such occasions. 

 Skype and FaceTime 

I spent some of my favorite moments  being entertained by the antics of all 9 of our grandchildren. Henry and Anabelle showed off their gymnastics abilities. Rowan, Katie and Evie let me explore their fort made out of couch cushions and bedding. And Garrett kept me busy showing me what everyone in his house was up to. 

In this world of technological everything, I'm very happy to have this capability to connect with the kids. It really is a small world after all.

 Solo sleepover

When you're the youngest of a bunch it's nice to get some one on one time with Grampa and Gramma. Garrett got to experience that for the first time ever. He was here for two nights without his siblings. By the second night he was getting a little homesick but he rather enjoyed the breakfast in bed and the pampering he got. We're looking forward to doing that with each of the other kids in the weeks to come.

Priceless picture

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. 

This one has a couple of ads and comics thrown in. 

A girl and her dog and the Sunday paper :)

True love lasts

Fifty-eight years ago, on June 25th, 1955, my mom and dad got married. They had an outdoor wedding in her grandparents' apple orchard. Mom was seventeen and dad nineteen when they wed. I've only heard bits and pieces of their story. So it's easy to romanticize their young love story.

It has been said that life "began in a garden"

For mom and dad their life together began in that apple orchard. 

As with any journey, you don't know the end from the beginning and their story has many ups and downs and twists and turns. But as a child growing up in their home, I had no doubt that I was loved and even all these years later, I have absolutely no doubt that they loved each other. 

They may not have walked the same path in their later years but their love story was written in pretty indelible ink. I'm grateful for the life lessons they taught us kids. 

Dad was gone from us way too soon but mom is continuing to set an example to her kids and grandkids of someone who is hard working and is always there to lend a helping hand.

Thanks Mom for taking that big step.

I  hope you have sweet memories today.

A peak at our Grands

Fun out east

It's been awhile since I've posted a picture of our grandkids on the east coast.  Evie was watching from the porch as Rowan and Katie rode their push bikes. I'm happy to see they're using their helmets! 

Big brother sharing his game with the girls. 

We can hardly believe that we are going to be seeing these three in person in a little over 3 weeks!

Fun on the west coast too

Miss Anabelle loves coloring. She's pretty good at it too. I was just shopping for her birthday present the other day. I wish I could send a huge drawing pad for her to color on! But it would be a little hard to mail something that big.

Freshening up my do

My hair is short and sassy again. The longer it got the more sad I looked. The new cut is going to be great for warmer weather and easy to deal with after I get out of the pool.

It's that time again!

Do you have your new flag shirt yet? I only bought four this year. They're for Wyatt, Genevieve, Danika and Garrett. I guess Harlan and the other kids are going to have to wear expired ones. 

They do expire right?

Dropping in at Oaks Park

It doesn't look the same

The archway into Oaks Park has been taken down. I don't know if it's down for renovation of if it's going to be gone permanently but It doesn't look the same without it.

Meeting up some friends

Cameron was meeting some friends from school today down at Oaks Park. After I dropped him off I called Har and asked if he wanted to bike down there when he got off of work. He did!

I walked around taking pictures of flowers and stuff and when Harlan showed up, we saw a familiar face in the passenger seat of a van going by.

Some of Har's nieces showed up

The person in the passenger seat of that van was Harlan's niece, Kristen, from Texas! She and her kids joined her sisters and their families for their annual trek to Oaks Park. As Har posed for a picture with Bethany, Kristen and Wendy, Bethany's husband, Brian was taking pictures too. It was so nice to see all of them! We got to visit further when we came back to pick Cam up.

 We are related to every one of the people on this train. One niece and many grand-nieces and grand-nephews.

Cam was on this Scrambler ride with a couple buddies and just behind him were three of our grand-nephews, one of which is waving at my camera. Hi Braden!

More family times

 Our grand-nephew, Sebastian, spent a few nights at our place hanging out with the boys. We brought him home this morning.

We got to see his little brother, Cooper and their dog, Champ. 

Cooper is a little younger than Garrett but just as busy.  

We also got to see our nephew, Quentin and he, Har and Hayden stood around and chatted with their hands in their pockets as guys are prone to do. 

Especially Hilman guys :)

I'm happy that we got to see all of these family members this week. I also got to FaceTime with Joylynn and her kids this morning and Skype with Cherise and hers this afternoon.

I love being part of a big family!