July 5 - A day to play

In all the years we've lived here, we've never been to Camano Island. It's often been in the news lately due to a young punk who delights in stealing from people, even leaving fingerprints, and never being caught. Anyway, after traveling the island today, Kent and I have a greater appreciation for what law enforcement is up against!! LOTS of trees, LOTS of cliffs leading to the sea, LOTS of places to slip away. And it isn't the smallest island, either!! Gorgeous homes, gorgeous views and two state parks that beg to be explored at a later date. One of the parks has waterfront cabins that are just super cozy and the other has places to truly "camp" - in tents or RVs. Prices aren't bad either! The day started out extremely grey and lackluster, but ended up clearing up much nicer than I expected. We are SUPPOSED to be on our way to the first real bit of summer so far this year!! Keeping our fingers crossed! You can join us for a bit of our adventure by clicking on our picture.

Fourth of July in Oregon

Friday afternoon we drove down to Oregon to Todd and Tammy's place for their annual (mostly) teen get-together. This is the first year we've been able to go. They had 14 boys and 5 girls stay the night Friday night. There was laser tag, VOLLEYBALL (a standard!), bonfire, s'mores, swings, basketball, more laser tag, more volleyball, pizza, indoor games (can't spoil it and tell you about these!), homemade treats and fellowship. This morning there were homemade cinnamon rolls, more volleyball (notice a trend?!), baseball and a potluck around noon for even MORE people. A few more teens were added, some much younger kids and many adults, too. So much fun was had by all! There were GREAT group outdoor games, races of varying types, water balloon tosses, all sorts of fun! Tonight they were going to have a sing and be all together for Meeting tomorrow. We have Union Meeting, though, so we came home this afternoon. Tiana is actually spending the next just-over-a-week in central Oregon with Jon and Tracie. I'm sure she'll have a ton of great tales to tell when she gets home -- but probably after she first gets some sleep!! There are some pictures to be seen on our web album.

Have a very happy and safe 4th of July!! Happy 234th Independence Day, America!

WHAT?! REALLY?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!

So, the other day I was looking high and low for my bluetooth device to use with my cellphone in the car. I have a hands-free set that plugs into my phone, but in some ways it is a bigger pain than it's worth. Besides that, Kent had told me that he picked it up off the ground outside the passenger door of the van that day and put it on the recycle bin since I'd apparently caught it when I got out of the van and dropped it. Well, so, I kind of keep looking for the bluetooth, but don't find it. Today, as I'm leaving work I realize it would be good to charge my phone, so I figure, "Fine, I'll plug it in while I'm in meeting and all will be good later." Um...the charger is missing. So, now I'm thinking that maybe Kent or Tiana, for some odd reason, has removed all of this stuff from the car. Oddly, the other night we went in Kent's truck and he got into his center console to get his sunglasses and realizes that all 3 or 4 pair that were in there are missing. So, comparing notes on the way to and from meeting (we were in separate cars), we realize that we've been burgled! Apparently we hadn't gotten the vehicles locked and so some kids got into the car, took our car charger for the van (but not the truck), both bluetooths, a bunch of cheap sunglasses (emphasis on the cheap!), a Brookstone multi-tool/knife thingy, and a library book! Other than the library book we're looking at less than $10 worth of stuff! And why the library book? It was a "teen" book at that -- not even a "best seller", although it has been made into a fairly popular movie! Crazy!! Anyway, we'll be more careful about locking up. It'd been a crazy day and so well... But the stuff they chose to take is just silly! Not a bit of it is worth anything and they left some CDs and a CD player! Must be dumb kids is all I can think!

THIS makes me smile!

I can only say to this woman -- YOU GO GIRL!


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/24/garden/24cottage.html?no_interstitial

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!

Kent and Tiana on the lanai of our hotel in Vancouver, B.C. overlooking the river.
Happy Father's Day! to all the dads!

To see all of the photos from our time, click on the photo of Kent and Tiana!

Weekend away

For the first time in a long time we've found ourselves in the land of maple!  Kent loves Cockney King's Fish and Chips, so here we are for Father's Day!  Today we also shopped in an area we've never been to before.  It was most interesting and at one point more than a little creepy!  I'd had Kent pull over so that I could really study the map and not have to make decisions on the fly.  Well, I look up from the map when I was done and there was an old man (over 60 for sure!) in his shorts, just staring at me and then he lifted his one short leg a bit to show me more skin.  CREEPY!!!  But yet quite funny because, well, he was old, hadn't aged well, and I could've taken him with my pinky finger!  Nonetheless -- GROSS!!  Otherwise, the weather and the day has been GREAT!  The fish and chips were great, the ketchup chips are oh so delicious and Mom will be very happy to get her Red River cereal.

Check out some of what we've seen here: Photos

Oh HAPPY, SUNNY day!!!

Ahhh....what a way to start the day! It's sunny and warm and blue-skied for the first time in a LONG time and I got to enjoy it as I jogged the Waterfront Festival 5K!!! It actually got quite hot when the sun was on my face. I met a most beautiful young golden/lab Canine Companions for Independence puppy who is down to the last 2 months with his "first" family. He ran the whole 3.1 miles and seemed more than rarin' to go even further! Seeing him and talking to his "mom" planted some senior-project-options in my mind. Never know where it might lead! What are your Saturday plans? This is what I just finished the other day before the big rains:

My Columbine and daisy-things had just completely overgrown the area and the sidewalk, so I dug them up and planted another hydrangea and these little color-spots. It looks so nice, although you can't really see it so much. The little color-spots are still very small, but they are already responding to the sun and the rain we've had! Hopefully we'll be able to keep the cats out!

Oh, and since I've already been very remiss in remembering -- HAPPY BELATED ANNIVERSARY TO MY PARENTS!