IT's A BOY!!!!

What a gorgeous baby,can't wait to meet him!

LOVE YOU BOTH!

CONGRATULATIONS, OWEN AND SHEENA!

We are so happy for you. =)

SUNRIVER GIG

The calendar is relentless! We'll soon all be headed south. I've been doing some thinking about our fun week together, and trying to make sure we don't spend all our week in the kitchen! I have dreamed up the following proposal!

Each family bring their "must haves" for breakfast. We'll all contribute to a meal fund and buy beverages, bacon, eggs, hash browns and fruit when we get there, as well as items for lunch. I suggest lunch and breakfast on your own most days, as we all operate on different schedules. And.....CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELF.

Once we've established something of a schedule, we might decide to have large breakfasts together and earlier dinners for just two meals a day and snacks??? I have a big stack of paper plates I'll contribute for lunches, and lots of plastic utensils from the family reunion 10 years ago :)...also tons of Costco napkins.

I might suggest that if we want to go out to eat, it might be good to do that for lunch on "expedition" days.

As to dinner... Bring what you can from home to reduce shopping. Each provide the "stuff" for your particular meal.

I propose the following schedule:

Sunday: Jackie - Tacos??? We'll be arriving in the afternoon. Simple to prepare and we can all help chop and grate.

Monday: Darla - Teriyaki steak, etc

Tuesday: Dave - Chuck Wagon Night

Wednesday: Jackie - Italian

Thursday: Darla - American Something or Other!

Friday: Community Effort/Decision

It should be noted that I'm open to suggestions. I just have more time to think about this than the rest of you. It's coming up fast!

P.S. Bill always gets a ticket in Oregon! Drive the speed limit and be safe! Don't forget your toys and games!

School's Out for Summer!

Kenzie celebrates her last day of school at Karshner Elementary!
She's Jr. High bound in September.

Kenzie receives President's Award for Educational Achievement!

Congratulations Kenzie - You have made fantastic progress in your studies! We are all very proud of you.

A Croaker of a Day

Grandpa says thanks to all for a very nice Fathers' Day!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to you Dad.

AWARD WINNING PIANIST!

Great job Kenzie! You have talent and brains....Way to Go! It was fun hearing you and the other kids do such a nice recital. I hope you will continue working and practicing this summer, because I believe you will begin to make great strides, and will soon be able to read and play other music of your own choice. That's when the piano becomes really enjoyable. Besides...it will help you keep from being bored!

Maybe someday soon you and Kevin can play some duets for the family. We'd really like that.

Love you....Gram and Gramps

The Birthday Boy

Look! He's 49 and stickin' to it! It's probably worth it. Look at the loot.

It was fun to have Elika here, and we discovered new food. Eggplant sandwiches! Just think what the rest of you missed.

We didn't get to use the new patio...too cold! Hopefully, we'll get the finishing touches on it later this week.

Gram

The Alaska Tour

We have finally recovered enough from the trip to begin to reflect and process all the wonderful things we got to see and do. Though we missed some of the things at the outset...the Coastal Starlight ride and a couple of touring events, the tour company got us to San Francisco, albeit, about three hours late. That meant we only had time for dinner and a long sleep. On Sunday morning we did some walking at Fishermans' Wharf, but didn't get to see much of the city other than our bus ride arrival.

Boarding the ship was challenging. Homeland Security had issued a special code that day, and every foreign passport had to be check, and the people interviewed. Since the passengers were about 80% foreign, you can imagine that took some time. I think we were in line about 2 1/2 hours. We had just enough time to walk around the ship a little and get dressed for dinner. It was nostalgic for Dad to sail under the Golden Gate Bridge, as he did that as a young naval recruit.

As for weather, we had some of everything...clouds, rain, fog, cold and warm temps. The amazing thing is that we had really good weather where we really needed it. It was chilly in Juneau at the Mendenhall Glacier, but it didn't rain. Skagway and Sitka were absolutely gorgeous sunny days, and those towns were the hightlights of the trip.

Dad got a cold about four days from home, so of course, I couldn't be left out and got it after we got home. I think we're both fully recovered not, and ready to go!

Here are just a couple of pictures. We'll share the rest later.