Tristan

Family is wonderful!

2012-02-05T10:03:00.000-08:00

So, Russ' Camry had the clutch go bad last week. He got the necessary parts and Jeff and Russ tore into it on Saturday morning (yesterday) at 5:30 AM. At 8:30 they called Jeremy and woke him up. He had gotten home from being in Philadelphia the previous night and didn't get to sleep until 1 am- which felt like 4 am after being on the east coast! However, he came right over and they worked on the car for the rest of the day. Jeff and I had to go to a baptism in Lynnwood (which is another story, but it was amazing) so we were gone for several hours. Kristin had brought lunch over and they stopped briefly to eat a bit of lunch. Christy and Lindsey had also been at the baptism as Lindsey sang (wish we had a recording to send off to you, she did an awesome job!). Arielle and Joseph and Nicole had been here so they could be close to their dad as he had been gone all week, so Christy brought dinner over! She had some wonderful salad and yummy soup that she shared with all of us. The men mostly stayed in the garage and ate as they went. Late last night the car was running with a new clutch and everyone was able to finally go home and clean up and sleep! BIG thank you to Jeremy who stayed all day and provided the brains to this venture! The garage was all cleaned up before everyone left and you would not know that so much had been done there yesterday! Notice all the great smiles. Family is wonderful!!!!

January!

2012-01-17T09:06:00.000-08:00

I always get to start the new year out by being a year older! This year I also began by being a part of the new world of IPad! So many fun things to do!

Nate had a hard time being serious! How many times do we have pictures of boys at this age doing just this same thing?!!!

Being 62 is made much easier and more fun by having such great family and kids so close by!

Sunday night (8 Jan) came home from church and saw this glimpse of Mount Rainier as the sun set. We got ready and left for Chelan!

Leavenworth was all lit up for the holidays still! So very pretty!

The only place we saw snow at Chelan was up the road where we used to take the bikes and also go shooting.

When we got home from Chelan, we saw this gorgeous sunset.

This morning on my way out to feed the birds! We are snowed in. Looks like we will be for several days yet!

You can see the string we put up to keep the deer out.

My snowberry bushes are truly living up to their name!

Just a few minutes ago. It is snowing big fluffy flakes now. The hummingbirds are still coming. I'll try to catch them in action in a bit!

What I can see from my office window. Jeff just went out to tap snow off branches and hopefully keep the branches from breaking! It is pretty!

A small bit of December!

2012-01-17T08:39:00.000-08:00

We went to a pub in La Conner that has the best fish and chips in the WORLD!

If you look closely you'll see some of our Christmas presents for the year!

Lindsey and a guy friend were coming over so the men decided to give fair warning to the young man!

I stole this picture from Rob and Laura. We went to see the Ballard troll. After all these years of living here I finally saw the famous guy!

Sparkly December

2011-12-10T10:46:00.001-08:00

Sunsets are always wonderful.

In the winter I get to see the sunrise when I go out to feed the birds. Frosty mornings make for sparkly sunrises!

Surely when we lived with Father before we came to earth, it was a sparkly and beautiful place!!!

So, with frost on the ground and house and yet the azaleas are full of fall color, is it fall or winter?

Is it possible that we don't live all that far from Narnia?

The spirea are beautiful with brilliant fall color laced with frost!

Before, During and After Thanksgiving

2011-11-27T13:52:00.001-08:00

The day before Thanksgiving we had rivers at and above flood stage. This is the Pilchuk, down past the freeway exit and heading to the back roads to Russ and Kritin's house.

This is the field just to the right of the road. It was so full of water that a bunch of trumpeter swans that had been flying over stopped and spent some time!

Only took one picture of everyone on Thanksgiving. So what they were doing at this particular time was how they were captured. We had a wonderful day!

Kristin and Christy took over dividing everything up afterwards! How nice to be banished from the kitchen. Everyone took a part in doing the work, this was captured!

Lindsey had made some artichoke dip that everyone enjoyed.

Today, when the tripod was obvious by it's lack, I looked up and saw this predator catching it's lunch! He has been more successful and our feeder seems to be more and more empty!

Happy Holidays to all. Such a nice beginning to this wonderful time of year! So easy to feel thankful and grateful for each of you. Those here and those not!

Some November fun!

2011-11-10T10:44:00.001-08:00

Christy turned 38 yesterday! Since Jeremy was out of town we got to celebrate with her and the kids. The two older girls had to babysit most of the afternoon and into the early evening, but came back and ate and we had popcorn and watched a movied with them as well! The candle holder for this birthday was a little unconventional, but delicious!!!

Reubens were the request. Felt almost like old times fixing a birthday dinner!

Jeff has bragging rights! His first mole in several years! We think he may have the right technique, now!

Mount Rainier from the upstairs window.

These two were also taken from the upstairs window. Grossbeaks are usually here in March. This year they have been way confused!

The princess spent a couple of hours with us while Kristin went shopping. We've decided that as long as there are two adults willing to comply with her every wish she is perfectly happy! :)

We were very happy on Tuesday when Lindsey passed her driver's license test and came by to share the great news with us!! We, by the way, have also reached a mile post in life as we have a granddaughter who is 16 and driving!

Memories found

2011-11-05T19:40:00.000-07:00

Deb found these and sent them to me in 2004. I have been cleaning up my picture files and came across them again today. Quite a few memories in here. The first one is a bit of a sad one. Note the date is Feb 1992. Thought Camile might enjoy seeing her dad in a leg brace like she had last month!

These two were taken in August of 1969. My dad wasn't excited that I was taking off to be married where he couldn't be, but loved me and sent me off. I don't look it but I had already had a year of college. Still look very young.

In 1970 Deb graduated from High School and Mom, Dad and Deb came out to Seattle. These two pictures were taken from the top of the Space Needle in 1970. Seattle has changed a bit since then as have we all! (Actually, Deb didn't graduate in 1970- not until 1972- but they did come out here then)

Suzie and Christy up our cherry tree. 1978 Looks like this is not long after Christy cut Suz' hair!

Which is Suz and which is Russ? Many people thought they were twins.

Cute picture of Christy with my Christmas cactus in the back. Christmas 1983

Another Christmas 1983- both Eric and Robert

Two of Suzie Christmas 1983

Russ and Robert Christmas 1983

Spring of 1983. Notice the porch isn't painted yet, but the hanging baskets are up! Priorities...

1984- Robert on Suzanne's back

Christy and Russ Christmas of 1983. Notice the perfectly clean floor!!! :)

Russ jumping off sand at Sturgeon Bay July 1980. I loved going back as often as I could.

Russ asleep on the stair landing about 1977 or 1978 and yes the sleeper had feet.

Stairsteps 1980- sorry Rob you aren't in this one! :)

It has been a year or two since these were taken. I am still so impressed, grateful and proud of my parents for throwing such a great reception for me even though this was a tough wedding for them. Dad had always said he would be the "Best" man at my wedding. Maybe this satisfied them in some small way as well. I look forward to this coming February when my parents can be sealed together and I can be sealed to them!!!

Fall

2011-11-05T11:55:00.000-07:00

Jeff has worked hard and built a shed to protect the wood and chopped and split the wood so we are better prepared for the winter storms that surely will come! The leaves provide a reason for me to go out and mow! :)

As the leaves turn and the weather becomes chillier, it is nice to be safe and warm inside! It always makes me homesick when we are traveling at dusk and the lights go on in homes and I am far away. The color is especially nice this fall and greatly appreciated!!!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-05T11:41:00.000-07:00

From Vampires and pirates, to butterflies, cowgirls, greek goddesses and Award winning soccer gals, it was fun to see all the kids in costume. Hope everyone had a safe and fun night!

Nate had some impressive teeth- hope the dentist doesn't see those! and Joseph has a great hook!

A bit of Price trivia

2011-10-19T21:06:00.000-07:00

This is the label of the cough drop that James Lincoln Price made. I had erroneously thought that these were sold to Smith Brothers in 1898 as that is what my mother said. After doing a minimal amount of searching on the net it appears that the Smith Brothers got their recipe from someone in Poughkeepsie, NY. Also, in 1902 there is a high school year book (http://books.google.com/books?id=YajOAAAAMAAJ&pg=PT3&lpg=PT3&dq=The+JLP+Cough+Drop+Lansing,+Michigan&source=bl&ots=Rt7nrd_vqp&sig=sXNrqQM7Rig1oomzanVrYsqXc6I&hl=en&ei=BqmgTpG7H-iKiALxu8yHAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false)here is the link to that book: in Lansing with an add for the JLP Cough Drop with the same picture of James Lincoln Price on it. So, he didn't sell it before 1902 and he died in 1917. So, my quest to see if the cough drop was sold before he died and to whom continues! Nonetheless, he did have a Confectionery company and did sell cough drops that at least in our family are famous! :) Thanks, Rob for cleaning up that image!

Here is a picture of the Price home in Denver . I am guessing that the picture on the easel is of William Price who was James Lincoln's father. James Lincoln is father to my grandfather Donald Arthur Price. William Price died in 1890 in Lansing, Michigan. He was married to Minerva Hickman who moved out to Denver in 1892 with her daughter Catherine Elnora and her new husband Claud R. Miller. James Lincoln also went there as he is found in the 1900 census and both Grandpa Donald and Aunt Isadora were born in Denver. In 1909 Catherine Elnora and family (now had four daughters) moved to Portland, Oregon and Minerva moved with them.

With the above information the above picture of "the Price home before 1105 Alameda Ave, Denver" was either Minerva's in Denver or James Lincoln and Minnie Pearl Price's. In any case it has piqued my curiosity to know why there would be an easel in the corner with the picture unless it was the home of Minerva and it was her deceased husband's picture. The picture does look something like James Lincoln, but I think maybe the face is a little longer than his. Oh well, genealogy does seem to be a very real "who done it" mostly with no murders!

22 October 2011

Happy Birthday to my Mom! Well, after a bit of study I have come to the conclusion that this picture was taken perhaps during a memorial service or wake for William Price in Lansing, Michigan. The focus of the picture is the photo of William. To the right of his picture is something rather odd. It appears to me to maybe be a fish tackle box. That would go with the picture of fish under the portrait. There is a guitar not far from a piano. On the floor to the right of the portrait are a couple of items of interest. It appears that there is a paper on a smaller easel. Can't figure except guess that perhaps it is a story of his life. Leaning up against the supports to the small table is a photo album. I have that very same album that Melody gave me some years ago. The pictures have mostly been taken out of it and it may have been reused over the years, but it is definitely the same album. So, since this photo portrays items that appear to be staged and prominently shows the picture I am guessing that this was for a memorial service or wake for William Price. He was 55 when he died, so this is most likely a picture of him taken some time earlier than that. It looks much like the picture of his son, James Lincoln Price shown on the cough drop label. It would be fun to have a program that could magnify the items in this picture. There are several pictures of people on the bookshelves to the left and the picture hanging from the wall to the right and above the portrait is hard to decipher. Anyway, it wasn't long after William died that his daughter Catherine Elnora married (1 1/2 years later) and moved to Denver, Colorado. Minerva also went to Denver as did James Lincoln and his wife. James Lincoln came back to Michigan, Catherine and family along with Minerva moved to Portland, Oregon in 1909. So....the sleuthing continues!

October Fall Day

2011-10-16T20:38:00.000-07:00

The days are crisp enough that the woodstove keeps the chill off and makes it feel very cozy!

Fall!

My last few roses for the year.

Sunset on a clear day lighting up the cedars in the front!

The flag hasn't come down for the winter, yet.

Gandalph still guards the front door. The globe looks like it is glowing, perhaps something wonderful is about to happen!

The Olympics seem especially clear with the sun setting behind them.

Haven't trimmed the lavendar for the winter, yet, either. But a clear, cool fall day has been very much enjoyed.

Sunflowers and raspberries in September!

2011-09-26T09:40:00.000-07:00

Ok, so we now also feed the pheasant. It has decided this is a good fly through spot. He seems almost more unaware of his surroundings then the mourning doves, so he may be an eagle's dinner some day! He is strikingly pretty, though!

What could be more cheerful then sunflowers and raspberries on a cloudy autumn day?

So, the blue jays are happily eating just feet away and this guy decides to take a nap on one leg over by the fence! Shortly after that he walked over behind the rose bush and stood there. Not thinking that is great camoflage!

Lavendar and birds! Perfect!

Eric's day with Landit and Toby

2011-09-21T11:06:00.000-07:00

Eric and Toby took a car trip to Dead Wood and Scott Mountain a couple of weeks ago. He sent these pictures off to us. Since he doesn't post on a blog I thought it would be fun to post what he did. Toby took the pictures and looks like he had a good camera. It was fun to see what Landit looks like and Eric looks pretty good in these pictures as well.

Mike Heinz and visit to Mount Rainier

2011-09-20T12:48:00.000-07:00

My cousin Mick Heinz was down in Bonney Lake for a visit with friends. We drove down and stole him for the day! Thanks Mick and thanks to your friends for sharing you for the day!
We went to Crystal Mountain first to ride the Gondolas up to the top and eat our picnic lunch. Imagine our surprise when we read the sign that said the daily rides ended on the 17th ( LAST SATURDAY!). From now on until sometime in October they run only on Saturdays and Sundays.

So we went up to Sunrise on Mount Rainier. It was at 6400 feet elevation.

These were some of the surrounding peaks.

It was such a nice bright sunny day and all our pictures made us look backlit, but the mountain was fantastic!

You can see only a few low clouds. Not much to dampen our day!

I love the indian paintbrush!

The few little clouds lifted to give us a fabulous view of Mount Adams! All in all a great day and great visit!

2011-08-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

Sunsets have been very nice lately! While Jeff was at meetings last night I just sat out on the deck and worked on some Old German translations. Had the camera set on a tripod. Enjoyed a comfortably warm evening. A hummingbird came to visit the feeder, but I didn't change the settings and the pictures blurred. The sunset however was great! You can see the flag on the string that Jeff put up to deter the deer.

Two Videos from the Ensign Ranch

2011-08-17T13:22:00.000-07:00

One page of pictures I meant to post but missed!

2011-08-17T13:04:00.000-07:00

Joseph had lots of enthusiasm! Always happy and turning 7 very soon!

I think this picture would be a great add for how fun doughnuts are somehow! ??

Well, we almost burned the place down and for CHILI??? How weird! Just in case anyone is interested we have a ton of spaghetti at our place! :)
The princess in her throne!

The field was a favorite spot!

No words needed!

We had a devotional each night and they were wonderful! Thanks Jeff and Robert!

Wish I had a shot of the horse nibbling a towel off the fence! Horse knew exactly what it was doing! Good trick for a show!

Fun at Ensign Ranch

2011-08-17T12:00:00.001-07:00

What you can't see is the wind or the heat or all of the kind things that everyone did for everyone else! We certainly appreciate you all taking the time and cost to come and be with us for a few days! For us it felt a bit like what heaven will be like! Thanks to you all!!!
Russ and Kristin brought a soccer ball that was well used and greatly appreciated!

We scouted the place out on the first day. Nicole spotted a ground nest of hornets! The next day the kindly missionary men took care of that!

I think Jeff looks pretty limber, huh ?? Good job Camille!
The water slides were a great hit. We were glad we were there before the weekend crowd got there!

Rebecca liked to go through the sprinklers with Grandpa!

Rebecca thought it would be fun to be like the big kids and go on the slide, but then thought better of it!

Nate and Joseph were usually together somewhere.

The tubes were surprisingly durable! I have a great video of this event as well!
One day the slides were making us all nervous with an accident that happened, so we took off to see how the rope swing at the swimming beach would work.

Cousins had fun!
Rob and Laura brought their mitts and a ball. That also added immensely to our group activities! Lots of athletic folk!

Jeff always had a smile and lots of energy to keep things going!

The tents added a little privacy, but had to be cold and very noisy so close to the freeway. Thanks for being good sports! Lindsey was so good with all the kids. Here she is taking good care of Joseph. Must admit the soccer between these two was "interesting"! Lots of fun!
Having no one her age, Lindsey was a great sport! We're sure glad she was part of our group!

Everyone liked being close to Rob and Laura!
Thanks again to all of you! So glad we traveled safely and had such a wonderful few days!

A Special Day

2011-07-31T17:57:00.000-07:00

Today Russell was ordained and set apart to be a second counselor in the Bishopric in his ward. It is not something that Russ and Kristin even wanted pictures taken for. They are sure that there could have been many others in their ward to have been given this responsibility and it is just his sterwardship for a time. All that is true enough. But he was chosen and it was a great day for his Dad and Grandfather to be able to take part. Russ is humble and good and doesn't try to draw undue attention to himself. How grateful we are for family and today, especially for Russell!
Grandpa and Judy had just driven back from Nyssa yesterday after a week of moving Aunt Florence out of her home and getting it ready to sell. Judy packed all of Aunties things and then they drove home. It had to have been a big push for Grandpa to drive all the way up to Stanwood this morning, yet we were all so grateful to see him there! He got there just as the Sacrament meeting was coming to a close and Russ was bearing his testimony. It was great timing!

Nicole is definitely her mother's daughter. She stood next to Grandpa and told me to take a picture! Joseph immediately followed suit! Christy's older girls were back in their ward fulfilling their responsibilities.

To this convert of "some" years ago it is a very gratifying thing to have a husband as a bishop, a son as a counselor and a son-in-law as a counselor as well! My love of my savior and of his restored Gospel has given me many sweet blessings and this day is numbered among them! No matter where my children and grandchildren serve it matters not, but that they do serve and love the Lord matters immensely! I love that they also Love the Lord and show that by their service and activity in His Church!

Robert is 29! Not until Friday, though!

2011-07-14T18:58:00.000-07:00

One of Jeff's Sunshine in the face pictures!
The fingers were often in the hair!
Blessing Day.

1st Birthday!
He came as a happy spirit.
One of our visits to Auntie's when Jeff's folks were there!
Nice to have a couple of pictures with Grandma Brown in them.
Suz and Rob. Suzie's Strawberry Shortcake sheets!
Mist and Robert. Kind of eery. The dug up and not developed yard for our last house!
Caramel Apples on the fence!
Must grow artichokes again!

Suz took this picture and said it was the face to make Grandma Heinz laugh! (1987)
Robert on the watermelon! The boys, Lee Ann and me.
The old house in process. "Once upon a time"
The famous Board Walk!
If we weren't visiting Mom, she was visiting us!

Not far to Mom's house from here!

Who is tallest?

Crescent Bar. Lots of fun times there.
Mexico!

So much more has happened, but this gives you a good start! There was also, Hong Kong, a mission to L.A., a trip to Europe, a marriage in the Portland temple, another trip to Europe, a graduation from BYU-I, a graduation from GW in Washington, D.C. and now a professor back at BYU-I. I know I've left out lots! Lots more to come and hopefully it will balance heavily on the happy side!

Flowers and Fireworks

2011-07-05T19:07:00.000-07:00

Red roses and peonies

Roses and mock orange

Peonies and mock orange
Happy July!!!

At the River on the 4th

2011-07-05T18:58:00.001-07:00

Alice Eve Marshall blessing

2011-07-05T18:47:00.000-07:00

We were delighted to be invited down to the blessing for little Alice Eve Marshall. Big brother Caleb seemed happy to have family there!
Happy grandparents.
Kelly and Scott and Samantha come up often and were there for the blessing as well.

More June Birds and Blooms

2011-06-29T21:19:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Jeff!

2011-06-23T05:28:00.000-07:00

It all started 64 years ago!
Always a happy disposition!
Sports and being outside always part of his life!

Our wedding reception in Seattle before we were married.
40th Birthday party paid for and planned by the Mays Pond group!
Here we are now, still smiling!

Slightly out of order, but the missionary at Rosset Green in England.

Birds Mostly

2011-06-20T11:56:00.000-07:00

A friendly game of Mexican Train while Jeremy got a well deserved nap!
You can see that the Hummingbird is sitting on Nicole's finger and eating. She is more patient and they are really hungry!

Lots of color at the feeder with the Blackheaded Grossbeak and the Jay

To the Zoo we Go

2011-06-08T11:16:00.001-07:00

We went to the zoo last Friday. Started at the penguin exhibit.

Here Rebecca is looking. Below she is not.
We had crunchy cheetos for lunch. It did require some hand washing!

Joseph was the artful dodger, but I caught him in this picture. He ran away whenever he saw me coming with the camera.

Rebecca had lots of attention and loved all of it!

Seems we spent very little time looking at animals and lots of time in play areas. There were stupendous amounts of people everywhere!
It was well beyond nap time before we left the zoo. Lindsey carried the princess for quite a ways!

Didn't take long once we got in the car for nap time! Very fun day!

Zoo Trip

2011-06-08T10:45:00.000-07:00

Nicole To the Rescue!

2011-06-02T11:58:00.000-07:00

A Male Black Headed Grossbeak hit our back window and really rang his bell. Nicole was here for a piano lesson and ran out back to rescue the bird. He responded nicely to her care. She walked around the back yard with it. She went out back by the bird feeder and let it loose. It jumped onto her shoulder before flying up into the tree and then off. The animals seem to sense that she will do them no harm.

Lilacs

2011-05-21T09:12:00.001-07:00

Lilacs are a little late this year, this is my first bouquet of the season. They smell so wonderful and bring back memories of springs of many years!

Northern Michigan in winter

2011-03-01T19:21:00.000-08:00

We got to Michigan on Sunday night. Monday we went up to Mackinaw City. I love the bridge!
The bay between Harbor Springs and Petoskey is frozen over. This is just of the bay between Harbor and Harbor Point. I'd never seen ice sail boats before. The ice was smooth because a recent thaw had melted the snow on top. Made for a very big ice rink!
When I was a kid the docks would get taken up in the winter so they wouldn't get smashed up by the ice. Now they have "bubblers" to keep the water from freezing near the docks.
We drove out along Wequetonsing and saw this ridge of ice that forms between Weque and Harbor Point- the line where the protection of the bay ends.
We went to Sturgeon Bay. The sand dunes still look wonderful!
More sand dunes. No- we didn't climb them this time!
We went to this beach so many times. We have old videos of the older kids jumping off the hills of sand along here.
Jeff is out on the water. It was about 28 degrees, but with the bitter wind, it must have been in the single digits.
Just so you don't think that all the drama comes from my side of the family!!!
If you look really closely you can see land across the way. Waugashanks Point is where Don and Dad used to fish. Long way to go for a small amount of time!
No I really wasn't warm at all. We really didn't stay very long. But had to see it.
The grass at Sturgeon Bay brings back so many memories. Looks like this might be the time to miss the poison ivy!
On the way out we saw this Eagle standing guard.
This is the Redpath Presbyterian church in Cross Village where Aunt Isadora and Uncle Frank were married. They were the first couple married there in 1925.
These windows aren't the typical stained glass.
Don takes his dog Rasheed for a walk at least once a day.
My cousin Mick Heinz and wife Maddy!
A bit of interesting news. The old Presbyterian Church that I grew up going to, was bought by a private person who built a home that allegedly was worth 3 million dollars. This front is all that is left of it after a fire destroyed it this last year.
The building at the public beach.
Same building but less light and more water.
We left Don's on Monday morning. It was snowing lightly.
The view of the bay from the Petoskey side.

Scattagory!

2011-02-12T19:46:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, the feeders are filled with birds. This time it is Grossbeaks.
Sometimes the hawk comes for a quick snack. Most of the times he goes away hungry, but sometimes he finds lunch!
A bald Eagle has come by hoping to find something. I figure he might like rabbits more than chickadees!
Sometimes the sunsets are just too spectacular not to try to capture!
Just found this picture that Mom had written on the back 1951, Kathy and Les Heinz.
I'm thinking that the two older kids were in school and Mom took me to meet Dad for a picnic lunch. It's not our yard- that is serious grass. Jeff liked the car a lot (as did Robert who photoshopped it to take away a strange spot - thanks!) If you enlarge the picture you can see a serious cowlick on the back of my head!

2010 Christmas Eve

2010-12-25T12:02:00.001-08:00

Gifts were opened starting with the youngest- much to Lindsey's chagrin! Stuffed animals are a big hit with this age! She even got onto the idea of opening gifts!

The boys got matching gifts and they hauled them around all night- up and down the stairs- and didn't play with them for fear of mixing or losing parts. Poor boys!
Rebecca took a liking to Eric. Nicole made her hat!
Nicole got stuffed animals that move. Guess the stuffed animal thing lasts for a bit!
Arielle got a swiss army knife.

Lindsey is going to have to go shopping for her gift! Good luck Lindsey!

Jeremy got a new shirt and pants- not tight black jeans this time! :)
One time that Camille wasn't right with Nicole.
One of the games that Eric got for the kids last year is still a big hit. Notice the boys have their boxes inseparably close.
Near the end of the night.
My little village is set up a little like Harbor Springs. However, the Catholic (white) church and big tree should be on the left of the city and the brown brick church (Methodist) should be on the right. Will fix that next year!
Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday Russell!

2010-12-03T09:14:00.001-08:00

My favorite picture!
This has been on the wall and so has deteriorated. Still a cute baby!
I'm not sure if they were at the zoo or if Russ had a problem!
Cute snowman
Pretty fierce halloween outfit!
Mom's stone fireplace and memories of being in Michigan!
Chicken pox weren't very nice to Russell.
Notice that Eric was there trying to help blow out the candles!
What a great big brother he has always been!
Sunday dress
Russell has always been pretty careful not to get dirty!
what a long time ago

Not sure if he is a serious fisherman or just a bored fisherman.
Angel was never very far away when the kids were outside.
My hat! My Mom made.
I loved that Russell was in the band.
A cute picture of a not so happy time.
Mom came out to help so many times. Russ was a real trooper to finish the Eagle Award during this crazy time.
At Christy's reception.
I can't remember just what this was, but it was an important opportunity that Russ had in High School.
Flat water, early in the morning, Russ cruising and Mom with her heart in her throat!
Looks like Joseph Smith times.
Senior High graduation.
Well we got him graduated from high school. That was just the beginning of a wonderful life that has had and will yet have many opportunities to be at the top of the heap! We are sure proud of you Russ! Have a great day with many more to come.

Thanksgiving day in the snow!

2010-11-27T17:09:00.000-08:00

Nicole was standing out by the bird feeders patiently waiting for a bird to come and eat out of her hands.
Guess they didn't come and she got tired!
Arielle is taking a liking to bows and arrows.
Looks like pretty good form to me!
Nicole decided the snow was packy enough that it needed to be played with!
I think the flash was too close to Christy, but still a great pic!
It's funny to take a picture out in the snow so that nothing shows up but the colors on the people!
Joseph was pretty persistent in sledding down our road. When he headed into the blackberries he'd have to jump off the moving sled before he got sliced!
It ended up being quite a long run!
Everyone got pretty comfy after dinner.
Lindsey was reading the Da Vinci Code.
Nicole persisted with the snow until she had a chair and foot stool along with two very large balls of snow.

After being out in the snow for quite some time the warmth of the woodstove was greatly appreciated.
Of course, the evening couldn't end without checking on what was going on with Facebook. The kids did very well not having more kids their own age here. All in all it was a very restful and warm and cozy day. We missed our extended family, but enjoyed being with the Andersons. Hope you are all well and happy and we look foward to seeing your pictures as well! :)

Snow! Before Thanksgiving storm

2010-11-23T09:18:00.001-08:00

Last night it snowed and blowed. We had the outside lights on and although this doesn't show how much snow was blowing around it was fun to take.
A cold night where all the streets were icey and the airport was closed.

We decided to bring the snow into our kitchen and make it feel more like Christmas!

I think the lavendar is especially nice.
This morning we still have power. It is 15 degrees outside and not supposed to get above freezing until Thanksgiving afternoon!
You'll be happy to know that the birds have been fed! :)

The rest of the story!

2010-11-20T09:44:00.001-08:00

This was a delightful space in between two art museums. It started out as open air space and then was enclosed. Rob uses it to study and eat lunch at. We met Laura's sister, Emily, here when we ate lunch ourselves.
This was from inside the Smithsonian American Art museum. My two able and willing subjects along with a great pillar outside.
The Smithsonian Castle.
From inside the Metro. If you take and really brighten this picture until Jeff and Robert are white- you can see the cement on the inside of the metro!
It's amazing how it appears that this is coming after you. So, night at the museum might be real!
Picture without the pillar. Sorry. Didn't intend to add this one.
We went to the National Cathedral the night before we came home. Laura took us while Robert went to a class. It took about a 15 minute bus ride each way to get there from Georgetown. I always thought it was right next to the White House.
Our very last day we borrowed Emily's car and went to see the National Cemetery where Laura's aunt is buried. Thus they have a driving pass and we didn't have to walk. Every hour they have a changing of the guard and Robert planned it so we were just in time!
The guards have to be a certain height and weight and it is all very precise.
We saw an Eastern Blue Jay and this Cardinal at the cemetery! The story is that the land for the National Cemetery belonged to General Robert E. Lee and when he left the Union to be with his family his land was confiscated and used as the National Cemetery. They still have his original house there and we toured through that as well.
If you double click on this you should see the funeral procession that we waited forever for it to pass by. The flag draped coffin is carried on a caisson. They had a band and many walking people and many, many, many cars after all that. It must have been a wonderful military tribute to some fallen soldier.
This is one of our last views of Washington DC from the cemetery.
For all the crooked and convoluted roads it seems you can often get a picture of the straight lines of the mall!
The everlasting fire at the grave site of John F. Kennedy.
We got to visit the Jefferson Memorial right before we headed to the airport. Robert and Laura were wonderful host and hostess and tour guides as well! We loved DC and can see how they will miss it when they leave some day!
The Jefferson Memorial is somewhat more open than the Lincoln Memorial and is very peaceful and majestic at the same time.

Blurry proof that the owl does land in our tree in our back yard from time to time! We believe it is a great horned owl from the pointed ears!
Christy turned 37 this year. We had everyone over the night before her birthday to see our pictures of our trip and share some of our stories.
This was about a week after we got home. Jeff took this picture when again we had a combination of low lying fog and clear skies up above! It is good to be home again, but we couldn't have had a better trip to Washington DC!

Iwo Jima and Civil War and...

2010-11-18T16:35:00.000-08:00

This was a great park in the middle of town. What a beautiful city our nation's capitol is!

Robert doesn't live far from the Iwo Jima Memorial and the National Cemetery.

We could see the Washington Monument clearly from the Iwo Jima site.

The Marines have an annual marathon every year and they had it the weekend we went to see Gettysberg.
Gettysberg is about 24 square miles of monuments. Each regiment erected a monument and so you see very many. It surprised me to see so many Confederate monuments.

This was a regiment from New York. I thought of Uncle Fred (who did not fight at Gettysberg,) who did fight in the Civil War and probably had a uniform much like the one on this statue.
This was the Wheat Fields where the field was covered with dead bodies and blood. We were able to use an audio tour that Robert had and we were pretty depressed by the end of the tour. So many lives...
This is a picture from Ford's Theater where Lincoln was shot. They still use the theatre to give performances. Boothe thought that perhaps he could become a hero and see the rise of the South! What a great loss!

White House and...

2010-11-14T09:52:00.001-08:00

WE saw the Lincoln Memorial. They have the Gettysberg Address and his Second Inaugural Address on the walls up there. They are both amazing speeches.
We walked quite a ways along the Potomac. So many people bike, walk and run along there. Also, we saw several rowing teams out on the water.
Jess met us for burgers one night.
Laura didn't show up very well in the last picture, so this wonderful picture.

Another night Amol was able to come as well as Jess. We had a very fun evening getting to know about everyone!
We went to the Museum of American History (wrong name, maybe) before we went to the White House tour as they had lockers there to stache the things we couldn't take into the White House.
This was actually at the end of the tour.
I thought this was pretty funny when the helicopter took off it nearly blew us over!
The gardens at the White House are very pretty.
There were about as many newspeople as tourists!
You can't see this very well, but I had to include it. On our way out of the tour we went by a hawk that had caught a small squirrel. It wasn't going to lose it's bounty just because we walked by!

George Washington Monument and GWU

2010-11-13T10:14:00.000-08:00

Robert arranged for us to have tickets to go up the elevator to the top of the Washington Monument.
The view from the top is pretty amazing! Washington DC is an amazing city!
The White House- which we also had an amazing tour and extra added event!
The closest we got to the Washington DC Temple. A view from the top of the Washington Monument. We didn't have time to squeeze that in with all the other things we saw! It was a great trip.
It was surprising to me to realize how much water is all around this city. The Potomac is huge.
You'll notice the monument has two different colors to it. An interesting story in itself.
There are American flags flying everywhere in town. Very wonderful.
This is the plaza outside GWU where we waited for Robert a couple of times while he grabbed books at school.
This is the place where Robert wrote most of his Master's Thesis. They had free WIFI and he bought a double chocolate each time he went. They know him pretty well and whip it up for him when they see him coming!
The fall color was great! /and you can see that Robert is actually much taller than Jeff!

Botanical Gardens

2010-11-13T09:58:00.001-08:00

Next to pictures of Robert and Jeff I took more pictures of the Botanical Gardens than any other place! Amazing place...amazing flowers.

One of the many orchids
Cat's whiskers

Purple Horn of Plenty- Nightshade family
Golden Trumpet from the Dogbane family of South America
That's how close we were to the capitol building- Great picture, Rob!
Cactus family from Bolivia
Hibiscus
Robert took this picture of some very pretty grasses
Robert was our tour guide and this is just the next installment of our trip!

Capitol tour and Library of Congress

2010-11-11T10:10:00.000-08:00

This is the only tour that Laura got to go with us. She had to work. We were able to meet her for lunch several times! Since we have way more pictures than I am willing to put up in one day and way more than you'll probably want to see :) I have decided to do several every day for a while until I have all that I want to post. We sure had a great trip and can't thank our host and hostess enough! My computer hard drive died the day before we left on our trip and we are just getting it up and running, hence the lag in time since we got back and finally posting!
The Apotheosis of Washington in the Rotunda of the US Capitol building.
The frescoes around the top of the Rotunda were done to tell the story of the history of the United States. They ended with the Wright Brothers and their plane. Anna Maria Leinweber's Father-in-law Stephen Stanley took part in this gold rush time.

We all had headphones so that we could hear only our guide. Nice. We had the best tour guide. He gave us about twice the time the others got!
One of the many fun places we ate at during our DC visit.
I really am taller!
We went to Library of Congress to find "A Century of Music in Poughkeepsie" written by Helen Josephine Andrus. She was daughter to Enos Clark Andrus shown here in a picture from the book. He is my third great grandfather and also a father to Roderic Kinsey Andrus who married Kate Leinweber.
This is the Frontispiece picture which shows an older Enos Andrus. This was painted in 1887 and he died sometime after 1895
Both Jeff and I got cards so that we could go look for this book!
The library of Congress is much more than a library full of books! The architecture here, as elsewhere all over Washington DC, is spectacular!
Taken on the main floor of the Library of Congress.

2010 Craven's Farm

2010-10-24T18:59:00.000-07:00

We stole Nicole and Joseph and met Russ and Kristin and family at Craven's Farm on Saturday the 16th.
Can you tell that Nate adores his baby sister?
This is actually Joseph and Nate.

Look what we found coming out of the corn stalks!!!

Crisp Fall Day in NW

2010-10-16T08:35:00.001-07:00

Fall Leaves

2010-10-05T09:22:00.001-07:00

I could do an add for Miracle Grow. If the deer won't eat them they do great!
After listening to Conference it was time to play!
Everyone helped!

I have a couple of videos that show the kids running and jumping into the pile and also swinging off the swing into the pile of leaves but can't view them on my computer :(

Camille really likes fresh potatoes out of the garden.
Nate had to invent a better way to appreciate food.
Rebecca was happy as long as the food kept coming!

The hawk from my office window

2010-09-28T12:17:00.000-07:00

No snacks today!

Mount Rainier at Sunset

2010-09-27T17:08:00.001-07:00

Mount Rainier

Another Hawk!

September 24 Sunset!!

2010-09-27T17:03:00.001-07:00

Fall and Soccer --another generation!

2010-09-27T16:00:00.001-07:00

Russ is coaching Nate's soccer team! I went last Saturday and it brought back many fond memories.

Cement work

2010-09-27T15:48:00.001-07:00

Jeff is building a cement wall for a staging area to mix the cement he will need to build our road.

This is near the top of the driveway where the road curves.
If you look closely you can see Jeff driving the tractor up the road!

End of the summer and end of the trailer!

2010-09-20T15:27:00.000-07:00

They came to take it away!
They actually left with it!!!
Now it belongs to someone else!!!
Before Laura went home we had lunch with Robert at Jamco.

Seattle Zoo

2010-09-20T15:08:00.001-07:00

We went to the zoo with the two Brown brothers and kids. Christy and Jeremy and family were out of town.
Robert and Laura hid in a nest.
Everyone enjoys the turtle shells.
There is an African village with huts that the kids look very cute in.
Nate was being a super hero!
Russ and his three cute kids!
We got to listen to information about a peregrine falcon who couldn't see anymore so was being cared for at the zoo.
Laura in front of the penguin area.
A great blue heron came to see the penguins.
He does look prehistoric!

2010-09-20T15:00:00.000-07:00

There were a few hot days that were fun to go to the river and play!
Russ brought the two older kids with him and we played!
Jeff bought a bunch of inner tubes and we can float the river better! Very fun!
Of course, we all enjoy going down to the river in the Smurf truck!
Deb and Sal took a cruise to Alaska and we were able to see them at the airport for a short visit.

August 2010- the Arlington Kangaroo Zoo

2010-09-20T14:48:00.001-07:00

We could feed the kangaroos.
They had red ones and grey ones.

They didn't suggest that you get very close to the emus as they tend to bite!

Jeff took us to Red Robin.

July catch-up

2010-09-20T14:36:00.001-07:00

We went to Shaws in Sequim and had a great time as always. They have picnic tables in their garage. It's a great setup.
I'm sure the meat was not healthy to eat so much. We split one and brought the other home and still that was a lot!
Jeff plants sweet peas for me every year and then he picks them often and brings them in for me. They (and Jeff) are wonderful!
Eric came to visit the first week of July. He got to enjoy the fireworks, but I wasn't quite up to par the rest of the week!

2010-06-23T08:52:00.000-07:00

In honor of Father's Day- the male humming bird.
Mock orange and the beginning of summer!! Someone needs to invent a way of transferring smells along with pictures!

Jeff is another year older! Isn't he great?
Rebecca is getting to be a social being. She crawls all over and loves to laugh.
Jeremy is on the east coast, but Christy and kids came.
Lindsay was busy on FB.
The kids made cute cards for Jeff.

Nate and Joseph become inseparable when they are here. Very fun!

May- Birds, blooms and a gorgeous sunset!

2010-05-16T09:44:00.000-07:00

One perfect gardenia!
Five at once and so more to come!
One of the last of my lilacs. They have been great this year and if not for the rain would have lasted quite a bit longer.
The iris are in full force now. This was sitting in a vase in our kitchen and the light was hitting it helping to show off how fancy it is.
We can't seem to identify this hawk, but it has been coming for a couple of years.
Can't imagine why- but he seems to consider this spot one of his favorite fast food spots.
A stellar jay with a peanut in it's beak in flight.
Many evening grosbeaks. They are kamakaze fliers into my windows. Especially when the unknown hawk appears.
We have black headed gross beaks and woodpeckers and squirrels galore. We also have many other birds, but these were just recently outside my windows!
This was an outstanding sunset on the 5th of May. This picture doesn't do it justice, but you get the idea!

Jeremy's 40th Birthday Party

2010-05-02T19:02:00.000-07:00

Dorie Anderson and Jeff before everyone else arrived.
The stage while the band was getting ready before everyone came. Sorry, I didn't get a picture while everyone was there.
The food tables before things were really opened or going.
All of us waiting at the door for Jeremy to come in!
They came in at the next door up!!! Woops! He was still surprised and happy!
All the Anderson family knew about the event except for Jeremy and Joseph for quite some time before the event. Needless to say they all need to repent for the many LIES they told!!

Rebecca wasn't especially fond of all the loud music.
It was fun they all came!

Dad and Judy also came up. It was a special thing to have them there.
Rebecca seemed happy to have Judy hold her. I think I'll get a necklace like that and maybe she'll enjoy coming to me!! :)

Jenn and Randy were there with their kids and it was fun to get a shot of Russ and Jenn.
Drew came from Logan, Utah and he and Dad enjoyed talking about that.
Dorie with Gary's old mother-in-law- Mrs. Canfield.
Pam helped pull the surprise off.
In addition to popcorn in individual containers (caramel popcorn) Jeff also made a caramel popcorn cake. It was a great night.

Hail and spring!

2010-04-28T12:41:00.001-07:00

It hailed so long and so hard last night that this is what we had on the deck by about 10 pm. This happens to be where the roof comes together from several different directions and dumps onto the deck.

This is what remained by about 10 am this morning. It hailed so hard that there is a bunch of the gravelly stuff that came off the shingles on the snow/hail.

It's still spring and the iris don't seem to be bothered by the hail at all.

Spring is finally really here!

2010-04-21T20:59:00.001-07:00

When the lilacs bloom it is really spring! You'll have to imagine the fragrance!
We went to the Langley Temple open house again and this time got pictures by the temple.

Wigs

2010-04-21T20:57:00.000-07:00

No dramatics in our family!!!

Newton Slides

2010-04-21T20:50:00.000-07:00

It was hot and humid sitting on the sidelines and Rebecca stripped down to her onesy. Some day when she is in a beauty pageant we'll have to show her the rolls! Very cute!
We didn't see the four older girls for the duration. The big slides had them captivated.
The two boys were disappointed that they were too short to ride the big slides until they saw this and then they were very happy. The wave pool offered something to everybody!

A few Easter pics

2010-04-21T20:41:00.000-07:00

Grandpa can make Rebecca laugh. She sits all by herself now!
Russ and Kristin and Rebecca on Easter.
Christy and Jeremy.
Camille and Lindsey racing cars on X-Box.

Grandpa's slaves

2010-03-24T11:48:00.000-07:00

We had the Anderson kids for a few days last week. We went to the zoo on Friday and took Nate with us! This at the petting zoo area.

Bug world is a very little exhibit, but one the boys especially like.
We hiked all over the zoo to get to this play area by bug world and the petting zoo. It seems to be a large replica of an ant tunnel that the kids love to play on.

Saturday it was a different story. The kids were in for a day of work! They are coming back from dumping a load of dirt that was dug out from under the house.

The three younger kids shoveled and helped with this project. Joseph shoveled like a trouper and then swept everything up after everyone was done.

What every girl needs to know before she can be entrusted with the John Deere!
Saturday afternoon we went to the local pool and Jeff was the center of action.

The other Arlington

2010-03-03T20:10:00.000-08:00

What a fun thing to be a Grandma! This last little while Camille played several songs in a recital at her teacher's home. I always enjoyed watching my kids perform or participate in different things and it is no less fun as a Grandma! Camille did great. She played several songs_- all by heart. Two she played by herself.
And one she played with her teacher as a duet!
The next day Lindsey played the piano at her ward. She played Come Thou Fount and there weren't many dry eyes in the room! It was wonderful.
Both girls are just as pretty as their songs!
Rhubarb is coming up. Can't believe the season is starting so early this year!
We planted a forsythia a couple of years ago. When it blooms it is time to prune the roses! My mom bought my forsythia at the old house, but it was way too huge to bring.
Our purple azaleas are popping out now. Need to finish the weeding around them so they stand out!
We got this plant for Valentine's day. it is a Pink Dawn Viburnum. They have several at the temple grounds. They smell delicious this time of year. Ours is very small, but they grow quickly.
My honeysuckle vine that we planted last summer. It really likes it's little corner. Hopefully it will grow up and around the end of our deck by our bedroom. It smells so lovely on a warm August night.
A closeup of a branch of our maple tree in the back yard. The leaves turn green in the summer, and bright red in the fall.
It's hard to tell how red the tree looks to us!
Jeff pruned a flowering tree that had it's branches broken last winter with the snow.

2010-02-23T20:27:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to show that I could upload a video. This is Rebecca laughing while her siblings ran down the stairs and made noises for her.

February 2010

2010-02-16T21:38:00.001-08:00

Camille and Nate were running down the stairs making Rebecca laugh.
And again!

Just to show the variety of birds I had that day. Three flickers, a woodpecker and a jay, plus some ever present mourning doves.
Today we went to the zoo. While at the penguin exhibit, we saw a great blue heron. I suppose it was waiting around for a spare fish that the penguins don't catch. By the way, it didn't rain the whole time we were at the zoo!
The boys found a huge anchor that we had a hard time pulling them away from.
The toucans through the fence. Don't know if it was protecting them or us!
We spent the last hour at the zoo at Zoomasium. The kids ran for the whole hour. Arielle decided to try her hand at balancing blocks.

Happy Late 40th Anniversary!

2010-02-07T10:51:00.000-08:00

Self portrait taken in front of a "Key Arena" information sign which you can't see!
This gives you an idea of where our seats were. So very fun!
Elton John with his funky long jacket and red glasses- he had a different funky jacket for the second half and green glasses. They both performed for the first bit, then Elton John by himself (which I didn't enjoy as much), and then Billy Joel by himself and then they came on together again at the end. Altogether it lasted from 7:30 until after 11:00.

Their pianos came up from under the stage and were on rotating platforms. Elton John never rotated his piano, but Billy Joel did (often while he was singing and performing!) Only the pianos that were being played were on stage. When Elton John went off his piano went back under the stage. Billy Joel introduced all of his band, but Elton John didn't say anything.
The first couple of songs we didn't put our ear plugs in, but after that we were glad to have them. The sound and light show was tremedous!

January or Spring??

2010-01-27T12:53:00.001-08:00

My daffodils aren't as far along as the ones at the temple, but they are always a bit ahead of us! I always get excited for summer when I see these.

The heather is in full bloom now as well. It was 55 degrees this morning and I mowed the front field! It is so nice to be able to get out in the yard.

Eagles in Washington

2010-01-21T17:22:00.001-08:00

We went up Hiway 20 today to see the eagles. We went all the way to the village where the workers live who manage the dam. If you enlarge this picture and look closely at the bird, it has a white head and a white chest.
I looked in my bird book and it could be a 3rd year bald eagle. They still have some white on their chest and are getting the white head. Anyway, it looked very strange!

December holidays!

2010-01-17T10:19:00.001-08:00

Christy and Jeremy had Robert and Laura and Jeff and I over for dinner. What a fun time!
Lindsey and Robert enjoying a bit of time.
The girls all want to be artists like their Aunt Laura and Arielle is quickly honing her skills.
Yes, that is Nicole with a very large and sharp knife and she cut up all the potatoes for lunch!
Joseph and his dad got dart guns for Christmas. Great shot!
Every time Grandpa gets a chance he has hold of Rebecca. This time she settled down nicely!
Where are the plotting began! Quite an extensive fort!
Aunt Laura has no trouble being a favorite with the kids!
Robert was using the flash on his camera to blind Nate!
More pictures of the great fort!
This is some of the carnage that Robert and Laura talked about on their blog!
More!
Jeff and Russ were the players then, but the x-box games got a lot of attention from most everyone.

More December Cold

2009-12-16T20:02:00.000-08:00

Last Friday we were heading out and saw this on our way. It still has some residual ice now, but mostly it is gone.
A Flicker was eating while it was snowing out last weekend!
The Flicker was joined by a Woodpecker. If you look closely you can see the snow falling.
Jeff put up lights on our two little maple trees. We have had several days of rain, so the snow is all gone as is the ice. I must admit it is much nicer for driving! I still wouldn't mind some snow (very light) for Christmas!

December Cold!!

2009-12-09T12:31:00.001-08:00

A clear and cold winter's day! It has been in the teens the last few nights. It is so nice to have blue skies and sunshine!
This is as close as we have gotten to snow so far this year! A bit of white to write Christmas cards with!
But not so cold that the Mourning Doves can't get a drink of very cold water!!

A Few November Highlights!

2009-12-01T18:35:00.000-08:00

We went to the zoo on Camille's birthday. Luckily you can eat inside on cold, rainy days!
One of the favorite places is the bird place where you can feed the birds- it also doesn't rain in there!
If you throw the sticky blue spider up onto the ceiling...
It eventually comes down!!!
The theater room wasn't very fun without the bulb in the projector!
So, the kids watched a movie in the coat closet using Jeff's computer!

Eric and Jeff at the Falls!

We went to Snoqualmie Falls while Eric was here. Since we have had one of the wettest Novembers in history there was a lot of water and so much mist you almost couldn't see the falls from the platform!

2009-11-17T18:19:00.000-08:00

Saturday Jeremy caught this great silver Salmon.

On the day of the blessing, this deer wandered behind the fence.