Category Archives: Birthday

Pre-Party Fun

After our short hop from Spokane to Seattle we met up with two of our kids for our flight to Dallas.

Once in the Dallas area we gathered at Steve and Lana’s just a short drive from our hotel. We had dinner, swimming and catching up with friends and family. A houseful and a pool full.

We gathered again on Saturday morning and for our son’s signature breakfast dish.

We enjoyed a great time of singing some old hymns before the twins opened a few presents.

     

Addy created some birthday artwork signed by both Addy and JJ for their Great Auntie and Great Uncle. We gifted them each with a podstakannik that our parents brought with them from the old country with glasses from our Aunt Anna.

What is a Russian podstakannik?
Traditional Russian tea-glass holder “podstakannik”, meaning “pod” – under and “stakan” – glass. It has been traditionally used during travel in railroad cars for tea drinking so as not to hold the hot glass with your bare hands.

~Soon it was time to head back to our hotel to get ready for the big event on Saturday evening. I’ll share photos from the party on Monday.

We arrived back home late on Tuesday of this week and are recovering from the great time we had. Laundry is done and now I need to mow our acres! We are still in the middle 90’s for temps here but it feels cool compared to our time in Texas. Morning temps in the upper 50’s and low 60’s have been great for morning chores! We have some smoke in our skies from fires still. Hope all is well in your corner.

While we were away I was saddened to read that our great bloggy friend, Vee at A Haven for Vee had been called home to heaven on July 23rd. Vee was such a wonderful bloggy friend. Her comments always made me smile. She had a way of reading between the lines and leaving such meaningful comments. She noticed things that others missed. The Mennonite Girls Can Cook even credit our name to one of her comments! Vee, we will miss our encounters with you but rejoice that you are with our Savior and LORD! 

Double that Plus Two Hodgepodge

At the age of thirty-five in Ventura with our three kids. Double that thirty-five and add two years and that is where I am today but not in Ventura!

I missed the Hodgepodge last week but am on track for this week. Thank you Joyce From This Side of the Pond!

1. Tell me something you remember (or if you’re not there yet, something you look forward to) about being 35.

In my 35th year, which was 1986, I was nursing our third and last child who was our first daughter. We were living in Ventura, California. Greg was working in a quarry running a front end loader close to our home. He was taking night classes at Ventura College to see if a change of career path was right for him. Our boys were five and seven finishing up Preschool and 1st grade. We were in the busy time of parenting which would last for several years!

2. Last time you ‘burned the candle at both ends’? 

Last week was a burn the candle at both ends kind of week. Getting ready for a garage sale is hard work. A good distraction was our bookend overnight company at the beginning of the week and end of the week. It was wonderful to see them and get caught up. Thankfully those guests are the kind that take care of themselves and don’t need fussing. The kind you are ‘real’ with. My brother in law even mowed the lawns for me because he enjoys that. Saturday our 92 foot tree was felled while I was finishing up at the garage sale. Then on Sunday was a tearful send-off of our beloved Pastor Dennis and Miss Lori which made for some emotional tiredness. On Monday Greg started the demolition of our master shower! I’m fine, we’re fine, everyone is fine. LOL!

BTW: We made a significant amount of money at the garage sale which made the hard work acceptable. 🙂

Here is our granddaughter giving a going away picture she drew for Pastor Dennis and her beloved Cubby teacher, Miss Lori during their Going Away Open House.  Old and young will miss these two.

3. Are you someone with the ‘gift of gab’? Elaborate (which shouldn’t be a problem if you answered yes teehee).  

I have the gift of gab on paper (which you might have noticed when I answer questions here) but not so much in verbal communication.

4. Do you request a special meal on your birthday, and if so tell us what that meal is?

I enjoy going out on my birthday and having a special meal. That special meal depends on the menu offerings. If there is Osso Bucco on the menu I will probably order it.

Do you want the same kind of cake year after year or will any flavor work? Do you want cake at all?

Cake is optional. We might order some dessert off the menu and have bites around the table.

Growing up were birthdays a big deal in your house?

Birthdays were not elaborate at all but they were celebrated. It was hit and miss on how they were celebrated. My older sisters and I got birthstone rings on our 16th birthday from our parents. I honestly don’t remember many of my birthdays growing up.

Are they a big deal now? 

Our kids have made our birthdays of late a time to celebrate with a meal out which we have enjoyed. I don’t need a big deal and the best thing is being together enjoying a meal together. Our kids made a very big deal of my 60th birthday and my 70th birthday which was very special.

My 60th birthday with a limousine ride to the restaurant. Our daughter was busy getting married at the Justice of the Peace in Jacksonville, N. C.  before Andrew’s first deployment to Afghanistan.

My 70th birthday celebrated in Spokane and Colville. The decade between my 60th and 70th grew our family with a son-in-law and another daughter-in-law and two grandchildren.

5. ‘Age is just a number.’..agree or disagree? Tell us why. 

There are some significant numbers when it comes to age all through our lives. Turning one is a big deal and then turning 5 which signified the beginning of public education. Becoming a teenager at 13 is another landmark. Sweet 16 was special in our family and then there is 18, when some of my friends left home and some went to college, the age of independence. Twenty One was a popular age and the legal drinking age here in most of the states. After that the decades were noted, like 30-40-50-60-70! The age of retirement was 65 and now that is more fluid. And then there is that dreaded age when the car keys should be taken away and all ladders removed from our homes!

I’m surprised at how different sixty or seventy looks on different folks. Those who have had a very hard life and made many poor choices in life look older.

I enjoy being around older people who are ‘young at heart’ and who are content and at peace with their age.

Not sure I answered the question but I did prove I have the gift of gab on ‘paper’!

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Photos from when I was thirty five years old and busy with these three gifts from God.

Thanks for reading my ‘gab’.

Old Marcus

Though the original town of Marcus has lain below the waters of Lake Roosevelt for 60 Years, it is not forgotten. Many a Spring, as the lake is drawn down to generate power, the ghost town of Marcus is again visible. Sidewalks and streets and foundations rise from the water for a few days or weeks, reminding us all of Marcus and the other drowned towns of the upper Columbia.

This happened this Spring and we decided to walk out on the exposed lake bottom to see what we could see. We walked the flats on Sunday the 16th of April, 2023. Vast expanses of sand, mud and rocks are being exposed by a deep reservoir drawdown to make room for runoff from snow from surrounding mountains.

As the Grand Coulee Dam grew higher in the 1930s, the water of the Columbia River rose behind it. 150 miles of the free-flowing river was transformed into the placid Lake Roosevelt, drowning hundreds of acres of timber, farmland, Indian villages, and camas meadows. Also below the waters of Lake Roosevelt lie eleven little agricultural towns with names like Peach, Inchelium, and this town, Marcus, Washington.

Lake Roosevelt is a working reservoir. It is the main storage reservoir on the Columbia River for the United States. The reservoir is lowered in the spring, to make room for the spring runoff. This prevents flooding on the lower Columbia River. The water that enters Lake Roosevelt during the spring is stored in the lake and is used later in the year for power generation and to enhance river flows downstream for endangered species of fish when flows on the Columbia River drop later in the summer and fall.

Walking the old sidewalks that are covered by the lake most of the year.

 

Main Street Old Town Marcus!

Back to the cars and on to lunch.

Here’s what the lake looks like when it is full.

Happy Tuesday. We are looking forward to a major warm-up the rest of the week. I’m going to have to mow the lawn before the week is over.

 

Thirty Years Older…

After JJ’s 4th birthday party we celebrated this guy who is 30 years older than JJ. He joked about a trapezoid so he got a trapezoid.

Happy Birthday, Andrew. We are all thankful for you and glad God brought you to our family.

While family was in town we enjoyed digging through some very old bins of stuff.

Addy loved twirling in one of Auntie Katie’s dresses from years ago.

JJ gravitated to this infant sized superman t-shirt that he squeezed over his head and onto his body.

Some good conversations transpired.

More bin fun with Katie’s old Barbie and Ken dolls. Clothes and lots of itty bitty things got dumped on the floor!

 

Scary or Cute?

The plan was hatched between the ‘director’ above and the birthday dinosaur to scare all of us with JJ’s ‘scary’ transformation into a green dinosaur.

She was on the lookout and knew we were all in danger.

He appeared!! Cute or scary?

Fast and roaring!

 

After we were all sufficiently scared the dinosaur opened his presents.

Last but not least, his big boy fishing pole!

Finishing off the party with photos of his guests.

Don’t miss the dinosaur feet.

 

The party was a success of dinosaur proportions and we left for home to prepare for another birthday celebration in the evening. The cute 4 year old dinosaur had a nap and was ready for an evening of fun at Baba and Gramps’.

We love you JJ and pray that you will grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. May God keep you and protect you all the days of your life.

So they don’t get lost over time here are the other posts from JJ’s 4th birthday party.

Dino Food and Fun

Were You Invited, T-Rex?

Four-ociously JJ

 

Dino Food and Fun

At JJ’s 4th birthday party after the T-Rex (AKA Uncle Scott) made his entrance it was time for lunch and before we start Gramps offers up a prayer of blessing for JJ to our heavenly Father.

I didn’t take photos of all the food. We had drumsticks, meatballs, little smokies, raw veggies and fresh fruit.

After lunch we played an outdoor game before we had cake.

We had a green team and orange team and we had to fill the little dinosaurs with water and try to fill a cup up to the line by squeezing the water out of the dinosaur.

Games over it was time for cake!

So many good sports with the dinosaur theme!

Sistersaurus and her Four-ocious brother made some plans to scare and entertain us before it was time for presents.

That post is coming next since this one is already photo intense.

 

The party continues on Monday and beyond!

Happy Friday and I hope you all have a good weekend.

Pass the Torch Hodgepodge

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It’s Hodgepodge time again and Joyce is celebrating Hodgepodge #500!! Congratulations to Joyce and Hodgepodgers everywhere. Click over to join in the fun.

1. Last time you drove/flew 500 miles (ish)? What’s a place you’d like to visit that lies approximately 500 miles from your current location? 

In December of 2022 we drove to Abbotsford, B.C. Via Bothell Washington and once we arrived in Abbotsford we drove on to Chilliwack with friends for our Mennonite Girls Can Cook Christmas party. That was just under 500 miles worth of driving.

It would be a nice vacation with Family to stay at Cannon Beach on the Oregon Coast for a few days and enjoy the sand and sea just beyond our doorstep. Cannon Beach is 500 miles from us.

2. Tell us about a time recently it felt like you were ‘racing against the clock’. 

Being retired and older I don’t race much. I have felt the need to clear out things and let things go before our kids have to sort through it all.

3. Have you ever attended any really large sporting events?

Yes!

What was your impression of the experience?  

We have enjoyed memorable experiences at some large sporting events. I attended my first Rose Bowl Game on January 2nd in 1967 (USC v. Purdue). The Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game are always on New Year’s Day unless that day lands on a Sunday. When January 1st lands on a Sunday the parade and game are moved to Monday. My second Rose Bowl Game was in 1992 when Greg was a student at the University of Washington and the Huskies played at the Rose Bowl against Michigan. The Huskies won this game which made the experience very exciting.

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In 1984 the Summer Olympics were hosted by Los Angeles and we were able to get tickets to some rowing events at Lake Casitas. The most exciting part of these Olympic Games was the fact that my husband Greg was able to represent his company as an Olympic Torch Bearer!

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In 1994 our sons got tickets for World Cup games in Los Angeles and Stanford. The USA was hosting that year. The photo above was at the Rose Bowl for one of the games we attended.

Dan and I attended Brazil v Camaroon at Stanford Stadium. Attire was colorful and the party atmosphere was very lively. Both those countries know how to celebrate.

We were able to track down where the US team was staying and training and our sons met every player on the team and got all their autographs. That’s Alexi Lalas with our sons. That’s not a cigarette in his mouth.

When Dear and I were traveling with Josh and Laura in England in 2013, Josh got us tickets to a Manchester United game v. Crystal Palace at Old Trafford. That was a great time! Josh also made it into an Arsenal game on that trip.

The Superbowl, The Kentucky Derby, The World Series, FIFA World Cup, The Indianapolis 500, The Daytona 500, The Olympics, The Masters, Wimbledon, The Boston Marathon, March Madness, Tour de France, Monaco’s Grand Prix, The Open (golf), The Ryder Cup, The Stanley Cup Finals..of the events listed which would you most like to attend in person? Or maybe one that’s not listed? 

Fifa World Cup, it will be hosted by the USA/Canada/and Mexico in 2026.

4. Are you an iced tea drinker? If so, do you drink it year round, or only in the spring and summer months? Do you make your own or buy it bottled? Sweet or unsweet? Flavored? Lemon or no lemon? How about a Long Island Iced Tea? 

Not a usual for me. If I do have an iced tea it would be lightly sweetened with some fresh lemon squeeze or the last variety.

5. April 20th is Volunteer Recognition Day…do you volunteer in some way? Tell us about it. If not, tell us about a volunteer you appreciate. 

I volunteer at church under Women’s Ministry. I’m the branch leader of Hospitality serving the church family in planning, supplying, and carrying out fellowship opportunities involving the entire church body. Responsibilities include: Maintaining the kitchen and supplies. Helping with food serving and cleanup for church events like potlucks, Easter brunch, pie and praise, and funerals.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

We celebrated our grandson’s 4th birthday this past Saturday. We had a T-Rex crash the party and we had a cute dinosaur and delicious dinosaur cake. If you want to see more of the surprise T-Rex entry click here.

I’ll be sharing more from JJ’s Dino-wonderful party on Friday.

Thanks for stopping by for #500!

Were You Invited, T-Rex?

There we were just hanging out at JJ’s Dinosaur party when Aunt Rhonda exclaimed dramatically that we all needed to go outside and see what was happening! We were all shocked to see T-Rex coming up the driveway.

Amber the dog went into full protection mode barking at this creature she was confused about.

Of course we all realized that this was Great Uncle Scott in costume. He gets the prize for this huge fun surprise at JJ’s Dinosaur party. Aunt Rhonda dropped him off down the driveway for him to get in costume to surprise all of us.

Uncle Scott gets on his knee to show JJ and Addy that it is him in costume. Time to re-create a little Jurassic Park action.

So much excitement and now we head inside to have our lunch and more dinosaur fun.

After the great effort on the part of Uncle Scott and Aunt Rhonda for this surprise at the party I think it deserves it’s own post. More party fun to come with some ‘scary’ action from a cute little dinosaur. This will definitely be a party to remember.