Memorial Day Saddlerock Hike

KR and her friends, Marnie Herrick, Terri Wynder and some of Terri's family, got up early Monday morning (Memorial Day) to enjoy a hike up Saddlerock. The weather was perfect and the view of the Wenatchee Valley, spectacular once you reach the top.

  

Memorial Day Weekend

The Seattle Anderton's came over for Memorial Day weekend and I just wanted to highlight two little boys. One is Henry, just because of the picture below, and the other is Noah because it was his birthday over the weekend and we had fun celebrating it! We love you guys!

Jon's Facebook Picture

Jon sure went to a lot of trouble to jazz up his Facebook picture.

Selling to Olbermann

I sold a lot of sports cards in late April and May. One in particular was worthy of note. None other than Keith Olbermann bought an autographed Yankee card and you can see the shipping package below. Yes, none other than the Olbermannito living at 954 Lexington Avenue, NY, NY.

Spring Cleanup

We spent many hours in May going through our house and garage getting rid of things - selling some on eBay, putting some on Craig's List (mostly for free), and setting things aside for the summer garage sale. It is always liberating to divest, especially to give items that are clearly surplus to you and gathering dust, to people who need them and will use them.      

Fishing With the Merrill Boys

KR spent a day fishing with her brothers in Ellensburg and had a great day. Bonding with one's siblings is always more important than any fish one might catch. Well, of course, I am speaking for myself and not for the Merrill boys. Several times I almost froze to death while fishing with them aboard a boat and they always hogged the heaters and best fishing holes. They take their fishing very seriously. I am surprised KR was even given a rod.

A Full Weekend

Mark and Laurel got a rare weekend getaway at the Gecko House. We were tasked to take care of the GoGo5 and we had a full weekend of fun. KR pretty much stayed at the Broadview house, while I went where needed. Some of the weekend was spent in Seattle. We left after delivering the annual, expected KR cinnamon rolls to the Westridge cleanup crew. It was a full day in Seattle - went to Will's baseball game, to Ella's play, and visited Jon & Cher. The Wenatchee kids were real troopers and behaved wonderfully, considering the two long drives. 

Ready to Head to Seattle

Having Some Lunch at the Baseball Game

Eva the Flower Girl

Will Doing His
Ryne Sandberg Impression

Coach Anderton

Ella & Friends After Her Play

Tree Monkeys

Henry Quickly Searched Jon & Cher's Place for
Every Available Car or Truck

Jones Enjoying Himself

A Long Day in Seattle

I went over Sunday morning to help get everyone ready for Church. Jones managed to fall in the tub with the other boys while they were bathing and did NOT enjoy getting soaked. Henry was confused by the sudden change in the Sunday morning routine, but we managed to get everyone dressed and the GoGo5 to church on time. It was Stake Conference and we had someone save us some seats in the padded area. The Nygard girls came back to give me a hand, as KR was directing the music and I was in charge of the five kids. Henry confused me a little bit with his limp routine - I didn't know whether he was asleep, mad, unconscious or playing with me. The Nygards recognized his go-to avoidance technique but neglected to tell me. They just laughed and enjoyed watching the show. 

Ready for Stake Conference

Post Stake Conference - A Long Day for Isaac

KR took Emmett and the four siblings to his piano recital on Monday where he performed an Indian war song. The students were to dress in costume to match the theme of their piece so he went with the Indian brave motif. I am not sure if it helped his piano skills or not, but he sure looked the part.

Mother's Day

One of the highlights of my past year was speaking on Mother's Day in the Wenatchee River Ward and being able to pay tribute to all of the great mothers in my life.......my eternal companion, my two mothers, my five daughters, my two grandmothers, and the great mothers I cherish in my family lines. We do not celebrate their sacrifices enough.

Sixty-one and Counting - Medicare is Right Around the Corner

Candles in Poached Eggs

We Shared a Cake with the Crowd
At Emmett's Baseball Game

The Missionary Application is In!

One of our dreams has been to tithe our lives in full-time missionary service (8 years for 80, 9 years for 90, etc. That means we are going to have to build up a surplus early to make sure we have enough years if we live a long time - they do not allow you to go at 97! So...we had discussed going again for some time and you know how it is, you talk about it, but it stays a bit hazy and in the future. You don't press the button. The button is probably filling out the online application and pushing SEND. Well, we finally made a commitment and did it. We pushed SEND on May 1, which was our goal. By the way, could they make that application process any more grueling? We are excited to see where we end up! Two notes: 1) We decided to not negotiate our destination/task, just let it happen, and 2) We decided to try the 6-month version, to see how it works out. If it fits our personalities, we will perhaps do more in the short format. Kind of like snowbird missionaries.