Sun Lakes - Anderton Reunion

We had a great time at our 2008 Anderton Reunion. It was going to be in Bend, Oregon, and I had the house all arranged and the activities planned - but the owner of the house cancelled on us and we had to scramble a bit. We were fortunate to get a condo on one of the Sun Lakes at the last minute (they had a cancellation). Park Lake is only a couple of hours from Wenatchee, so it worked out quite well. The place was large enough to hold all of us (barely). We got plenty of sun and enjoyed a large amount of 'together time". We were also able to spend a couple of days in the Kennewick area at the beginning of the week, and enjoyed a trip to the Columbia River Temple together. Amazing Race III was won my Mark, Laurel, and KT. It was the closest race ever and the final standings were decided on the last event. Until 2010! (August 15-23)

Camp Bonaparte

Our scout troop needed another adult to help out with summer camp, so I went up as a "shadow adult" for several days. I had a great time following the boys around to make sure they attended their classes, got some good carving time in at the craft lodge, and, as I spent the nights in Tonasket (a nearby town), even was able to avoid eating the camp food (I found a good steak restaurant). The camp sits a few miles south of the Canadian border in Central Washington and is quite a beautiful place. It is located on Lake Bonaparte, a very nice swimming lake. The second picture is the boys doing their 5 minutes of treading water for the Swimming Merit Badge. The weather was perfect. A large forest fire had been raging just a few miles from the camp, but fortunately, by the time we arrived, the crews had it under control and the smoke was pretty much gone. (July 15-17)

Independence Day

Jon came over for the 4th, as Cher and kids were in Utah. I think he enjoyed relaxing and getting reacquainted with the old original Nintendo games. Zelda rocks!

Emmett's Observations

We spent some time with Emmett recently and archived some of his musings:

• A paper cut on the lip is SO bad (evidently he had suffered a small one the day before and kept licking it).
• Explaining the concept of "thank-you bites", as were trying to get him to try something new, he interjected: If you just smell it, it is NOT a thank-you bite.
• I am done with dreams. I forgot to have one last night.
• You're all out of jello beans (our jelly belly jar was empty).

 

Ella's Baptism

One of those watershed events. My how time does fly. It seems like just yesterday that our first grandchild was born, and here she is getting baptized. We headed over to Seattle after church and enjoyed a birthday party for Ella with both sides of the family in attendance, and then the baptismal service afterwards. Thanks to all the family for making the drive, and the Ward family for being so supportive! Ella did such a good job with her presents and the service - we are proud of you Ella.

Amy Comes to Visit

Amy, Olivia and Ethan came up for a week in June and we had a great time. It was a full week of visiting, soaking up the sun, playing with cousins, checking teeth, and riding Grandpa's John Deere around the yard.

The Rubik's Cube and Me

I think Matt is the only one in the family I am aware of that has had the patience and spatial capacity to hang with a Rubik's Cube and solve it (please comment if I am mistaken). Until now. Attached is my solution.

Utah and Memorial Day

We had a nice, but short, visit to Utah over Memorial Day. It was great to see a lot of the extended family. On Saturday we had a cleanup project on the Henefer property, a lunch at Henefer park, and a long-overdue family meeting regarding the use of the property. Time well spent and I think everyone went away feeling good about the situation. And we got to play with FIRE. (May 19-26)

Bucket List Update

Two more bite the dust. While on our March adventure in New Zealand and Australia, I was able to view Saturn through a nice telescope while having a dinner outdoors in the dark at Ayer's Rock. It was very cool and looked similar to the picture below, although smaller and a little whiter. You could see some of the moons though - little white and dark spots as pictured. The raft trip was on the Rangitata River in New Zealand. It turned out to be a bit more intense than I had anticipated, but we survived. I can also say now I have gone over some Class V rapids - make that waterfalls. When I was trying on my helmet, the guide kept moving up sizes, until he got to the biggest - and they only had one! It fit, but it was pink. He thought that was pretty funny.

Noah Comes to Visit

We had a nice visit from the Noah whirlwind over the last few days. We had a great time - what a good helper he is becoming. As fast as I would move something, he would move it back. You know, he really reminds me of someone else I knew when he was younger. By the way, the fourth picture in the series is Noah inspecting the car wash change machine for abandoned coins. (May 9-12)

Lots of House Projects

It is going to be a long and interesting summer. We have several major projects scheduled, including painting the house. Here we are removing a large section of sod that always seems to be way too wet. We are going to add some landscaping here. Will keep you posted on our progress.