Evan's First Birthday Party

Evan is one...man did that year go by or what? Billie and TJ threw a big family party, complete with BBQ dinner to celebrate the occasion. We had a great time.

His birthday cakes, the little one was just for him! The bigger one was to share.





The presents:



Grandpa Ron and Great Uncle Ralph playing with Evan.



Billie Jo getting the cousins ready to play pin the tail on the donkey.



Grandpa had just got caught sneaking a bit of frosting to Evan...the blue evidence was on his tongue, lips and chin.

Mother's Day

We had a nice day at Greg & Darane's for Mother's Day this year...though the weather was kind of off and on. Greg grilled some chicken, Darane' steamed some king crab legs and we all contributed part of the meal. Everything from baked beans, to corn bread, to salads, to cake. Plus we had a good visit together.





Cousin Mike spent the night before and he and Savannah barely made an appearance though, it was tough to get them out of her room and the video games!!



Nick was in fine goofy form, wearing two hats



And standing on ice cubes on the deck in his bare feet pretending to be a penguin!



And my presents in pots the kids painted themselves! How nice is that?

Looking for a house...maybe

We have been looking around a bit for alternatives to staying in this house for another year. It's really too big for us, hasn't been maintained all that well in the past, has a big yard to maintain, and it cost a fortune to heat it this past winter. That last item was probably a combination of a really crummy and long winter and us trying to reacclimate after two years in sunny warm Mexico. So, options are staying where we are for another year, finding someplace smaller to rent that will be more energy efficient and have less yard to take care of or to maybe buy a place somewhere.

As far as the possibility of buying goes we have been seriously looking at over 55 manufactured home communities around here. No laughing here!! Greg thought it was a great idea because it just means less he'll have to do when we are old and decrepit!! (Kidding) But our reasoning is we don't want to go deeply in debt because I would like to retire in 5 years or so and Ralph is already retired so this makes sense on a lot of levels. We also want to be able to lock it up for a couple of months a year and head to a warmer climate to thaw out during those colder months. So, security is also an issue, having other folks around to keep an eye out, etc.

We've been poking around for a few weeks now and have pretty much discovered 3-4 parks that would be nice and even a few homes in those parks that we are interested in and could afford, but we have to wait until we are closer to our lease being up...it will be a nifty ballet of making an offer and getting it accepted, then getting accepted by the park, then taking care of the financing (already got that pre-approved and waiting in the wings), closing and moving (YUK!). All that will need to take place within about a six week period if all goes smoothly!! No stress involved there.

Please keep all this in prayer if you would! Thanks.

Family resemblances

Most of you know I love researching our family histories and that I've done it off and on for over 30 years. It's been loads of fun and it's been really, really frustrating at times too. But along the way we've connected with loads of family that we didn't know and that has been a blast.

One of my grandmas was raised by another family and claimed she never really knew her real family...she shared what little bits and pieces she could remember but she was very little when she was separated from them and didn't remember much. Always drove me crazy because even with a very unique first name I could NEVER find out anything about her past no matter how hard I searched. Then I got an e-mail back in 2001 in answer to a plea I put on a message board and that message contained the text of an obituary from 1918 listing my grandmother as one of five children surviving her father!!! I was flat astonished to find that she did know her real family and was in contact with them at least at this time. She was already married and had three children by then!

So, the hunt began in earnest. I tracked things down and found that she had a total of five brothers and sisters. Brothers William, Major, Jr and Joseph and sisters Sarah and Hattie. WOW! I even tracked down some relatives of her two aunties that lived near Bellingham (so close and yet she never saw them that we knew of) but they were unconvinced of the family connection, so I finally gave up on them.

Recently, though, two of my cousins that I knew of but had no idea how to contact caught up with me and we have been having a blast since then. They have given me some very cool pictures and have cleared up one of the mysteries that I suspected but could not confirm...who my great-grandmother was!! You see, great grandpa was married at least three times that we are sure of and I wasn't quite sure where grandma fit into the family scene. Still don't know what happened to great-grandma or why grandma and her sister Sarah were not raised in the family home, so still lots of work to do but what a great blessing it has been to have at least part of the mystery solved.

Here are some great family pictures they've sent:

Great Grandma Emma Rose and Great Grandpa Major on their wedding day in 1879:



My Great Aunt Sarah and my Grandma Vernie in a composite I made plus their mom Emma Rose:



My Aunt Louise, Grandpa Alfred and Aunt Alta:



And the note that was on the back of this photo written by Grandma Vernie to Great Aunt Sarah:



My Uncle Peter, Aunt Alta and Aunt Louise, they are my grandparent's older children:



And many years later, my Uncle Major in his carriage:



Thanks Mike and Pam for sharing all of this and much more!!