Vashon

Getting away to the islands is not a big trip for us in the Puget Sound area.  Vashon Island is just a 20 minute ferry ride from Tacoma.  But it is a world away.  Rural.  No congestion on freeways.  Historic.  And, on the south side of the island, you have incredible views of Tacoma and Mt Rainier.  Kris and Bruce's family have a fantastic home there.  Again, we were privileged to spend some quality time there with some dear friends.  Wonderful hospitality.  Great food.  Fun stories.  Shared appreciation of our Faith, the thankfulness of  abundant blessings, the deeply shared commitment to our children and our involved role as grandparents.  Panorama.  Creation, God made and human made, unfolding before us.  And a opportunity to relax which is always easy with Kris and Bruce.  Fun and fulfilling.

Their deck.  Note Mt. Rainier in the background.  Brown's Point Tacoma the land across the water.

Happy friends.

Incredible evening.

Life is full of blessings.  Often the blessings are people, and the shared experience with them.

Blessings

Labor of Love

I remember the old days when Mom's kids and kids-in law, including grandkids, would gather with brushes, ladders, and paint buckets to paint the house.  You painted often in those days.  The paint lasted 5 - 6 years.  Also, it was all manual labor.  No mechanization.  It was hard work.  It still is.

Testing out the equipment.  Refining the spray pattern.

One of my sisters in law called those work sessions a "labor of love".  Sometimes it still is.  It was with us this weekend.  Nathan gave me a coupon at Christmas.  "Let's paint the house, Dad."

Painting is in his genes.  I had a painting business for 14 years, summers when I was teaching.  When I became a principal I no longer could paint in the summers but I bid several jobs (and so did the kids) and Ben, Kari, and Nathan all painted many of their high school and college summers.  I owned the equipment.  They did the labor.  They still are.  Our home was due a new coat of paint. It had been 15 years since the last painting.   I now rent the equipment.

Start on an easy side to get back into a routine.

Kids do the house numbers.

Cailyn, who also painted through college (note her painter bibs) jumps in.  Notice the legs on left.  I am sitting, observing and admiring.

Wants to climb.

The long side, everyone joins in.

A good spot to practice.

Me too.

The artiste.

Put on some serious paint.

And some fun paint.

Jane really wanted to paint so we gave her some doable projects.  She did very well.

Then, as I was cleaning out the airless sprayer, she created some water art in the backyard.  Photo by Nathan.

A productive weekend (Saturday and Sunday afternoon).  Barb is not in the photos.  She took all but the last picture, fixed the meals, rode herd over the gkids, and painted.

Labor of love.

Hope meets Elizabeth

My sister, Corrine (aka Hope), and Leroy came for dinner Wednesday.  Eric, Kari, and Elizabeth were the center of attention.  Also Nathan, Cailyn and kids added to the eve's festivities.  Fun.  Family.

Tribute to a Hero

We gathered together to give tribute to Justin's 10 years of military service.  We were honored to host as some of his comrades and friends celebrated his contributions which included two deployments to Iraq.  An American Hero.  We have been blessed to know him and his family Cassie, Grace, and Claire.

His family, his colleagues at arms, their friends and family

Justin, Cassie, Grace and Claire.  What a blessing they have been to us and our country.

Late night Pickelball.  What fun.  It had been a while since we hosted a "Man"  party.

It is Hard to Bring Down a 100 Year Old

It had gotten too big for the space.  It was crowding the house.  Storms had caused it to loose some of  its members.  Many more were hanging precipitously.  It was now causing damage to the roof and sidewalk.  Sadly, it had to go.

 

 Jake Starkey, former student and now expert tree faller, took on the job with his assistant Brent.

 

He strapped on his climbing gear explaining to the kids what he was going to do.

 

 

Jake starts up the tree dropping limbs as he ascends up the 130 ft tree.

 

Near the top.  Readying to drop the tip.

 

Success.  Now the descent dropping sections to the ground.  All pieces were dropped in a small space in the front yard.  Only sawdust and a few small branches hit the house.

 

The cheering section.

 

He'd rather drive the Jeep.

Friend Justin (his wife was Kari's Maid of Honor) helps Brent load the smaller pieces into the trailer.

 

The bigger pieces were rolled into place for bucking up and splitting.

 

 

Jake will come down and fall the base on top of the debris that he dropped from above.

 

 

Jake and Brent cut up (buck up)  the larger pieces with their big saws.

 

Justin and I will later split these with axes, the old fashion way.

 

The kids celebrate.

 

Homecoming

Welcome home

 

Cousins and Auntie first meet

Interest

Jensen gets a chance to hold his cousin,

Then Jane

The cousins

Checking on Elizabeth asleep in the chair.

A fun day where family gathers to welcome Elizabeth into the fold.

Progress

We visited Kari, Eric, and Elizabeth after dinner.  Kari was in a stage of recovery,  Elizabeth was in a state of acclimation, and Eric was transforming into a DAD.

He had changed diapers. rarely left Kari's side and had evolved from coach to caretaker.

15 hours after birth Kari is recovering.  Elizabeth is relishing the parental contact.

Happy mom



Happy Grandmom



Miracles, ongoing...