We had a great visit with them and came to appreciate even more that part of Utah as a nice place to live. Maybe someday.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Eliza, number 28
These pictures are of Eliza and related events surrounding her birth and blessing. Teri went to stay with and help Traci in Draper, Utah. Teri stayed with them for three weeks and I drove out for the last week. 
We had a great visit with them and came to appreciate even more that part of Utah as a nice place to live. Maybe someday.
We had a great visit with them and came to appreciate even more that part of Utah as a nice place to live. Maybe someday.
Naomi, our most recent grand child #29
Teri and I have wondered to each other that maybe we ought to stop using all our grand kids names and just refer to them by number. With that in mind Tassia would be 1 and Naomi would be 29. Then this June we will have 3o or if you rather have names he will be Ethan, son of Don and Lara Trenaman. Well not to worry we like their names even though we keep calling one by the others name far too often. For example after spending a few weeks in Utah with Emmie, grandma kept calling Abby Emmie. Abby on more than one occasion said, "Grandma, my name is not Emmie."
Whether we call them by their birth order number, a wrong name, or their correct name, what we know for sure is that we love every last one of them. We really think we ought to get a motor home and just make rounds, traveling constantly between their homes where we can stay for a couple of weeks and go on to the next family.
We recently went to the blessing of Naomi. She is a beautiful little doll. I need to get back to her and take more updated photos because she has grown so much since the first shots I took. Here are a few shots from the day of her blessing. Speaking of the blessing; it was wonderful and her dad Chris did a wonderful job, offering a great and spiritual blessing of his beautiful daughter.
Whether we call them by their birth order number, a wrong name, or their correct name, what we know for sure is that we love every last one of them. We really think we ought to get a motor home and just make rounds, traveling constantly between their homes where we can stay for a couple of weeks and go on to the next family.
We recently went to the blessing of Naomi. She is a beautiful little doll. I need to get back to her and take more updated photos because she has grown so much since the first shots I took. Here are a few shots from the day of her blessing. Speaking of the blessing; it was wonderful and her dad Chris did a wonderful job, offering a great and spiritual blessing of his beautiful daughter.
Reluctantly after much prompting from my brother-in-law, Rick Curry and others I finally delved into the world of Facebook. At first I wasn't very impressed and it just looked like a total time waster. Although it is easy to get caught up and waste time I have come to appreciate what it has to offer.
The best part of it is that it offers an easy way to stay in touch with friends and family in a casual easy way. I get to see family photos, know what is going on in their lives and allows me to post the same for them. On the most part it is snippets of life with no deep look that still takes a more real relationship. One nice thing is that through those snippets I want to spend real time with many of them.
I do feel that in our modern era we find it easy to cut short real relationships for the safe and easy online and texting facsimile. However, that is better than nothing so I am pleased with Facebook and I have to say I love texting because I have always hated talking on the phone.
The best part of it is that it offers an easy way to stay in touch with friends and family in a casual easy way. I get to see family photos, know what is going on in their lives and allows me to post the same for them. On the most part it is snippets of life with no deep look that still takes a more real relationship. One nice thing is that through those snippets I want to spend real time with many of them.
I do feel that in our modern era we find it easy to cut short real relationships for the safe and easy online and texting facsimile. However, that is better than nothing so I am pleased with Facebook and I have to say I love texting because I have always hated talking on the phone.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Christmas 2008
Christmas this year has been very different for Teri and me. We have in all past Christmases remained home, had our tree, had various members of our family over, had Christmas dinner and woke up to the fascination of the arrival of Santa Clause over night. This year though, we decided we would leave home for Christmas and after various ideas we decided that we would love to go to Almont, Michigan and spend Christmas with the Callender family who we have had only one Christmas with years ago when they came to Oregon. Besides that we sure missed our four grand kids there.
Our plans made, we looked forward to the visit and being with them Christmas morning in their home. The day before our early morning flight out of Portland we stayed in an airport hotel so we would be sure to make it in good time without having to get up too early in the morning. We hoped our flight would leave despite a very unusual, for Portland, snow storm and after checking into the hotel we went online to print the boarding passes for our flight. The flight was canceled due to the weather. Some flights were getting out but most were grounded. In our case the plane that we were to fly out on never made it to Portland due to that flight having been canceled so we of course could not leave on a plane that was not there. Talk about disappointed.
Sadly we were not the only ones disappointed about our not being able to make it to Michigan. Our wonderful grand kids were very unhappy about it. Fortunately we were able to book another flight in January to go for a post Christmas visit. As an added benefit we will be there for Mandy's birthday. Bonus!!
Well with our canceled flight we were staying in Oregon without a tree and with no plans for Christmas at all. Happily Becky came to the rescue, inviting us to her home for Christmas Eve, stay overnight and wake up in their home with them and their kids. It was wonderful to be with them and share in their Christmas traditions. This Christmas we had opted to give all the families money instead of buying gifts but since we were staying overnight with the Rohrer family they gave the money back and we went shopping. It was so much fun and we are so appreciative for this wonderful gift of Christmas joy.
Our plans made, we looked forward to the visit and being with them Christmas morning in their home. The day before our early morning flight out of Portland we stayed in an airport hotel so we would be sure to make it in good time without having to get up too early in the morning. We hoped our flight would leave despite a very unusual, for Portland, snow storm and after checking into the hotel we went online to print the boarding passes for our flight. The flight was canceled due to the weather. Some flights were getting out but most were grounded. In our case the plane that we were to fly out on never made it to Portland due to that flight having been canceled so we of course could not leave on a plane that was not there. Talk about disappointed.
Sadly we were not the only ones disappointed about our not being able to make it to Michigan. Our wonderful grand kids were very unhappy about it. Fortunately we were able to book another flight in January to go for a post Christmas visit. As an added benefit we will be there for Mandy's birthday. Bonus!!
Well with our canceled flight we were staying in Oregon without a tree and with no plans for Christmas at all. Happily Becky came to the rescue, inviting us to her home for Christmas Eve, stay overnight and wake up in their home with them and their kids. It was wonderful to be with them and share in their Christmas traditions. This Christmas we had opted to give all the families money instead of buying gifts but since we were staying overnight with the Rohrer family they gave the money back and we went shopping. It was so much fun and we are so appreciative for this wonderful gift of Christmas joy.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
Winter Blast
White Christmas
Teri and I were planning on going to Michigan to spend Christmas with our family living in Almont. However we are now in the middle of the third worst snow storm in Oregon since weather has been recorded in this state. Needless to say, our flight did not leave PDX so we remain home for Christmas. As it turned out it is good that we could not leave Portland because if we had we would have been stranded in Chicago which was our lay-over city. They are having a worse storm than we are so if we did make it into Chicago we would likely still be there. These are a few pictures of our White Christmas wonderland. These pictures were taken when there was just over a foot of snow but a few days later there was over three feet of snow at our home.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Mediterranean Vacation - Rome days
November 1st, 2008 is the day we finally began our Mediterranean vacation including a wonderful cruise and trips to cities in Italy. We wanted to do something special to help celebrate my 60th birthday and since I had most of my life wanted to go to Italy we felt this would certainly be the ticket to a grand celebration. The red-eye flight to Rome was not the most pleasant experience but I have to say it was worth the sleepless night with the worst leg twitching had by 
both Teri and me. We even took sleeping pills that only made us want to sleep even more but sadly we could not. There were, if I remember right, 22 of us on this trip including 
Hope and Larry Fredrickson, Scott and Lauri Fredrickson, Leo and Barbara Fredrickson, Bobby 
ST. John and her daughter Kristi, Becky and John Wyatt, Brad and Lorraine Janeway, Kandi and Rick Hanson, Hal and Joanne Salway, Tara and Lance Brooks, Rick and Iva Curry and Teri and me. I think I got them all and that count does come to 22... Sorry if I spelled any of your names wrong. Our first nights were spent in a fine little hotel that although it was OK, was nothing to write home about. Not a problem since the trip was not about the hotel rooms, although we did later stay in some pretty nice ones. Fortunately we got over or really didn't experience any jet-lag so we were in great shape to head out on the subway in search of the Roman coliseum. The subway ride was an adventure all alone and we expec
ted that on leaving the subway station we would have a good walk before actually seeing the coliseum but to our amazement as we ventured back to the surface and opened the doors of the subway station the coliseum stood proudly in front of us. I cannot even begin to adequately describe my wonder in actually being there and seeing it with my own eyes. I had longed to see it since I was in grade school and it certainly did not disappoint. We took a guided tour with Brad and Lorraine learning much of the construction and use of this monument to the ambitions and tragedies of our race. As amazing as this structure is it is also very sad to think about those many people that were killed there for the perverse entertainment of the Roman citizens. Following our tour we went to do a tour of Palatino, another marvel of ancient times. There is so much history on and beneath that hill where buildings were built u
pon buildings covering a very long period of history. There is even a palace or more accurately named a summer home of Mussolini, the WWII buddy of Hitler. (It's the large white building below.) One surprise I had was to realize just how much of ancient Rome still exists and is in use today. It is amazing to walk into and see buildings that are two and three thousand years old especially whe
n 
the 'old' buildings in North America are no more than two or three hundred years old. Also 
taking advantage of the subway system we visited places like the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, the famous Roman fountain, got to eat at a little sidewalk cafe and ate chestnuts roasted on a street corner. We did a lot of walking, went into several Basilicas and just enjoyed Rome very much. 
both Teri and me. We even took sleeping pills that only made us want to sleep even more but sadly we could not. There were, if I remember right, 22 of us on this trip including 
Hope and Larry Fredrickson, Scott and Lauri Fredrickson, Leo and Barbara Fredrickson, Bobby 
ST. John and her daughter Kristi, Becky and John Wyatt, Brad and Lorraine Janeway, Kandi and Rick Hanson, Hal and Joanne Salway, Tara and Lance Brooks, Rick and Iva Curry and Teri and me. I think I got them all and that count does come to 22... Sorry if I spelled any of your names wrong. Our first nights were spent in a fine little hotel that although it was OK, was nothing to write home about. Not a problem since the trip was not about the hotel rooms, although we did later stay in some pretty nice ones. Fortunately we got over or really didn't experience any jet-lag so we were in great shape to head out on the subway in search of the Roman coliseum. The subway ride was an adventure all alone and we expec
ted that on leaving the subway station we would have a good walk before actually seeing the coliseum but to our amazement as we ventured back to the surface and opened the doors of the subway station the coliseum stood proudly in front of us. I cannot even begin to adequately describe my wonder in actually being there and seeing it with my own eyes. I had longed to see it since I was in grade school and it certainly did not disappoint. We took a guided tour with Brad and Lorraine learning much of the construction and use of this monument to the ambitions and tragedies of our race. As amazing as this structure is it is also very sad to think about those many people that were killed there for the perverse entertainment of the Roman citizens. Following our tour we went to do a tour of Palatino, another marvel of ancient times. There is so much history on and beneath that hill where buildings were built u
pon buildings covering a very long period of history. There is even a palace or more accurately named a summer home of Mussolini, the WWII buddy of Hitler. (It's the large white building below.) One surprise I had was to realize just how much of ancient Rome still exists and is in use today. It is amazing to walk into and see buildings that are two and three thousand years old especially whe
n 
the 'old' buildings in North America are no more than two or three hundred years old. Also 
taking advantage of the subway system we visited places like the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, the famous Roman fountain, got to eat at a little sidewalk cafe and ate chestnuts roasted on a street corner. We did a lot of walking, went into several Basilicas and just enjoyed Rome very much. 
We are so grateful to Hope who put this whole trip together and kept us on track and organized during the whole trip. These notes and pictures just scratches the surface of our trip so to follow in future posts will be photos and information of more of the vacation.
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