Cheryl

My beautiful mother-in-law died today. Her name was Cheryl, pronounced with a "Ch" like cherry. She was diagnosed with metastasized colon cancer about 9 months ago. In July of last year, all of her children and their families gathered together in Missouri to enjoy some time with her, what would be the last time some of us would see her. She was a great example to me of kindness, forgiveness, service to others, and so many other wonderful qualities. She had the quickest wit of anyone I know. She could make you laugh without trying. I cannot put into words what she meant to me. I will miss her.

Cheryl's favorite color was pink and she wore it all the time. Her wardrobe was full of brightly colored pink clothing. She also loved flowers of any kind. Her home was filled with pictures of her children and grandchildren and handwritten notes of her favorite quotes. She always had her apron on ready to work no matter where she was. That apron she donned was a reminder to me to love others through service. I'm not sure who took this photo, but this is how I will always remember Cheryl, with a great big beautiful pink smile.

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Although it's been a difficult time, we've made time for some fun, too. One of our favorite things to do as a family is beach comb for nice rocks and sea glass, and just take a leisurely walk along the beach. Point-no-Point is our favorite beach - I think it's Tate and Beau's favorite beach, too.

We celebrated Andrew's birthday tonight with my family. He turned eleven yesterday. Garrett always adds some fun and surprises to the celebration. He hid an unwrapped gift in the sleeve of his coat and Andrew couldn't wait to find out what it was.

Just what the newest Boy Scout of Troop 1560 wanted, a deluxe Swiss Army knife.

Of course, the lecture on knife safety ensued. Garrett told him the story of when he nearly cut his finger off, complete with facial expressions and all.

Garrett loves to mess with the cake and we love his little jokes. If you look closely, you will see a hidden Lego figure in the side of Andrew's cake. Andrew noticed it, too.

White Coat Ceremony

This last weekend was all about Heidi. She has been dreaming about becoming a veterinarian her entire life. She has worked so hard to get to this end. The White Coat Ceremony is a convocation recognizing that she has officially started at WSU's College of Veterinary Medicine, class of 2015. We couldn't be more proud of her and all of her accomplishments. With a little over 100 in her class, she will have lots of support to get her through.

Putting on the white coat for the first time.

The future Dr. Heidi Talbott and her wonderful husband, Jon.

After the ceremony we all drove up to her very good friend's horse ranch in Moscow for a BBQ. What a great time we had at Paul's. We took a short hike up into the hills to a place they call "The Homestead".

Paul's dog, Dude.

This was the first time we were all together since Heidi's graduation (BS) about three years ago. Correction: Actually, we were last together at Heidi and Jon's wedding about 2 1/2 years ago. Photo credit goes to Monica, Heidi and Hannah's younger sister on their mom's side of the family. She did a great job!

After the hike we visited with the horses. The palomino is Heidi's horse, Major Day. What a beautiful horse! He is a little over a year old. She can't wait to ride him, but it won't be for a while yet - lots more work to do in training him and he needs to get bigger, too.

Garrett made some friends when he showed up with a plum.

Major especially liked the plum.

These next photos make me so happy. Heidi is working for and living her dream.

"Knight Major Day"

The beautiful scenery at Paul's ranch.

Both of Heidi's families got to enjoy this celebration and we are so happy we were able to be there. We love you, Heidi!

June Activities

This summer I told Andrew that we would do something fun every day - big fun or just something that we do together on a small scale. So far in June we have been to some pretty neat places and had some fun together. Here are some of the bigger trips:

The Bug Museum in Bremerton

Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma

We joined our friends, Heather and Dani and their kids, for a fun day together.

Couldn't resist some Sonic!

It was such a warm day, so the kids set up the slip and slide to cool off.

Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend

My brother, Paul, and his family went camping and invited us out to visit and play for the day.

I took a nice walk on the beach with Tate out to the lighthouse while the rest played on the beach or visited at the campsite.

We all indulged in a Fat Smitty's burger. It was delicious and quite filling!

Tacoma Museum of Glass

Artist, Greg Dietrich, blowing some glass to make a vase with jellyfish on it.

The MC did some glass "stupid tricks" while the artist worked on his piece.

He brought a piece of the glass bubble around to feel.

Next month we plan to have more adventures. I'm having a lot of fun and I think Andrew is, too.