Dottie, Patty, and Cheri stop for photos on day two of the walk.

Soccer.

Did I mention Shiva's on a soccer team? She's really enjoying it and they had their first game on Friday and her team won 13 to 6, Shiva scored 9 of those herself.


If you want to know why she is holding that rock you will have to ask her, I have no idea.

Look at Lydia's new hair!

Last day of summer.

& that's not a booger in my nose.

So PROUD of our kids

Wow, they grow up so fast. So proud of them.

Summer 08

"Cooling off in the Yuba River"

Summer is fading fast....excuse me, it's gone! Annie and I did manage to find a warm week in August, but we had to go south to do it. Christian, Annie and I drove to Lake Wildwood where we met up with Sean, Kristin and Annie's family for a fun week of good food, swimming, great dinners, boat rides, fantastic lunches, late night star watching, and of course, a final feast. This year with a Turkish menu that had the girls cooking for hours.

Speaking of "cool"

Ahhhh....

Kristin, Sean and the "Old Man"

Annie, Chris, and Laurie (The "Smith" side)





Of course there are some folks who don't enjoy the sun as much as others. You find these people in the shadow and only in the bright nasty sun for minutes at a time. Just long enough to move from the shade tree to the "covered" boat.

Christian on Lake Wildwood, away from the nasty sun.

Sean acting like, well.....Sean!

This August marked 30 years together for Annie and I. I Wrote a poem that ended with... "this ring is in memory of all this". I read her my poem and when she gave me the look of "What ring?" I handed her a ring box with a special ring I had made for the event. It was a "Man-in-the-Moon ring that was a bit like one given to her by her mother when she was much younger. The new one was in memory of her mom, our meeting, and me getting enough nerve to kiss her...(I lied about a shooting star, and made a wish)

Michael reading his "poem" just before giving the ring.

Annie freaking out

A very emotional time for some....

But....not everyone got all "emotional"

And some "nice" gifts were given... :-))

And we all did the right thing...and had a feast!

Our last night before heading home....nice!

It was a great week, we all enjoyed getting away form the Northwest and soaking up lots of bright sun shine, (except Christian). Here is wishing us all an Indian summer so we can soak up just a bit more summer before the fall truly hits us.

Michael..............................................

3 DAY Supporters

Just a short note to 3 DAY Supporters. Marge, Cheri and I have received enough donations ($2200 minimum from each of us) to qualify for participation in the 3 day walk - September 12, 13, & 14. We have a lot of people to thank - our friends and family members who contributed, both in money and in other types of support - helping us fundraise, walking with us and cheering us on our way. This includes our "Pink for Patty" team namesake - Patty. The actual event will be a real celebration and you are all invited to join the pink crowds in Seattle. Just in case you are interested, the 3 DAY people offer this supporters' link: http://www.the3day.org/site/PageServer?pagename=SE_Supporter

I'm a happy Grandpa Pat (Gramma Patty's pleased too)

Yes. As Devonne said, I'm going to be a grandpa for the fourth time. Oh, did I say "fourth"? I guess that's because Devonne is faster with her news than Kelley is with hers. That's right, Kelley and Jesse are expecting their first child around St. Patrick's Day, somewhere around a month before Devonne and John. (Stay tuned for Devonne's actual date.) Since I'm posting this message from Kelley's dial-up conection in Yakima, I understand her delay in sharing this news on the blog. (It's sloooooow.)

On another front: Patty and I have a house. It appears that our years of renting are coming to an end. The house is in Bremerton and has just the amenities we need; a big kitchem for Patty and a small yard for me.

It's a happy house, don't you think? Cheri said it was smiling.

Patty's big kitchen. Did I mention the hard wood floors? Pat's small yard. (Yes, this is the whole yard.)

Well, that's the news for now . . . one more thing, please keep Daniel (and Emma) in prayer during his time of service to our country. God bless you, Daniel.