HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALICIA!

Once upon a time, there was a precious little girl with beautiful red hair, named Alicia. She was a princess, you know. She lived in a castle with a steep wooden stairway to her upper chambers. There she stayed with her brother, the prince. When she got older, the king and queen moved to a newer and bigger castle. It had beautiful gardens with roses. There were also trees to climb and the princess could often be seen in the upper branches. Sometimes with the prince and sometimes with a wild tiger (her cat?).
Her horse had two wheels that could speed down the road because Princess Alicia could peddle faster than the wind.
There were adventures of all kinds. One time she went to sea with her grandfather. The crew was a dangerous bunch and the princess had to wear glasses for a disguise. And no one guessed who she really was.

(Alicia on Father's Day 2008)

And then our princess grew up. She met her very own prince and he hustled her away to his own castle in a foreign country. There were many dragons and obstacles, but the princess kept fighting them off.

All of those loyal subjects who had known and loved her since that beautiful fall day she was born, love her still. And they all join in this happy occasion of her 23rd birthday to wish her the most happy of birthdays.

Late for the Debate

Bob missed the first 10 minutes of the presidential debate Friday night, because he was so engrossed in his paint job. He says it is much easier to paint trim from the roof than from a long ladder. What do you think? This project has kept him occupied and I have even heard him whistling these days!

Joel

Ben said that I could post this photo on the blog. Last weekend, he and JoLin took Joel to a wedding of one of Ben's highschool friends. Our sweet baby boy, now almost 14 months old, looks all grown up. Now who does he look like?

Three Men and a Girl

Look at these three brothers. Who would dare to harm their sister? Jay, Ross and Kemp were Joleen's protection then and they still are today. As well as to Shannon who came later. Benjamin, the last, has joined the protectors of the sisters. What a great job of caring for each other.

Big Improvement

This is better, not so geekish. Dad wishes he still had that hair!

1970's

This is probably the geekiest picture ever taken of us. But it is always good for a laugh.....The 70's were the worst. Don't you love the pattern in Dad's shirt? This picture proves the saying, that we don't get older, we only get better. I'd like to think that we improved with age. (taken in the backyard at Grandma Blood's)

The Real Fun Begins

With newly built scaffolding in place, Dad begins the job of painting the house. Because there are so many exterior walls to cover, we have decided to tackle the job one wall at a time. The process is this: do one wall and take a break.....maybe until another nice day. It makes the job not quite so daunting.

This is the third layer of paint in forty years. We studied every yellow and yellow/tan color at Home Depot. We wanted something "yellow, but different". Do you think we found it? Please enlarge the picture to make sure of your vote. With Dad's shoulder surgery one week away, he's hurrying to get done before his work vacation. I get to do the lower levels!

Come on over!

Changes

Remember the native vineleaf maple in our lane to the house? It was always the first to turn colors announcing that the air was changing, summer play was coming to an end and school was calling. Faithfully, that same routine came this year....but perhaps just a little later than usual. We stole the extra days and soaked up the sun.

What's Grosser than Gross?

How about a mousie nest in your glovebox? I keep a roll of t.p. for all the long trips that I take with Grace. Looks like a mouse crawled up and found a warm place to sleep and to escape our two Tom Cats. I put both cats in the car, in great hope that they would find the fella before he found me, but the "boys" were very put out, and jumped out before they served any kind of purpose. I thoroughly cleaned out my glovebox...and found a new hiding spot for a new roll of t.p.

Sunday Drivers in Sequim

David, Grace, & I were enjoying the views this afternoon when this lovely Tall Ship came into the Bay. I suspect it is the Lady Washington, hence the Washington State flag atop the mast. We had Grace concerned that pirates were coming to our beach. It didn't get too close, though, so I had to crop the photo a little. Hopefully it's clear enough to see. Wish you all were here!

Blog Report

We started Amsbaugh Gardens on August 1st and by August 31, there were 33 postings. That is just more than one per day. That is so much more activity than I had even hoped to have. We have covered anniversaries, birthdays galore, sending out a missionary, changing jobs, memories of summer and family, trips, the first day of school, our homes and the beautiful world surrounding us. While your special day came and went, the rest of the family remembered you through reading about you and probably getting a good chuckle from a picture or two. If you were really lucky, they left their own personal comments. I hope that you felt more connected, more loved, and more appreciated.

We are looking forward to those of the family who have yet to comment or post, to get your own story told, rather than having it be through someone else's eyes and words. Thanks to you all!

Dog Days of Summer

I'm filling Grace's sand box (Dad made this for her 3rd birthday), one 5-gallon bucket-full a day (so I don't have to have a ton delivered). Claire & Bootsy liked the cool-ness of the sand. The cats aren't allowed...for obvious reasons...

Winding Down...

It's been a glorious year, and there are still a few flowers working full time in the yard, but there is definitely a sense in the air that things are coming to an end. It's sure been a nice distraction.

Fruit of the Harvest

Some 40 years ago, this pear tree was causually planted in the orchard. It was pretty spindley, but each year it would produce a half dozen scabby pears. Some years it got pruned, some it did not. The low yield would often bring threats to cut it down! It was not worth the trouble! I never got to the scabby pears anyway, until after they rotted.

The only thing saving that tree was the beautiful, sweet scented blossoms in the spring.

This year was different. The tree was not pruned, but it bloomed profusely. We hung one of those red sticky apple shapped things in the tree to catch the bugs. The season was just right and the tree set on pears, pears and more pears. Some of them had a little scab, but as you can see from the picture, much of the fruit is beautiful and clear. Yummmmm.

I am sure there is a moral here......Something about hanging in there, even when the tree (?) isn't doing much. We just don't know what good can happen when the circumstances and timing are right.

Gala's Labor Day

Even though we couldn't see "the mountain", we spent Labor Day at Paradise, Mt. Rainier. This is the Tatoosh Range in the background. Even though it was a little on the chilly side, there were still flowers to look at, and plenty of fresh air to take in. The old Visitor's Center (circular, Star Trek-like bldg) is being replaced by a new one made to look like the old lodge, set to open in October this year.

Grace Gala-1st Day of School

And here is my baby, on her first day of Kindergarten. Notice the twisted foot & the pained look on her face...we told her if she didn't go to school, the police would haul her Dad & I to separate jails far away, all of our animals would have to go to the pound, and she would have to go live with Grandpa & Grandma. She asked how often Grandma would take her to see us...not a good sign! When the big moment came, she had a few tears (as well as David & I), but off she went. The block around the school is about 1.25 miles, so the first day, David & I walked for a while, and then spied on her during recess. Miraculously, she was still alive, and even having a fun! She has made a couple of friends, but hasn't figured out their names yet.

First Day of School

This was the first day of the 1st Grade. Brooke was on her way to South Bay, Little Mermaid lunchbox in hand. We didn't have time for a picture as she started her Junior year in High School. She wasn't as excited and didn't get up hours early. My, how times have changed.

A Special Birthday

A Very Little Girl Holding Her Baby Sister.....

Today, 21 years ago, this sweet baby girl entered the world. Though she did not stay long with us, it seems appropriate to celebrate her birthday and remember the special love that Andrea, known as Annie, brought to all of us. Alicia was the loving big sister, always gentle and helpful. Annie's life helps to remind us that life is precious and that it needs to be lived with love, even unconditional love.