Gathering The Wood

 Over the last three or four years, whenever a tree needed to come down, Bob would limb it and put that on the brush pile.  So one of his projects for the summer was to go through the woods and gather everything that could be used for firewood next winter.   John Deere and the little red cart were very helpful.

Some of these chunks of maple were from sizeable rounds.   To verify how much better Bob's shoulder is, he was able to split them all.  I can still hear the maul hitting the wedges and that wonderful splitting sound in the wood.  The woodshed is pretty full. 
Today, July 16, is cold and rainy.  Maybe a fire in the fireplace tonight??? 

Celebration for Bob

Joleen made the cupcakes.

Ben furnished the house.

 Joel and Grandpa watched Toy Story 2

Quinn licked the frosting.

Kemp, Jay, Ross, Shannon, Grace and Brooke called.  E-mail from Sonja.  We are blessed.

Stamps and More Stamps

 While waiting for spring to come, Robert has spent his rainy days on his stamp collection.  He showed me this pile of stamps, most were all the same, but different.  Here are his little green tags to keep them identified.

Magic.  Here is the completed page.  Just proves that you need to watch those Liberty Bell and Flag stamps!

Kid Time

Finding the "happy" Joel

Quinn's sign language for "I don't know."

Dark, rainy days take their toll.  But a great way to have a peaceful hour is with a pan of water and a few plastic tea dishes on the tile kitchen floor.

No, the sun did not come out, but it did stop raining for a bit.  Joel and Grandpa needed some time away from the girls in the house.

Such a good investment of our time and energy!

Getting a Smell

This was eight years ago this spring.  Sailor is checking out Robert's running shoes.  She has run with him every morning that he has gone since then.  Now anytime she hears the sound of nylon clothes slipping on or catches a "runner's" smell, she is whimpering at the door to get going.  I had forgotten that this exercise had been from the start.

Climbing Days

Robert found his place in the world during his very late highschool and early college years in Bremerton, Washington. It was in the beauty and challenge of conqueroring  the mountains.   I have always loved this picture of him rapelling off this sheer rock wall on Mt Cruiser west of Mt. Washington in the Olympic Mountains....his favorite place to be.

Drawing of the peak is from the Climbing Guide to the Olympic Mountains.

Kayaking in Sequim Bay

Not only did we go to Hurricane Ridge while visiting Shannon and Grace, but Bob was able to drop his kayak into Sequim Bay in front of their house.  

One happy man.

Honoring Fathers

Thank you to the father of the Petersen Family. 

Next Generation

This is the same house. Shannon's photo of the house currently, shows it is in better repair than in 1938. Robert was 5 years old attending kindergarten in Salt Lake and living at his grandmother's home along with his mother. She was also going to school to get accredited to teach. This bright smile is the only picture I have of Robert's childhood. That is certainly a loss.

Hideaway

Over the summer when Bob would mow, I could hear brush crashing and wondered what was going on. Then I noticed that often he was not in the house, garage, yard or even asleep in his truck (as he has been known to do sometimes). Also one of the lawn chairs was missing. Then as I was cleaning in the back woods between the woodshed and the potato patch,

I found this little alcove. What do you think?

Happy Birthday to the Old Man of the Mtns!

Happy 76th Birthday, Pop! You are a fantastic example to all of what a father and a man should be. You've been a constant rock of silent strength to me and I want you to know how much I love you. You are why I watch hangliders as long as I can when they happen to be in the sky, why I try to identify the different Evergreens in the woods, why I take interest in Hawks, Eagles, etc., why I like old cars, and why I love the mountains so much. You always took the time to point out these things out to me. You are definitely the reason why I am very clear in giving directions-boy, do I know my North, South, East, & West! I think I can blame you for the reason why I need things to be symmetrical in my surroundings. If only I had some of your math skills! Thank heavens someone in this family shares my passions for John Grisham and going to the garbage dump.

You may not have been able to see and do everything on your life's list, Dad, but you've been everything that your children have needed! I love you, and Happy Birthday.

Love, Shannon

The Compost Bucket!

It must have been Dad's turn to dump the compost bucket. He probably had to fight off all of you to get to do this favored duty. Wasn't this Jacob's favorite thing to do when he came to our house? I know that you all loved this part of the garden process.

Dad's 75th Birthday

I thought Jacob's handiwork should be part of the blog.