A Hidden Bird's Nest

Look what I found in the wisteria ! If you look to the far right of the porch - this little bird's nest is under the eve at the end, and from the porch side of the house. I had to get a mirror to look into the nest, because of the way the protective little mamma bird hid the nest. I think there are at least 5 eggs in the nest - they are the prettiest shade of light blue - with a little speckled ring around the middle of them. I haven't seen the mamma bird going into the nest, so I don't know what kind of bird's eggs these are - even if I did see her, I still probably wouldn't know what kind of bird it is !! And, I hope I didn't disturb her and she is able to hatch the babies. I'll have to check back on it in a little while and listen to see if I hear any little peeps before I climb up there again with my mirror. Good thing she put the nest way up high there, DC and PR love to go out the front door whenever I open it and I know they would just terrorize her (or maybe she would terrorize them !). If I get to see the babies, I'll try to get some more pictures posted.

The Moving Wall

I was able to visit this display in Lakeport last weekend. It is a 1/2 scale replica of the VietNam War Veteran Memorial in Washington DC - and is on tour in the US. We were lucky enough to have it come to Lakeport. The display is truly amazing - all who see it are deeply moved. This is a selection of the pictures I took. Along the base of the wall, there were flowers and momentos left by those finding the names of their loved ones. The statue you see here was done to depict a soldier who had lost a leg in battle, he wears the helmet of a warrior, has an angel wing on one shoulder and appears to be caught between two worlds...you can feel the emotions of the sculptor when you see it. The table set is in remembrance of POW's/MIA's and is marked in symbolism.. the table is set for one, symbolizing the frailty of one prisoner alone against his oppressors, the cloth symbolizes the purity of the Soldier's intent in answering his country's call to duty. The rose to remember his loved ones, friends and fellow troops left behind. There is a slice of lemon on the plate to symbolize the bitter fate of fallen soldiers, salt to remind us of the tears shed by his family. The glass is turned upside down - he cannot toast any longer - the Bible to remind us to pray for them always. The candle is reminiscent of the light of hope that lives in our hearts to illuminate their way home, away from their captors to the open arms of a grateful nation.
I am really glad that I was able to view this display - and am forever grateful for the sacrafices that were made during the VietNam war and even more grateful now for the current soldiers who make daily sacrafices to allow us to live in a free country.

EXCITING NEWS !!! for the kids....

Well, they've done it ! Lee, Amber and John have purchased their first new home...what smart kids! It's been a tense few weeks getting paperwork signed and back and forth from John; and pretty stressful for Amber since she was also planning a graduation party, but they are in the house !! They actually got the keys on Thursday - just 2 days before Amber's graduation .. so, needless to say, Lee and Amber were pretty exhausted trying to get everything moved in before the guests started to arrive ~ they even had Grandma and I call along the way as we drove down to Turlock on Friday so they could time our arrival as they were finishing up some unpacking ! And, thank goodness John was at a training in Yuma, AZ for a few weeks which enabled him to drive to Turlock to celebrate with them. He ended up spending 19 hours driving to spend only about 34 hours with Lee and Amber, but he has said it was well worth it ! We are so proud of the kids for taking this step and excited for them that they have this beautiful new home. I was totally impressed with their choice and it was amazing what good shape the house is in. Since the move in was so quick, it was really a good thing that the last owners left it in such immaculate condition. I've never seen a house be so move-in ready. It will be fun to see the house again once they have had time to really organize and decorate ~ they are going to have a beautiful home and be really comfortable ~ we are so happy for them and totally amazed at how at their young ages they have been able to get into their first house. With John being part owner there in Turlock with Lee and Amber it makes me wonder if he will ever want to come see us here in Lakeport on his leaves from the Air Force !! :) : ( (but, I guess with 3 bedrooms, they will always have room for us to visit there !! ~ wonder if they are thinking they should have maybe chosen a house with only 2 bedrooms !) Way to go kids ~ we're proud of you !!! This is just a quick shot of them at the front door ~ I won't post pictures of the rest of the house, I'll leave that for them to do ~ and believe me, you'll like it when you see the pictures.

Amber is a College Grad !!! Whoo Hoo !!!

It's been a long haul for her, but she's completed her college degree. Amber graduated on Saturday, June 6, 2009 from California State University, Stanislaus with a BA degree in Sociology. We are so proud of her accomplishment and I know she must be really relieved to have it done !! She has worked really hard with going to school full time, being a newlywed, parenting 3 dogs and 2 cats, and working her way thru school !! I am so glad we were able to see her receive her diploma and help her celebrate this accomplishment ~ she's got to be pretty proud of herself and if smiles say anything, I know she was extremely happy on Saturday !

Visiting with the kids...June 09

Grandma and I were able to visit with Lee, Amber and John in Turlock for a quick trip. Our trip there was to attend Amber's graduation ~ which coincided with them moving into their new home, so it was a pretty hectic, busy weekend. But a fun visit just the same ~ it's always great to see the kids. And, thankfully, this time John was able to join us !!

On The Way To Turlock

Grandma and I made a trip down to Turlock before she left for Texas and along the way, we stopped for a short little visit thru Old Towne Sacramento. She had never been to Old Towne before and we made a quick little driving tour thru the area. We did stop and go into the old schoolhouse and she enjoyed visiting with the docent there and hearing about how school was conducted "back in the day".

The Oakland Temple

The next big outing for Grandma was a trip with some of my church friends down to the Oakland Temple for the day. My friend, Jackie, played tour guide for her and showed her thru the visitors center and gave her a history on the church. It was a nice little getaway for her while I was working and she thoroughly enjoyed the day with the ladies.

Redwoods and the Coast

While she was here, I took Grandma up 101 for a little drive into the Redwoods and then over to the Coast. We saw the beautiful majestic Redwoods, drove thru Chandelier tree at Leggett, visited a really awesome glass shop and then enjoyed a drive down the coast into Fort Bragg. Fort Bragg has really been changing since I was last over there - the downtown area is being all re-vamped and looks like it would be fun to take a day and browse thru the shops. As we drove around Noyo Harbor in Fort Bragg, I took a picture you see here of this really cool dockside building ~ I thought it had a lot of character ! It was a beautiful clear day in the trees and then got a little overcast on the coast ~ but overall we had a great day.

Grandma's visit to California

Returning to California in May after going to Kristi's graduation and visiting with Milt in PO'C, I brought Grandma back with me for a visit. Milt's mom loves to come to California ~ over the last several years, she has met lots of our friends here and likes to visit with everyone. On this trip, she and I met Katherine Lancina (a friend of mine I met before the boys were born !) in Santa Rosa and traveled down to the city. We loaded on a ferry in Larkspur and rode into San Francisco by water...in San Francisco, we took a city bus down the wharf to get on a cable car...rode the cable car to Union Square and from there boarded the underground subway BART and went back to the Ferry Building that way !! It was a day of firsts for Grandma ~ she'd never ridden on the cable cars in San Francisco and never on BART ~ not sure if she's ever been on a city bus or not !! It was an absolutely beautiful day in the city ~ which was lucky for us. I think Katherine and I wore her out pretty much because it involved a little bit more walking than she was used to, but she held up for us and we all really enjoyed the day.

Port O'Connor, Texas - or as we say PO'C

Her's a few pictures of Port O'Connor and of the roads to get there. We always know when someone has never been to PO'C ~ if they say something like "oh yea, I've driven thru Port O'Connor " you know for a fact they've never been there...you don't drive thru PO'C ~ it's one road in.... You take 1289 out of Port Lavaca and then 185 into town. It's a very, very small little fishing community. You'll see here a shot of the front beach pier and one of the Fishing Center. The fishing center is where all the locals sit on the dock to watch the tourists launch and load their boats ~ it tends to be pretty entertaining. My dad loved to sit down here on the weekends and watch the people. Following his death, we had a park bench with his name on it put down on the dock as a rememberance ! It's a pretty slow little town that gets to hopping when fishing season is in full swing and there's a couple of big fishing tournaments that happen and bring in lots of tourists.

May 2009 in Port O'Connor

While I was in Texas for Kristi's graduation, I was able to spend a few days in Port O'Connor with Milton. I haven't posted this part yet, but Milton has been "living" in Port O'Connor for about the last year and a half. Port O'Connor is the little coastal town in Texas where my parents had retired to and where we always went back for visits with the boys' grandparents. It is about an hour away from where Milt's parents lived in Victoria (which is where we went to school).
Anyway, we have some lots there in Port O'Connor. When my dad was alive, he talked us into making travel trailor spaces on the two lots we owned - to earn some income. Pretty much we went along with it ~ and I think mainly to give Daddy something to do !! lol We've never really made much "income" on the lots ~ not as much as we would like, anyway ! And, then adjoining our "trailor space lot" is a mobile home that my parents had bought for a rental property. We have since inherited the mobile...So, Milt's purpose 1 1/2 years ago was twofold = to go back and help his mom do some work at her house in Victoria and then to get this mobile ready to set up as a rental. After all, all the remodeling was done on our home here in California ! and what else is a man to do ??!!
I think he has the trailor just about ready to rent now, so maybe he will be returning to live in California after all ?? lol
Here are a couple of pictures of the trailor and the work he has done - although we don't have any before pictures, so it is not a really good showing of all the work he has accomplished !! Take my word for it - this looks beautiful compared to what he started with !! This shows just a little bit of the finished areas = it ended up being way more work than he bargained for = he pretty much had to rebuild the trailor !

Dr. Kristi Whitworth

Far left is Ryan, Kristi, her mom and dad, Randy and Kay

Then there's Milton and I with Kristi.



I hadn't realized how long it has been since I posted on here - so thought I would catch up on a few happenings ! At the first of May, I traveled to Texas for a quick visit. My niece (my sister's daughter), Kristi, was graduating from UT with her PHd and I wanted to attend the ceremony for her. Kristi has worked really hard and has accomplished her goal. She studied in public health and is involved in a research program studying the diseases of the skin - her masters is in epidemiology. She talks about things way over my head, but I can follow a little bit of what she's doing!! lol... Following graduation, she and her husband, Ryan, moved to Durham, North Carolina - so I wanted to see them before they left Texas. I had a really fun visit with them, spending a few days with my sister outside of Houston before the graduation. Since it was a family event, I also got to see my nephew, Kristi's brother, Jason and his little girl Kaylee. I had a really nice visit with Jason this trip - I don't always get to see Jason... Following the graduation, the next day, Kay and Randy loaded up their motor home with some of Kristi and Ryan's stuff and headed out to North Carolina = towing Ryan's vehicle ~ to help get them set up in their place out there. Kristi and Ryan had previously made a trip to Durham and found a place to live once they had their jobs both secure in North Carolina. This must have been a pretty interesting trip for them ~ along in the motor home were 3 dogs (big dogs -- Weimerraners - 2 of Kays and Kristi's) and Ryan's mom, Diane. I think they spent one night along the way and then Kay, Randy and Diane stayed for a few days helping Kristi and Ryan get settled. Kay and Randy drove the motor home back to Houston - minus 3 people and 1 dog !! and Diane stayed an extra day and then flew back to her home in Corpus ....So, graduation and a new home all in a week !! I've since heard that Kristi and Ryan are settling into life in North Carolina. It'd be fun to go out to visit sometime, since I once lived out their with my family - graduating from high school on the North Carolina coast about 3 hours from Raleigh/Durham.