Boys Will Be Boys

We traveled to Maui this past weekend for the wedding of Steve & Iris. Here is a great shot of the boys getting ready for the ceremony:

The Disaster In The Gulf

I've been watching the news about the Oil Spill/Leak/Eruption in the gulf with sad disbelief.  Today Ann Curry tweeted a link to some amazing photos that really bring the whole situation home.  I thought I would pass along that link: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/05/disaster_unfolds_slowly_in_the.html

What, if anything, will we learn from this?

Cheever Family Photo

In March I made a quick trip to Wenatchee for an impromptu Cheever Family gathering. My mother is a Cheever, the oldest of six siblings. We had a great time visiting, listening to my cousin Sunny and her husband Lou sing, and relaxing around the campfire. Of course there were a ton of photos taken, but this one is by far the best. That's my cousin Sunny's French Bulldog Pepe front and center.

From Cheever Family Gathering - March 27th 2010

Sadie's B'day Dress

And here is one of Sadie in the adorable dress (if I do say so myself) that Uncle Chris and I got her for her 6th Birthday:

Ella's 9th B'day Cake

Here is another photo I found. This one is of Ella and the b'day cake Sara made her for her 9th Birthday.

Jet & Esme

In April I took a trip to Portland to visit my nieces for their birthdays. I finally got around to downloading the pictures and found this one:

2010 Front Yard Remodel

Ever since we moved into this house the giant juniper bush in the front yard has been a thorn in our sides. Finally we decided to bite the bullet and have it removed. Of course I had to first try to remove it myself and you'll see from the pictures I didn't get very far. I spent about 8 hours attacking the juniper and was only able to remove about 10% of it. Ken's Yard Service came and removed the entire thing, ground the stumps, and hauled the debris in a little under 3 hours.

Here is a slideshow of the progress we've made. The first few pictures are the miniscule progress I made.

Grandpa Jack

On April 16th Chris's Grandpa Jack passed away.  Here is a copy of his obituary that was in the Auburn Reporter on Friday April 30th.  We miss him like crazy, but are happy that he is now at peace.

Jack Grinnell

February 28, 1913 - April 16, 2010
Jack passed away peacefully after a brief hospital stay in Olympia. Jack spent most of his life in Auburn, where he and wife Viola settled after his service with the Navy in WWII. Jack and Vi ran Auburn Federal Savings until their retirement. Jack was an active member of the Chamber of Commerce, Elks, and Kiwanis. Jack and Vi moved to Olympia in 1993. When not spending time at the family cabin on Anderson Island, Jack spent his free time fishing the many rivers and lakes in the state. Jack is survived by his wife of 72 years, Viola, his daughter Sandra Skewis, and grandchildren Chris House, Angie Marmion, and Darcy McClintock, 3 great-grandchildren, and 3 great-great grandchildren. No services are planned, but memorial donations may be sent to the donor's choice.

Jury Duty

Today I am performing my civic duty, I am on Jury Duty.

My summons noted that I was to arrive at 8:30am this morning, downtown Seattle.

At around 7:15 this morning I happened to pull up their website where in bold red letters it stated:

PLEASE NOTE:  There was a printing error on the April and May summons you may have received.  The summons instructs citizens to report at 8:30 AM.  The report time should be 8:00 AM.  Please accept our apologies for this error and report at 8:00 AM on the date you have been summonsed.

I was the in hurry mode.  If you know me at all, you know that I can't stand to be late, for ANYTHING.  So I busted through the rest of my morning rituals, sprinted to the bus stop, caught the 21 express, walked 8 more blocks to the courthouse, and arrived at the front door at 7:58am.

Once I cleared security and checked in I grabbed a nice end seat and settled in.  And since that moment I have sat here.  And sat.  And then sat some more.  It is now 11:12am and I am still in the exact same spot.

Excitement.  Let me tell you.