Happy Birthday Mike!

The kids put together a candy gram to wish Dad a Happy Birthday! His parents sometimes forgot to celebrate his birthday when he was a kid because it happened in the summer and they were often on vacation. He remembers one birthday when they were camping and at the end of the day when lights were out his Mom said - "Oh yeah, today is Mike's birthday isn't it? Happy Birthday Mike!" So he always feels weird when we make a cake and celebrate all things Dad! Well - we make brownies because that's what he loves. 7-11 is easy to remember! Sounds like a "convenient" day to have a birthday.

This year he was lucky enough to have all his kids and one grandkid here with him. (We were only missing Toby.)

Happy Birthday Honey! We love you!

Happy Fourth of July!

We had a great time on the 4th of July. Happy Birthday America! I got back the 3rd from Boise and hardly had time to hang my flag. I'm glad Carol had something special planned. It made it seen like a holiday! This year Mom and Dad came up and we all went to Carol's for a BBQ . She was the hostest with the mostest! We are quite a group up here in Spokane!

We celebrated Mom's birthday. Lots of fireworks on that cake!

Grandpa got to meet his namesake. It's a toss up which one of them has more hair...

Grandma got to say hello for the first time too.

We have fun as "Spokane Sisters!" Hey - we miss you Linda!

The we all went to the Indians baseball game. John got a box for the family and it was so fun to have a little privacy to enjoy the game. We won and saw some great fireworks after the show. One of the players did hand-springs all across the field. The kids were clapping! Andrew and Ryan had a sweet ride to the game.

It reminded me of the days in growing up in Pittsburgh when Dad would come home from work with tickets to the Pirates baseball games at Three Rivers Stadium.We would either have great seats on the base line (if the clients didn't use them) or be up in the first base camera box feeling all special! Those were the days with Manny Sanguin at catcher and Dave Parker in the outfield. Or Willie Stargil hitting the homeruns. My favorite player was Roberto Clemente in right field.

He could throw a guy out at home all the way from right field. I was in fourth grade when he died in a plane crash. What a tragedy! Clemente became the 11th member of the 3,000-hit club on Sept. 29, 1972, with a double off New York's John Matlack at Three Rivers Stadium. It was Clemente's final at-bat of the season and, tragically, the last of his career -- he died in an airplane accident during the offseason. They retired his number 21 after he died. I encouraged Andrew to research and present him when he did his 4th grade wax museum report. It was fun to dress him up as the great Roberto Clemente!

Fun In Boise!

We couldn't stand it. We had to go down to visit that new little baby. Dad and Andrew stayed home to get the house ready for painting. (Another story....) So Mom and the girls took off for Boise, ID.

Tammy and Toby are so accommodating in their small 2 bedroom apartment. It was a quick drive down and almost a week of fun in the pool and being with Dallas. He had his first bath (raisin boy lost his umbilical cord - finally!)

Then he was passed around from aunt to aunt to grandma and back again.

Sometimes even Daddy gets to hold him!

We dressed him up, shoes and all. He looks like a mini - Toby!

The pool was great. The weather was hot - in the 90's and 100's. Much warmer than Spokane. So we were in the pool everyday! I loved it! We are trying to talk Dad into a pool in the backyard. He seems to think that Spokane needs to be a whole lot warmer, with more than 3 months of summer.

Even Dallas was a pool boy - except when his mother stuck his foot into the cold pool water. He screamed in protest and we all laughed! I guess he is used to warm bath water.

It was fun to play games, Settlers of Catan and Snatch and Disney Scene It.

We kidnapped Tammy and Toby and brought them home for the 4th of July. I love the summer schedule - or lack thereof!