Father's Day

Father's Day

In the afternoon, we drove to Springville, picking up Julie in Provo on the way. Sherry had prepared a barbecue rib dinner for us. Plus she had made a special pie for me, a strawberry rhubarb pie. It was perfect with homemade ice cream on top. After-wards Jeff and I enjoyed opening our little gifts. Everything was perfect. What a great family I have.  

Fifty one years

Fifty one years

We celebrated our 51^st wedding anniversary by having dinner at Little America. The occasion was cozy - quite different than the sizable celebration of last year's fiftieth. Not much was going on in the city, so on the way home, we took a leisurely drive through Liberty Park, then through Sugarhouse Park. During the  evening we had occasion to remember many of the good times of our marriage.  

Turning 17

Turning 17 was easy for Sam. Being the youngest in his family, he has observed his older brothers make their way through the dreaded teenage years.  Little does he know that life only gets better from this point on.

He has such a big smile and a delightful personality.  As I look back across the years, I can't think of a time when he or his brothers were not respectful to me and Grandma.   

Jeff is really serious about the burgers.

Even now, when we go to Springville, Sam is the first out the door to greet us with a hug.  And when it is time to go I always get a bear hug from him, and from whoever else is there.

                       

I think that there is something in the Old Testament that says something about honoring the elderly. 

Deuteronomy 5:16.

He comes from this type of family, for sure.

Shadow the dog has been a best friend to Sam, who often plays with him.  He knows his place is in the yard, not in the house.  He stays outside even in the winter.  Jeff built him a pretty cool dog house that even has a little heater in it.

Shadow enjoys Matt's company, as he gets his neck scratched.

The Oregon coast

Seaside

After leaving the hustle bustle of graduation activities in Lacey, Grandma and I made our way to Seaside, on the Oregon coast.  We had been to Seaside in past years, but had never stayed there.  

Bev waves from the hotel room.

The Ebb Tide Oceanfront Inn was an older, rustic place like all the other hotels along the Promenade.  

The Promenade.

The Promenade stretches for what seems like miles, separating all the hotels from the sprawling sand dunes that grace the breakers of the Pacific.  

Shops along Broadway Street.

We found great pleasure in going into a lot of interesting stores.  All of the shop keepers were extra friendly to us.  One lady said that we were the 2nd couple from Utah to come into her shop that day.  I mentioned that the ocean sand was maybe the draw.  I also invited her to come to Utah sometime and see our red sand.  We all got a good laugh. 

 Grandma also won a bag of taffy, by spinning a wheel in a candy store.  The clerk made it really fun to play.

Dooger's restaurant.

Dooger's was recommended to us as a great place for salmon, and wow!  It really was.  If you can only imagine salmon tasting better than that served at the Red Lobster?  It was!

Cannon Beach

Who is this guy?

Cannon Beach is just half and hour south of Seaside.  The above wood carving made a good picture, but I don't recall who or what he represents.  Any Ideas?  Let me know. 

This town is more modern than Seaside.  The beauty of the coast line is world renown.  The world's affluent people frequent this place, and rightly so.  After driving around all the tourist spots, we took a couple back roads to see how the locals really live.  Below is an oceanfront gravel road with older quaint homes that we would love to live in, but I'm sure that because of location, they would be well out of our price range.     

Beautiful flowers adorn a modest home.

Even along main street, flowering bushes are so abundant.

A zoom pic of the above bush shows the peak of one of the older homes.

Portland Temple

The sun was not out the day we visited the temple, but still the beauty of this building was beyond expressive words.  Once easily seen from the freeway, it is now surrounded by full grown trees and bushes. The architecture is astounding. The building can be viewed from all angles as you drive around it.  Amazingly, even the service entrance is beautiful.  The creator of this edifice must be very pleased with his work.  

   

We were in awe

The flowers were in bloom as we drove through Tam's neighborhood.  We were in awe as we drove around, because blossoms like these are unknown in the high desert.  Beauty like this is so commonplace.

So interesting that the street lamp light is on.  It's almost like it is saying, "Hey, please notice the beautiful flowering bush next to me."  

 Tammy's front yard was glorious with color.  

Belana's graduation

We arrived home last evening from a nine day trip to the northwest. The occasion that inspired the trip was Belana's graduation from Saint Mary's University in Lacey, Washington. Majoring in biology, she was the first of our grandchildren to have received a college degree.   

The ceremony took place in the Marcus Pavilion and began at 10:00 AM. Our party arrived a hour early ensuring us good seating. 

The graduates were mustered across the quad in the Old Main building, then moved outside in order past the Christus statue and down the long stairs.

Once across the quad area they entered the back of the pavilion.

We were very excited, and when we finally spotted Belana we cheered. I got some great pictures of her. I think there were over 300 students that got degrees. 

Boyfriend on the left.

I really enjoyed the speeches given. Of great interest were the honorary Doctorate degrees awarded to Barbara and Virgil Clarkson and Abbot Neal Roth.

The University President said, "The clarksons and Abbot Neal exemplify many Benedictine values, most importantly the significance of community.Over their lifetimes they have instilled a true sense of community in the greater South Sound region. We are all enriched by their decades of service and we remain thankful for their enduring leadership." Each of these persons had done so much for the underprivileged.  

The underlying message of the graduation ceremony, in my opinion, was that of obtaining uplifting values through education, and upon personal future success in being of service to others.

What a great day it was for all of us.

Pre-graduation reception

We traveled to the Northwest to attend Belana's graduation from Saint Martin's University, and this posting is about a family/friend pre-graduation reception held in Belana's honor at her home.  I didn't socialize much on this occasion, but I did have the chance to visit extensively with John and Joan Anderson, the other grandparents. They are wonderful people. We took them home afterward, and on Sunday we drove them home again. John gave me four jars of agates he had collected at the coastal beaches. 

Me, Bev, Belana, Joan & John

Belana must have the family gene for "rabbit ears."

The food was scrumptious.

Joan was one of the first in line, but I was right behind her.

The following are pics of some of those who came for the event.  I don't know them to name them, but they all appreciated and enjoyed the reception.

Brendan the cat boy.  It seems that both these cats have somehow bonded with him.  Perhaps it is because he scratches their ears, pets them, and generally attends to their every need.  

This cat is recovering from a mishap.  Notice its rear leg is bandaged.  When Fattie is not wearing the cone collar, she chews on her foot, making it worse.  Under close supervision by Brendan, Fattie is allowed to have some real cat-time each day with the cone off.  No wonder she likes him.

My next posting will cover the actual graduation ceremony.  Please check back in a few days.  Thank you.