April Fool's Day

Today is Mark's birthday - he was born on April Fool's Day 23 years ago. What a fun day for a birthday! We are on opposite sides of the country today, but close in thought. If you are reading this - Happy Birthday!!

Sarah did great in the marathon - she finished in 3 hours 36 minutes - fast enough to qualify for the Boston run - if she goes, we'll go, too.

Strange noises here..... every morning we wake up to 'helicopter' noise. It really sounds like a helicopter has landed next to our house and doesn't shut down. We came to find out that the orchards here run huge fans to try and stave off the frost from damaging the buds on the apple trees. It still freezes most nights, but since the buds are out they need to take precautions. Another thing they do is spray the trees with water in the evening so it encases the trees with ice. That way they don't drop below 32 degrees and it does seem to protect the buds from getting too cold.

That's about it for now.... Easter is just a few days away. Happy Easter to all!!

Marathon

Our daughter-in-law Sarah is running a marathon this Saturday with her sister. Here's the link....

http://sportsyakima.com/2010/03/sisters-taking-it-all-in-stride-for-marathon/

Yakima Home and Garden Show Here We Come...

Sundome


Today we are volunteering at the Yakima Home and Garden Show held in the Sundome. We've been wanting to attend to see what kind of plants will do well here. We want to add some colorful plants to our yard.

Uplands Trail Hike

A couple of days ago it was sunny and fairly warm, so we ventured out for a spring hike in the hills around Yakima. Some of the spring wildflowers are blooming and the snow covered mountains were visible in the distance. It was a great day! Beautiful flowers, sunshine, semi-warm temps, and, best of all, way too early for the rattlesnakes to be out.

New Pix

Our darling daughter-in-law snapped this picture of us on our cruise just before Christmas. This was a family trip to celebrate my 60th birthday - among other things. She takes better pictures than the pros on board.

Friends from our old neighborhood drove 3 hours each way today to visit us! What great friends we have! The day was crystal clear and sunny, but still cold. We had a great visit with old friends. Nothing like 30-year friendships - no time to make new friends like that.

Can hardly wait for spring. I want to plant flowers, but it is still freezing at night, so that will have to wait.

Reeds

A friend of mine in California found this place. Hope we can shop here someday - it's on Main St in St Helena, CA.
We are having cold and dreary weather here - warm, sunny California sounds good about now.

New Year

After a super charged end of the year and having the whole family here everyday for about 2 weeks, the new year has been very quiet. Mark is back in Boston, Drew is in Qatar, the kids are in school, so our days are back to the mundane. Winter doldrums have set in. Time to get motivated and productive!