New York Times

For several years now we have been subscribers to the New York Times newspaper. I just love the stories of inspirations and creativity. The international stories about people's struggles and lives around the world cannot be found anywhere else.

I'd like to post links to two stories that inspired me in today's paper:

The first is about a boy who wanted/needed a summer job. Instead of going around and asking for one, as most everyon does, he had a creative and inovative way to get the job he wanted instead of settling for something he didn't want - or worse, not getting a job at all. Pass this along to anyone who is looking for find work......
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/13/us/13jobsatlanta.html?scp=1&sq=robbie%20brown%20summer%20job&st=cse

The other inspiring story I found in today's newspaper is about a school that was having all the same problems most other schools are having - not enough money. Instead of protesting and demanding, this superintendent came up with a brillant idea! Pass this along to your local school....
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/13/nyregion/tiny-newcomb-ny-recruits-students-worldwide.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=michael%20winerip&st=cse

That's it for today. The weather is gorgeous!!! Gotta get outside.
"This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Coeur d'Alene

Here are some pictures from our 35th anniversary vacation. It was the best week-end we've had in ages. It's the first time I remember returning from a vacation feeling rested. Here are some pictures: John on Lake Coeur d'Alene on morning.

Jan on our deck overlooking the lake.

Suspension bridge we walked over on our hike.

Peaceful hiking trail

Moose statue overlooking the lake on a cloudy morning.

Wild Horse Monument we encountered on the drive over.

We spent the long Memorial Day week-end at Coeur d'Alene Resort in Idaho - http://www.cdaresort.com/. We had a great room overlooking the lake and took full advantage of it.

We took a walk/hike every morning to get the day started and to counter balance the over-eating we did these few days.

We took a lake cruise Sunday afternoon - but took no pictures - we just have those in our minds as memories.

The remote controls drapes in the room were the best! We opened them in the morning to let the sun in and see the beautiful view of the lake without even getting out of bed.

Huckleberries must be the state fruit - we ate huckleberry pancakes with huckleberry syrup for breakfast. We drank huckleberry lemonade in the afternoon and had huckleberry sorbet on top of huckleberry pie for dessert. Of course, there were chocolate covered huckleberries to tide us over between meals.

Spring!

It really feels like the first day of spring today with warm temps - not quite 70, but really close. Yard work awaits, but couldn't pass up the chance to get out and enjoy the day with a walk and then relax on the deck - it is Sunday, after all. All the work will still be there tomorrow.

Our 35th anniversary is approaching, so we are thinking about what we want to do. We've just about got it narrowed it down, but not quite. On our 30th, we all went on a cruise. This anniversary won't be 'big', but we do want to get away for a little while. We'll post info as we get closer......

Boston Marathon

Our daughter-in-law Sarah and her sister are running the Boston Marathon right now! What an achievement!

Happy Birthday, Mark

Our baby boy is 24 years old today! I can't believe it. This is me this morning trying to get a grasp on our youngest being so old.

.......and no, this is not an April Fool's Day joke - he really was born on this day.

Spring has Sprung

It seems like spring has been a very long time in coming this year. The temps are still topping out in the 50's, but at least we saw some wild flowers blooming while on a hike this morning AND the golf course started up the sprinklers this morning. That's out signal that spring is here - or at least - just around the corner. I'm SO ready for warmer temps.

Whirlwind Week-end !

Mark flew in just before mid-night on Friday. Saturday we were up early and headed over the mountains to watch Hannah in her gymnastics meet and shop at the huge Apple Store over there. Mark got a new i-Pod phone - I marvelled at the new iPads!
That evening it was back over the mountains headed home. Beautiful day of sunshine with lots of snow in the mountains, but none on the roads - a perfect scenario. We were all gathered here for dessert and talked until way too late into the night. It made for a very long day, but since Drew had to fly out the next morning for DC, it was the only time we could all 7 be together.
We had planned for a hike on Sunday afternoon, but a very rare day of rain changed those plans, so we stayed home and played the boardgame "Risk". Not my favorite, but JJ and Mark really like it, so we joined it. Sarah and the kids stayed for dinner, but we called it an early evening and headed to bed since Mark had a 6am flight this morning - which means we are up at 4:30 - not easy after the busy week-end we had.
One great factor in living here, is that the airport is only 5 miles away and we can drive right up to the front door and park. It only takes 10 minutes from getting in our car here at home to being inside the airport - what a great change from dealing with the mega-airports we've dealt with before.
All in all - it was a great week-end, but very tiring. Think I'll go back to bed before starting my day.