Summer

Summer is almost gone......

The kids start back to school on the 31st. No more bike rides over here for a quick visit, no more calls in the middle of a hot afternoon asking "Can we go swimming?" and no more long walks after dinner ending with popsicles on the deck after sunset.

There are still a few weeks of golf, though. Sarah and I have had the best time playing golf together. The course here is beautiful!

One last fling before school will be a trip to the planetarium in Goldendale. We've been wanting to do this trip for a couple of years now, and it is finally on our calendars for next week.

What I love most about summer is warm temps, short sleeves, sandals, frapachinos, long daylight hours, and having the kids come by most every day. Life does not get better than this.

Double Rainbow

We were out on a walk after dinner last week with our kids and saw the biggest, brightest rainbow I'd had ever seen. Here are some shots we took and one someone else took. A perfect ending to a perfect day.

Frappuccino

Last summer we discovered frappuccinos. We got a gift card from Starbucks for a free one, so we tried it. The idea of cold coffee was not appealing at first, but ...WOW! what a beverage. We were hooked from that very first one. So, now that is our favorite summer drink. We found ourselves going to Starbucks far too often, so decided to go on the hunt for a frappuccino machine. Apparently, there is only one and it is made by Mr. Coffee. We bought it and now we can indulge ourselves everyday. What a treat!

It begins by brewing the coffee and dripping it into the lower portion where it is blended with the ice, cocoa, and milk. We highly recommend this!

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!