They Are Here !

The first thing Marilyn said when we entered the basement was, "I have that exact poster."

We are truly kindred spirits living parallel lives and celebrate birthdays in March six days apart!

Naturally I made a lemon meringue pie for the first night's dinner.

140th Anniversary Celebration

125 gathered to celebration in Northern Virginia at the Willows. Soaking rain the whole day, but the celebration was planned to perfection. All attendees impressed!

Planning the Skit at the Double Z

The planning team meeting for the skit.

Picnic table on the shadey side of the house this year.

Adults could watch from the front window.

Tonight in Maryland, Neil and I are doing some planning too. Like Annie says, "tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, is only a day away." Yes, the company arrives!

Target Acquisitions

No more worries about falling in.

We found the perfect accessory for the younger guests - the Elmo upstairs and downstairs (you carry it between the two) aide for those private moments.

Double Z Fun

Going to visit the Double Z Ranch at the end of Lateral A in the Yakima Valley had an influence on all the grandchildren. Where else could you drive heavy farm equipment, drink unlimited cokes, lick plenty of popcycles, play with Murphy and have Nana's great cooking?

As soon as you could reach the clutch, you could drive the pickup truck to deliver tools ..... as long as you didn't leave ranch grounds!

Oh the endless hours of picking up rocks for a dollar a bucket and the allure of the creek and crossing to the other side.

It Started At 18 Months

Jim became aware of his dad's skill at unscrewing and fixing things around the house, here seen changing the backup lights on the car.

The first time Jim became an interactive toy for Neil was when Neil was cleaning the lawn mower in the garage for spring use. He knew he had taken the carborator screws off and had set them in order on the floor, but the screws were carefully back in place, causing some annoyance because Neil had been ready to plunk the clean unit on again.

Enter one enterprising 18 month old work buddy and mechanically inclined son.

About this time when doing some electrical work, Neil punched out the plug for a box and handed it to Jim and said, "Look Jim, a quarter." Jim did look and handed it back and said, "no face." Couldn't fool him very easily from then on.

Lower Level Footstool

Not a step up from the Sponge Bob footstool upstairs, but a make-do footstool in the lower level bathroom.

Neil made this shoe-shine box when we first got married, along the lines of the stereo cabinet that the kids used as a playhouse well into elementary school, aka, very sturdy.

This will help the little ones wash up for dinner and can be carried to the family room to act as a miniature seat at the coffee table when coloring on the long roll of white paper!