Happy Thanksgiving

 We were blessed to be invited to Dean's house for Thanksgiving in Sammamish. It was nice to spend time there with the family. Of course, the kids wanted Martinelli's and were thrilled to have a few bottles. I brought the orange rolls. Who cares about turkey?

Katie's Senior Picture

 Katie asked a girlfriend to take some senior pictures in Stanwood. We are excited to have her finish high school and attend BYU. I think she will love it!

Frazier Cast Removal

It's time to see how well Frazier's arm has healed. He broke it at NYLT held at BSA's property Black Mountain near the Canadian border. National Youth Leadership Training provides experiences and leadership opportunities for older scouts. Frazier is easy-going and he never complained about this repair.

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Summer Vacation

Our big summer vacation is a whirlwind tour of the southwest. The first stop is Philmont, then to Monument Valley, and on to the family reunion at Rockin' R Ranch. Let's go!

It was LDS week so Paul's friends came too: there's Dr. Phil (Williams) and Dan Edmond's brother Dave. Here's Jack doing a skit with his group.

Marnie is doing a funny face with her Philmont group.

The difference between a regular week and LDS week is huge. There was no room in the craft lodge or at the horses. One of the coolest parts is walking around the tent area and hearing Family Home Evening going on in every tent.

Arriving at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Marnie throwing rocks into the Colorado River.

We bought a turquoise necklace from a native woman at the top of the Goosenecks. 

Here's Jack at the Navajo Bridge.

It's hot but we did the Grand Canyon.

Walking around Lee's Ferry was awesome. Everyone wanted to get in the water but it was fast moving. Going up to Cedar Breaks was the best thing we did. It was like 70 degrees up there.

Frazier conquers the Canyon.

Right after Cedar Breaks we went north to Antimony to Rockin' R Ranch to meet with the McKay family.

Here's Marnie, Zach, and Macey.

Marnie is mutten bustin' like a regular.

Frazier is thinking about getting in the ring.

We enjoyed some river rafting together.

It's time to go home.

Seattle Tall Ships

 We enjoyed an afternoon downtown touring a tall ship known for shooting pirate movies. We brought along Taylor Huff with us and we wandered around the shore. It's tough to steer a ship when you can't see over the wheel.

Marnie's Big Surgery

Marnie started feeling poorly during the week of April 9th. It was strange in that she didn't want to eat, said that her stomach hurt, and had a low-grade fever. Nothing really got better or worse until Sunday. She laid her head in my lap during sacrament meeting and her head was really hot.

On Monday I had a long-term customer coming up from California to meet me and drop off more quilts, so I told her I would take her to the doctor right afterwards. Paul and I went together with her to the Island doctor. We were there for 10 minutes before the doctor announced that her appendix had probably burst and that we should go to the hospital immediately.

We arrived about 4pm and had to wait until midnight before they wheeled her into surgery. The doctor said everything went well, but that they had used gallons of saline to help rid her insides of all the poison.

I cleared my calendar pretty easily and just lived in her recovery room for a week. We had a great number of visits from the ward, from Elger Bay Elementary, and from her siblings. She was loved with stuffed animals and things she couldn't eat.

Frazier Concert

 Frazier is performing again at Stanwood Middle School and we are there to enjoy it. He is a natural musician and has tried the bass clarinet for fun. It's not very fun, though, just bass lines.