Happy Fourth of July!

Wow, what happened to the past couple of months? Time sure flies by...and somehow we just don't seem to get as much done as we always hope to! Right now we are driving across the state to spend the holiday weekend with Terri's mom at the lake. Her brother and his family will be there as well. It'll be a quick trip as we'll have to return on Sunday, but nice to be over there and away from town for just a couple days to relax.

Speaking of being away, this is the third weekend in a row that we've been away from home. Two weeks ago we were at the lake as well, for the memorial service and celebration for Terri's dad, Clark. Terri drove over a few days early to help her mom out, Rick flew in Friday evening and the kids all drove over on Friday as well. The memorial was very nice and touching, and there was a wonderful show of family and friends there for it. The reception afterwards was cookies...Clark's favorite home baked goodies...and there were LOTS...so many helped out by bringing them, it was really nice to have such generosity from everyone. Saturday night Terri's sister, Krissy, had dinner at her lake place for all the family that were in town...and what a wonderful evening that was...to have us all together to visit, share stories of Clark, and just enjoy every one's company. Jack & Pam Lemley, Tara Lemley, Ivar, John Lemley, Scott, Betsy, Samantha & Sydney Hege, Josh, Mandy & Jayden, Jessalyn and Sean, Sarah, Kirk, Leah & Blake Impecoven, Matt, Krissy & Chris Mikkelsen, Heidi, David & Jack Austin, Jackie & Mel Schmidt, Connie Stark and the two of us and of course, Terri's mom, Sis - were all there. Sunday afternoon was the celebration at the Country Club and that was really nice and great to visit with even more friends who came to honor Clark. Terri had put together a slideshow for that day and it played throughout the celebration. The weekend was very emotional, but also nice to have an opportunity for the family to all be together. Clark would have enjoyed the weekend and loved having all the family together...something he really enjoyed!

This photo is of Jayden and Jack who is Terri's neice's, Heidi's, son, who is just a year younger than Jayden. The two of them were SO cute together and just before Terri got this shot, they were walking up the stairs together, holding hands. Jayden told us Jack is her boyfriend and since we've been home, has asked where Jack is and what he's doing. It'll be fun to see them together at future family gatherings!

Terri stayed a few extra days, Rick flew back on Monday morning. The kids all drove back on Monday as well, but left Jayden with Terri...and they had a nice extra couple of days at the lake and with Terri's mom. The weather was nice, but not too warm, and the lake wasn't ready for swimming, but they still enjoyed their time there...oh, and Aussie was there as well...and she LOVES the lake, so was quite happy to be there for a week! Terri, Jayden and Aussie drove back that Wednesday.

Last weekend, we went to Cannon Beach for a quick weekend getaway...to celebrate our anniversary (26th). It was a quick trip, but we love the beach and especially enjoy Cannon Beach, so it was a great weekend. Of course, several walks on the beach were taking and imagine Terri had her camera in hand most of the time! :) We had a great dinner at sunset at a nice restaurant on the beach. Sunday morning was a bit cooler than the day before and some low clouds, so that was probably a good thing as it made it easier for us to leave and head back home.

In our last blog entry we were talking about the yard and needing to be mowed, the beds desperately needing weeding...well, that's all taken care of, and more! We ended up deciding after living here for nearly 13 years that we'd take the plunge and get a sprinkler system put in so that we (hmm, Rick!) doesn't have to spend the summer evenings moving the sprinkler around the yard (and forgetting it!). Since we were doing that, we made the decision to have all the grass we had taken out, the dirt scraped down several inches and good topsoil brought in, of course, the sprinkler system and sod put down. On one side of the house, the yard sloped quite a bit, so we had that leveled out and then more curbing poured around landscaping. It turned out GREAT and we're thrilled with the results and watching the yard get watered without doing a thing is AWESOME!

Josh and Mandy both have new jobs since we last wrote...and now both work M-F so have a more "normal" schedule. They are enjoying the schedules and have more time to spend together and with friends and family. With the job change, they had to find daycare for Jayden - and found a really nice facility that is about half way between their home and ours. Jayden goes three days a week and Terri ("Meme") watches her two days a week. The first few weeks were rough for Jayden, adjusting to the change and was telling Terri that she didn't want her to "work" so she could come to our house every day. As the time has gone on, she's doing better and likes her "teacher-teacher" (what she calls her!!) and is learning lots of new things from her days there. This week, Jayden and Meme went strawberry picking...a first for Jayden. She enjoyed it and ate a lot of strawberries...it would have cost a lot more if they had weighed Jayden before we started and then afterwards! Later this month they plan to go blueberry picking...another first for Jayden. It's amazing how big she's getting...she's such a big girl and so much fun to have around.

We had two wedding in May that we shot and have another coming up in a couple of weeks (in Leavenworth) and are really enjoying the weddings. The two in May were both very different and each a lot of fun. It's great to be able to share in such a special day of a couple and be able to give them some wonderful memories from the day. Terri is looking forward to doing some newborn shots next month as our neighbors are expecting their second child (a girl...they have the cutest little guy, Luke, who is 20 months old). We can't wait, Greg and Leah area great neighbors and friends and we're very excited for their new addition! Later this month, Terri will do another niece's (Leah) senior pictures when she returns to Hayden again.

Rick has kept quite busy with work the past couple of months and although they are set to go "live" with the new software in a month, that probably won't be the end of the long days and stressful times, but in the end, when all is said and done, all the kinks worked out, it'll be nice. In the meantime, he comes home from work...a very tired man (who is happy he doesn't have to move the sprinklers around!)

Jess and Sean are doing well...keeping busy with school, work and their first year of marriage. In just a little over a month, they'll celebrate their first anniversary. Jess is busy with school, she's in summer school, required for her double major (elementary ed & early childhood development). Starting this fall, she'll do her practicum in a preschool and then will begin her student teaching in and elementary school and will have one easy quarter left next spring before she graduates. She's looking forward to finishing up school and finally getting a chance to start teaching. Just recently, she bought over 1000 books from a woman who was a teacher and is now in administration, so was getting rid of all of the books for her classroom...so Jess scored with this find and really has a great "library" for her future classes!

Earlier this year, we made a couple of trips to The Dalles, to see Terri's brother and his family. We went over Mother's Day weekend to take senior pictures of Samantha and brought Jayden with us for the weekend. Scott's girls have three goats and a horse, so Jayden was loving it! While there, they took us to some friends farm where Jayden got to play with baby goats (nearly 20 of them!), hold them, let them climb and nibble on her, see two litters of piglets, hold some tiny kittens, see chicks, a turkey and of course, the usual dogs and cats. She had a blast that weekend and really took to our nieces, Samantha and Sydney...who were GREAT with her. Jayden talks about them all the time and enjoyed seeing them when we were all together a couple of weeks ago. Our other trip down was for Samantha's graduation a couple of weeks later...it was a nice day and afterwards we went out with Scott and Terri's mom, to see a bit of country around there and take some photos...it was a wonderful weekend.

Jayden jumping on the trampoline in The Dalles this spring.

Well, we're now nearly to the Washington-Idaho border and I'm ready to wrap this up and send it off. What a quick trip for me...the time passed by with working on this entry. I hope this finds you all doing well, safe and happy and enjoying your family and friends! Take care and stay in touch! Love, Terri & Rick (Aussie, too!)