Land of the Free, Home of the Brave

 

For the first time ever I  hosted a 4th of July Party. 

 

 

I hope it's not the last.

 

 

I had a beautiful new deck built by Keith for my Mother's Day gift to enjoy.

 

 

My first attempt at the traditional donuts turned out wonderful.

 

Mom enjoyed bocce ball.

 



 

 Wes felt "free" to do a little juggling with his bocce balls.

 

Paul put a little finesse on his throws.

 



Wes eventually got down to business.

 



And I just tried to stay in the game.

 



You can't beat the fun of badminton, even if it's too sunny to see the birdie and too windy to have accuracy. It's just fun to play.

 



 

As is demonstrated by me here.

 

Or watch from under your fancy umbrella.

The menu was chock full of Summer favorites!

 



 

After a great BBQ dinner with all the trimmings, it's nice to sit by a fire and take in the beauty of the evening.

 

Thanks for the fire Wes.

 



 

 Mmm, s'mores.

 

Yum.

 

Time for watching fireworks in Anacortes. I think we could use a little more "brave" here.  Uh Hem.

 

More Fun from Wisconsin

Introducing Our Newest Family Member...

Beautiful Baby Rosy!

I think she's planning something very funny.  Can't wait to find out what it is!

Mother's Day

 

 

Thanks for this sweet video kids!  Sure love you.

 

 

Elder Schenk is doing great in New York, had a good time grilling him about missionary life. 

 



So happy to spend time with my mom.  She's one of those great ladies who you just enjoy being around because she is so kind and so appreciative.  She's been a wonderful example of womanhood to me.  She's also been my good friend.  Sure love my mom. 

Tulip Time

Saturday Wes and Paul came up to work on my computer.  Once the rain stopped the three of us and my mom took a little drive in my new white toyota camry hybrid out to the tulip fields.  Because it had rained hard most of the day, the traffic wasn't too bad, so we were able to get around in West Mount Vernon fairly easily.

Hurray for my new camera. It really captured some great shots. Actually, Wes is the one who captured the beauty of the freshly rained upon blossoms. These were mostly taken from the car, the fields were too muddy for us to drive or walk to. Good job Wes!

 

Me and my bros.  Sure like Paul's new haircut.  I'm glad I have brothers nearby who like to get togther and have some fun.  Families are the best.

 

This post is about what Keith and I have been up to lately...besides working.  And we've mostly been doing lots of that.  I am now considered an official employee of our company.  And that's a good thing.  I like having work and purpose in my life.  So besides lots of work, I got a new camera!  It's very cool, and I'm excited to learn more about photography.

 

For instance, this photo was talken using a setting which softens facial features.  He looks good, don't you think?  If only I could find that setting again, haha!

 



We are hoping to do lots of hiking this year.  I'm so happy that my knee injury is better.  Hiking feels great.  And the beauty of this area is best enjoyed from the top of some steep trail or other.

 



Notice how the setting sun is painting a reddish stripe on a few of the trees on the way down the trail.

 



 

Another view on the way down. This is a trail at the south end of Chuckanut Drive.

 

On another day, at the North end of Chuckanut Drive, we caught this view of a gorgeous blue sky and water from a boat launch.

 



 

We took a drive in our new car to test it out on the winding, curvy, twisting road. 
It is one smooth ride!

 

 

It's a good thing we enjoyed this sunny evening, it looks like it will be the last one this Spring for weeks.  Lots of rainy days ahead. Luckily we have the memories of a beautiful sunny day overlooking Samish Bay.