Waiting for Dinner

David and Mary enjoyed some time outside while we cooked dinner. They had a lot of fun on the tricycle together.

 The orchid we were given when David was born is blooming again.

Cookie Time

 Dad and Mom went with Heather to pick up Natalie from camp on Friday, so I suggested Evan and Micah come hang out with us and they agreed. We had an enjoyable morning and decided to make cookie dough. It was a good decision.

Happy Fourth of July

Mary helped me make festive parfaits and a fruit tart for the Fourth of July.

We got together at the Nickells' house on the third for refreshments, swimming, and fireworks.

We got to watch the fireworks set off by the country club from their front lawn. It was an impressive show and a great view.

Mary loved the fireworks. It was a late night for the kids, but I was glad we got to see fireworks, especially such good ones.

On the fourth, we had our usual Sunday dinner with everyone, except Natalie who headed off to camp.

Mom and I made a festive meal with red, white, and blue potato salad; red, white, and blue green salad; watermelon stars; and cranberry juice with blueberry ice cubes. We also had hamburgers to round out the fun meal.

Starting the Day Off Right

Enjoying morning reading.

Styling

The kids have been getting good use out of Joshua's UO sunglasses.

Happy Birthday Natalie

Natalie asked me to make a cheesecake for her birthday dinner, and I was honored to oblige. Mary helped me make the crust.

 We celebrated with the birthday girl on Sunday. She's now officially a teenager.

Tea for Two

Mary and David enjoyed having a tea party together.

Cat Haven

Dave came down for a day trip on Wednesday and took us to Cat Haven. David loved squeezing the stuffed cats in the gift shop.

It was interesting to see the cats and learn more about them on the tour. They are impressive, powerful creatures.

One of them decided to play with a water bucket one day.

Of course, it's sad to see them behind bars and many of them so far from their native habitats, but all of these were cats that were raised in captivity for one reason or another and couldn't survive in the wild.

This white tiger was right next to the edge of the enclosure that was close to the path, so we got to see her the best of all the cats. She was beautiful.

When the tour was over, it was time for lunch so we headed down the road to Squaw Valley and got pizza.

A Dad and His Girls

Joshua got an unplanned picture of all of us sitting around Dad on Father's Day.

 

ImagineU

The Nickells gave the May birthday kids a trip to the children's museum in town. It was tricky to schedule, but they finally were able to go on Friday. I stayed home with David, so all of the pictures are from Heather. They had a great time.

Graduation Weekend

We headed up to Modesto on Friday morning. During a Pokemon run, we found a park with shady play equipment. It was comfortable in the shade and the kids had a great time.

Saturday was commencement, so we started the day by hanging the graduation banner to surprise Joshua at breakfast.

UO had a virtual commencement this year, so we watched it Saturday morning with Dave and Gayle.

I was disappointed the ceremony was virtual and expected it to be lame, but was pleasantly surprised. Of course it wasn't the same as being there in person, but they did a good job making it festive and full of spirit.

We are so proud of Joshua and all his hard work earning his doctorate degree. Now it's official!

Mary enjoyed some time to cut and glue with Grandma.

We had a graduation dinner on the patio.

We returned Saturday evening to find a graduation package from UO with some celebratory items; Joshua sported his duck socks long enough for a picture.

Mary got to try her new swimsuit out for the first time.

We celebrated commencement and Dad's birthday at Sunday night dinner with two cakes.