WHATSUMMER! San Antonio chapter

On the 21st of June we left Reed and Megan at our house in Oregon and flew to San Antonio for Mike's graduation from his oral surgery residency. Here are some pix from the ceremony. Becca got long-stemmed roses and a corsage (worn by Grace).

The officers in charge mentioned their thankfulness many times for the support of the family. Mike Neilson family

Emi, Becca, Mike (holding Kate), Grace, Tyler and Jaike

Mike receving his certificate/diploma

The Mike Neilson family

Graduation

San Antonio, Texas June 2011

Looks like I got them just a little too late or a little too early

Mike and the 'brass'. The general (in the middle) was from Washington D.C.

Lloyd and I left San Antonio the next day to drive Mike's truck (and Indy the dog) to Phoenix where our next adventure would take place.

To be continued. . .

WHATASUMMER!!

Summer of 2011 started with a visit from Reed, Megan and family. One of the first things we did was to go to our favorite place on the Oregon Coast

Two nights at Chuck's Cove was a fun way to start the summer!!

Setting up for the 'real' shot

Megan, Jocy, Laynie and Nate Bell

Megan, Jocy, Laynie and Nate

Gleneden Beach

Gives new meaning to group meal~

Zach and Charlotte

Reed and Charlotte in their Sunday best

Stairs at Chuck's Cove

One of the 'jellies'

Jocy at the 'petting pool'

Oregon Coast Aquarium

Our favorite beach house~Chuck's Cove

Gleneden Beach, Oreogn

Little (literally) pool time in Grandma's back yard.

Zach and Charlotte Bell

So Long!!

(to be continued. . )

Tree Planting

Lloyd had been ancie for a few years to get the rest of the property planted. So, in March, he hired a few young men to dig holes and plant about 2oo more peach tress and a few miscellaneous others. We learned the hard way that the holes have to be hand dug so it was a fun day to have young legs and arms do some planting and get it done all in one day.

Lloyd and Gary taking a lunch break
the helpers gathering for lunch

planting, planting and more planting

no, we haven't forgotten that teenage boys can eat a LOT!

Mom and Dad's visit

Mom and Dad came to visit us for a whole month! They flew from Idaho to Mesa and spent a few days visiting Reed and Nick and thier families then they flew up to Oregon and stayed with us the whole month of February. We did all kinds of stuff like quilting and working in the orchard and finishing the barn. Grandma (age 86) even drove the red ATV while Lloyd did some spraying. We took a few days mid visit to spend time at the beach. Paul and Maria Oldham were kind enough to let us us their beach house in Pacific City overnight. Ity had a beautiful view. Sea Lions at Newport Beach~this may have been from our October trip! oops!

View from the beach house. It is hard to tell from the pix but it was about 20 degrees that day!


Another view from the beach house of the giant dune at Cape Kiwanda

Thanksgiving 2010

We had fun gathering together for Thanksgiving 2010. The Schaffners came down from Utah and Lloyd and I flew down from Portland and~of course~Nick and Lindey and Reed and Megan's families had just moved to the area that year. We missed Katie's family and Rebecca's and Jim's!

Our (Lloyd and Annette's) first house. Nick and Lindsey were kind enough to drive us over to the other side of Phoenix to check it out. It was built in 1975. We were so proud of it! The neighborhood wasn't too bad but the area had, of course, been so built up over those years.

Reed and the 'twinkies'~sounds like a singing group from the '50's

Lloyd and Annette enjoying some sunrays

Megan's lovely touch

Adam, Nate and Enoch waiting for Thanksgiving dinner

Some of the crew on our hike~Adam and the older boys were on another ridge~

Beth, Sarah and Jakob taking a ride

The Schaffner kids on one of the slides

Nick's family at a place that had lots of big inflatables

Enjoying the sun at a park nearby

Men and kids on our hike out northeast of Phoenix~

LLoyd, Nick ,Reed with Nate, Charlotte and Makenzie

Help

Does anybody know how to get rid of the photobucket sign that keeps appearing on my BLOG? It keeps saying that an image has been deleted~

Better Late than Never?

Very fun day of cider pressing. We got 40 gallons of the yummy stuff. We canned most of it and it found its way to Idaho, Utah and Arizona (thanx to the Intel jet!) Finished barn~it is beautiful inside and out
Cider Pressing October 2010
Craig Berrett, Jim and Mikeyla Bell

Betty and Joe Bell~cutting the apples

Gary and Carol Haroldsen with Peggy Berrett

LaRue Bell and Joe Bell in the background

We had a beautiful day!

Lloyd Bell and Craig Berrett

with the cider press

Washing the apples~

Peggy Berrett, Joe and Lloyd Bell

Sorting the apples

40 years together!

We took a few days to celebrate our anniversary over Labor Day weekend. We were able to find a camping spot at Ocean City State Park at Gray's Harbor, Wa. and spent some time on the west and north side of the Olympic National Park.

We attended church at the Ocean Shores Branch. They were all so friendly to the visitors who outnumbered the locals

The tallest Sitka Spruce in the world. The co-record holder in Oregon fell down a few years ago

These beautiful hydrangeas were planted all along the front flower beds of the lodge

Lake Quinalt Lodge. I am looking at the lake which was beautiful!

Here is a totem Pole/Rain Gage on the back wall of Quinalt Lodge. The record rainfall is shown by the bar that hits just at the base of the wings~a whopping 25 feet/year!

Ruby Beach~notice how coarse the 'sand' is

Ruby Beach in Washington~somebody had stacked stones on all kinds of surfaces on the beach

Lloyd in his 'Rhine River' pose on a huge stump in the Hoh Rain Forest

The Hall of Mosses path in the Hoh Rain Forest

Hurricane Ridge outside of Port Angeles looks out onto the Olympic National Park~miles and miles of steep wooded mountains. No road goes all the way through. A handful of roads penetrate a few miles into the park

Lloyd and Annette at Hurricane Ridge