A few months ago, I blogged about the sadness of seeing our friends Fred and Pat endure the horrible news that their son had suddenly died. No warning, no time for one more goodbye, only that he was gone. He left them with his 6 year old daughter. As Pat and Fred began the difficult task of trying to heal, to move ahead, they also had a granddaughter to help through it as well.

For reasons we will never be able to understand, last week, Fred suddenly left us too.

He was a member of the Patriot Guards. http://www.patriotguard.org/

(I did not take this set of photos, they are from the Patriot Guard site about Fred)

It is a group of people who ride together to support the families at the funeral of those who have served our country in the military, some killed in action, others retired. They ride their motorcycles to the funeral and then stand silently holding their flags during the service. Fred was a dedicated member who rode with them as often as he could, which meant he was riding at least once a week. Last Friday, he was on his way to attend a funeral when he was hit by a car and died. It comes as such a shock to a family who is still reeling from the shock of losing their son and brother just months ago.

This photo was taken at our last dinner out on Fred's birthday. Fred was John’s closest friend. They have known each other for years. They met at work. Both meat cutters and both were working at what was called Waremart way back when. Their store was way over in Hillsboro and so they ended up car pooling. It was at least an hour each way, (John’s description of the drive… 26 potential traffic light stops and 42 miles one way). That was plenty of time for them to really get to know each other over those years and build their friendship. Eventually, the company bought Cub Foods, they were both transferred to Cub Foods in Gateway, and Waremart and Cub Foods became WINCO. Then when WINCO opened in Gresham, they both transferred. Sometime in there, I got to know his wife, Pat, as well. The four of us hit it off and we spent a lot of time together, going out to dinner, to each other’s homes, to the weddings of our children, enjoyed the births of grandkids, they were amazing dancers and talked us into going to dance lessons with them, we even went to Vegas together. Five years ago Fred retired. They loved their new life and were helping John count down the days until he retires too. Please remember Pat and their two daughters as they continue to come to grips with the reality of what they have to deal with day by day.

The graveside funeral was Thursday. Now who would have ever thought you would come away from a funeral AMAZED??!!! Well, that is just how it was. I have never seen so many motorcycles in one place, I heard there were about 125, but it sure seemed like more to me. The Navy sent a bugler, the Oregon Guard had rifles, and not sure which branch it was, sent some hummers and representatives. The Patriot Guards had a bagpiper. It seemed as if we were at the funeral for the President. The Patriot Guards met at the boat ramp near where the cemetery is; I figure that the line of motorcycles and cars was about 2 miles long, maybe more. They all rode out past the house where Pat and her family were waiting to go to the funeral home along with the Missing Man Formation. They lead them all back past us at the cemetery continuing on to the funeral home and the Patriot Guards pulled into the cemetery and started getting in place for their return. So many flags! They lined up along the gravel driveway and waited. On Sunday, they held a memorial for him at their church. Again the Patriot Guards were there lining the driveway into the church. Normally, they never attend the service they are standing for, but this time, since it was one of their own, most of them came on in once the family was seated. The church was filled and some even had to stand. Both services were such a beautiful tribute to Fred. Well done, good and faithful servant.

So many times when a person dies, everybody ends up making that person bigger and better than he really was, you never again hear a bad word about him and so many times, the person becomes a sort of hero. Well, as the word began to spread about Fred and people came to remember him, sharing their memories and feelings for Fred, he did become a hero. We all enjoyed Fred and each of us knew he was a special person, very unique, very much himself, a dedicated Christian man, a husband, father, and friend. But even Pat says she has been overwhelmed with pride for Fred with it all, seeing how much and how far Fred touched. As everyone shared, it was genuine real memories, not blown up or glorified words, it was real, just like Fred was, I think even Fred would be amazed at how much bigger and better his impact on others was, more than he even would have imagined himself to be.

Another thing about Fred…He read my blog. He didn’t just take a look at it now and then, he was a REGULAR. And he didn’t just look over the pictures he READ it! When we would get together, before I even had a chance to say something about what we had just done, he would be asking me questions about it. He always told me that I should be a writer. That always made me feel good. I am really going to miss my biggest blog cheerleader.

Cousins, Aunts, Uncles, Brothers, Sisters, Grandkids...OH MY!

The picture looks way better if you double click on it to see it bigger.

The years have gotten away from us as my cousins and I have grown up. We used to get together ALL the time. My childhood memories of times spent together are so good. But like so many families, as kids grow up and move away, get married, have their own families, we started to lose touch. We would hear bits and pieces of how each other were doing through our Moms, but we have not seen each other in a very long time. Sadly, the last two times I have seen most of my cousins have been at funerals. Not a good time to spend 'catching up'. So finally, with the prodding of my Mother, my cousin Susan and I managed, via Internet, a few phone calls and one meet up at Edgefield, to get the invitations out, the food planned and a reservation made. The day arrived last weekend that most of us managed to set aside a few hours to reconnect. It was a good day. Seven out of 12 cousins made it. And of course we are all saying that it CAN NOT be that long again before we make plans to meet again. Hopefully, the ones who did not make it will find a way to plan us in and be there with us next time!

On the Dixon side of the family, we had a special visit from John's sister Sheila and her daughter Ann. Again, like with my cousins, it has been way too long since we have seen each other. We we happy that she took the trip over from Payette, Idaho.

There is a new photo in my house! I have known for a while, but have not mentioned it here because I have been waiting for more photos and information to pass on. But nothing new seems to be happening and I am too excited to wait anymore to announce this newest addition to our family. Dennis and Abby have been matched up with a 5 month old boy from Korea. They have named him Gabriel. Do-Hun is the name his foster family is calling him, so Dennis and Abby decided to keep his Korean name as his middle name. So we wait and wait...as we have done for almost a year since they began the process, for the processing of paperwork, passport and all that is needed to make him fully ours. Hopefully, if all goes as planned, they will be able to travel to Korea and bring him home sometime before Christmas.

An update on the other grandchild that I have on the way. Jessi is 7 months along now. They know it is a boy, but they have NO IDEA what to name him. Dennis and Abby were able to come up with a name for Gabriel in just a couple of days...but Jessi and Ariel...no way! They seem to have a language/cultural thing going on...like the names he likes...us guys in the states would not be able to pronounce or would just laugh at, then she suggests her favorites and he can't pronounce them. I keep asking her if they have come up with ANYTHING, she has assured me that somehow, they will have a name for him before he leaves the hospital. None of the names I keep suggesting are successful...now WHAT is wrong with Vic?

As with the paperwork for Gabriel, so we have been waiting almost a year for the visa to come through for Ariel to travel with her back to the Oregon to have the baby. Her doctor says she has to travel no later than the middle of September. As the date nears and no progress that we can see with the final phase of the visa, I finally have contacted our state Senator Merkley. His office is helping to expedite his visa. They are not automatically granting it, but because of the conditions, they have requested doctors papers to help speed along the process in hopes that Ariel will be able to get his appointment to the US Embassy for his interview and be granted the visa to travel with her.

So around here, between Gabriel, 'BabyBoy', and Ariel's visa, we have been saying a lot of prayers for healthy babies, and speedy paperwork done to get visas and passports and all that is needed to get these 3 guys home to us!

I'm sure you must think that I am going to have all kinds of interesting things to say about why I have not posted anything for the last couple of weeks. Sorry to disappoint you...nada. Of course I would LOVE to say that I have been off on some island soaking up the sun, dipping into the cool ocean to refresh myself after a day of hiking into the jungle to take pictures of breath-taking waterfalls and trying to learn the native language so I could play with the little children before lounging beside the pool with my island drink topped with a little umbrella and a hunk of pineapple...no, none of that, in fact, all last week, the sun didn't even show up around here until late afternoon, no little kids to talk to in any language, and the only refreshing drinks I've had are the iced americanos I have made myself, with no little umbrella. But it has not been because of boredom that I have not taken time to write. I have been sorting, and cleaning and dusting, and scrubbing and tossing and organizing. I have gone through every room, every closet, every drawer, there is not a cobweb, the floors are sparkling, the carpets are cleaned, and I put new shelf paper in the cupboards, curtains washed, the oven cleaned, I tore apart and scrubbed the inside of the refrigerator and sorted out the filing cabinet. I don't think my house has EVER been so clean and organized EVER, EVER! So now, I can sit back with nothing left to do and enjoy my americano...and guess what? While I was sorting, I found myself one of those cute little umbrellas...sure makes the americano taste better!

Last week, I was asked to take part in something with the Red Cross that I have not done before. A few weeks ago, a 57 year old fisherman/camper went missing. After being a week overdue and looking for him their own, the family finally reported him missing. They knew where his camp was, found all his things in order, nothing looked like foul play, and so the search began. The Red Cross is providing food and refreshments to the searchers. We have a small crew going up each day to make sandwiches and set out snacks and water for everyone. I have had the training to be a part of it, but never taken the opportunity. So, on Thursday, I hopped in my car and drove up the Clackamas River...and drove...and drove and drove...miles, I could not believe it as I kept on driving. Almost 60 miles 1 way. I could have ridden up with the others in the Chapter van, but I would have had to go 45 minutes in the opposite direction to just turn around and pass my place to get out to the scene. It was a beautiful drive, I even stopped twice and took some pictures. It is so hard to imagine that such a beautiful place could be the same place that is causing so much pain for this family. One look at the terrain and you can see why they are having such a hard time finding this man. It was interesting to see what goes on from the inside of one of these searches. I watched and listened as the man in charge of it gave the morning briefing. I can't believe that by their detective work, they even know what he ate the last time he ate in camp, they know about what he is carrying and how much snacks and water he took along with him. People were calling in tips to the Tip Line and the sheriffs were responding to those calls on the spot, taking notes, returning calls and sending searchers to those areas. We even had a clairvoyant walk into camp with her husband, an elderly woman who had spoken to the sheriff the day before, I guess, he had not given her the response she wanted, so she marched herself into the camp and demanded to be listened to. According to her, she was in contact with the missing man and knew exactly where he was, she described his clothing, told us he had a broken leg and was hungry and giving up. She told us all kinds of things about this man. When I left, she was talking to the sheriff still. Actually, I was glad to be going, it was kinda creepy. The other two Red Cross guys I was working with said that she has been on one of the late night shows, like David Letterman because she also is an Animal Whisperer, and has given tips to the police many times about other missing person cases. As of this morning's report, he has still not been found.

My goal for this summer is to be able to take a good shot of the moon. I think I finally have it figured out, but now I need to get a better zoom lens to get it closer. I cropped this one to get it bigger, but that is as close as I can get it without it getting fuzzy.

Here is a shot I took of the moon rising over Mt. Hood at sunset the other night.

Last weekend we went to Stone Cliff Inn for dinner, the rafters were just bringing in their rafts for the day and I was taking pictures of them. There were so many and it was pretty colorful. Then the waiter brought my wine and just before I moved the glass to continue taking pictures of the rafters, I saw the trees and sky reflecting in the wine and thought that was pretty, as I took this picture, I realized I even got the rafters in there too. Bonus!

The last night with the kids here.

Here are highlights of the week with Emily and Joshua here. It is so hard to narrow the pictures down, but here are my favorites.
Joshua was a bit nervous on the first ride up the lift...his little hands tell it all...but it really is a LONG way down!













It only took us one time up with the kids and they had all the confidence they needed to go it alone. Next thing we knew they were not even riding up with each other!




There were so many activities up there for them to do!

Misc. pics of the week.
Emily and I went for a couple of walks, the first picture here is one she took of our shadows, isn't it good? Joshua decided the swings needed backs, so he added in one of their little chairs. Emily and I started working on some knitting for the little babies that will be joining our family this fall. And of course we had to have a game of Monopoly.

Remember those giant marshmallows we had on the 4th of July? Well, I thought it would be funny to get mini marshmallows as a joke for the next fire and batch of Smores...topped off with Teddy Grahams and chocolate chips, we used toothpicks to toast them. They thought it was funny, but actually, they were REALLY GOOD!

We have this little game we play, the grandkids and I...as I tuck them in, I ask them "What was YOUR favorite part of today?" I ask them and they ask me. Sometimes we add in what was your worst part of today.

We always have so many things that we did each day, that it is fun to hear from them what their best part was. This week, we got to ride horses at Aunt Lindy's, hot tub at Great Grandma and Grandpa McCool's place, have lunch with them and Aunt Cyndi three times, play with my friend Pat's grand daughter, have a fire every night and make smores while we drink our lattes together, go see 'Despicable Me', and the biggie, on Wednesday, the plan was that we were going up to the Alpine Slide on Mt. Hood. It was a blast! They not only got to slide down the 1/2 mile slides, the got to ride up on the ski lift for their first time, jump on a giant trampoline, ride go carts, ride tiny canoes, mini golf, inner tube slide, hit balls in a real batting cage...the list goes on, they really have a fun set up there.

But MY favorite part of the WEEK was not any of that. Mine was on Wednesday morning. The kids had been telling me that we could not eat breakfast, that we needed to go to McDonald's. They never just ask to go out for breakfast, that was weird to me. We worked it out so that on the way to the mountain, we would stop in and have breakfast. As we headed up to the counter, Emily, so in control and grown up said..."Just find a place to sit down...WE ARE TAKING CARE OF IT!" I was like, "WHAT?, well, OK, here is some money go ahead.." She said, no way to the money, that she and Joshua were paying! I was not about to let them pay for it, but they were determined, Joshua grabbed my hand and started pulling me to a table and said he would guard me there, and told Emily to go on. And he did, he just sat there giggling while we waited for Emily to return. She came back with three sausage McMuffins and three boxes of something I had not seen before...THAT was the surprise...something that they had had with their Dad and just KNEW that I would love. Cinna Melt is what I think they called it. And they were right, it WAS good! So THAT is what my favorite thing of the week was...not that they bought my breakfast...but that they thought up a surprise FOR ME...that was so cool! It is so amazing to see them so grown up!

My WORST part of the week? Having to take them home on Friday!

I had special company last week. Joshua. The morning after the 4th, Emily was headed off to Summer Camp so we decided that Joshua should stay here for a few days of 'Grandma Camp'. It was unplanned, so they had to make a quick trip into the store to buy him a couple pairs of underwear and a pair of shorts and shirt because all he had with him was what he had on and that was jeans and the forecast was HOT and sunny. He told me later that the reason that he decided to go along with his parents to buy the new stuff was that he was afraid that they would come back with something like ‘Dora the Explorer’ underwear or something. He has his own special way to make me laugh.


It is not very often that I spend time one on one with the grandkids, so it was really special to have the time to get to know him all on his own. He liked it that he was getting to stay without his sister too, but it was nice to see how often he let it be known that he missed his sister. Some of the activities I suggested he declined saying “no, let’s wait until Emily is here to do that with us” We had a bonfire every night and he got to burn a stick to his heart’s delight. Fire is so fascinating to little boys, but especially for him. I let him pick out where we would have lunch and so I had the pleasure of eating fast food burgers EVERY day (he didn’t like any of the places I suggested), BUT he loves his coffee, so that was nice to have my morning and evening lattes with him. We went to see two movies while he was here. First, ‘How to Train Your Dragon’, it was so cute. The next day we decided on ‘Toy Story 3’. It is 3-D or regular. Now, I have never seen a 3-D movie, so I thought it sounded like something he would think was cool. But as the time got closer, he seemed to be getting a little nervous. Just before it began, he asked me how scary I thought it would be. TOY STORY?? SCARY??? Somehow, he put the 3-D part together with scary movies. When it was over, he went on and on about how it was NOTHING that needed 3-D glasses for! He liked it, but I think that he would have liked it better if I had not taken him to a 3-D one so that he would not have been so worried beforehand. I liked it too…but I am wondering…AM I THE ONLY ADULT WHO CRIED AT THE END? Isn’t it so nice that they make those cartoon movies for adults as well as kids?

p.s. we were the only ones in the movie, so that is why I was able to take pictures.

and don't forget, you can click on the pictures to see them bigger.

I saw a new recipe in the paper for these. Whoopie Pies.
A cross between a cupcake and a cookie. Filled with marshmallow creme frosting. They looked so fun, so I decided to make them for the 4th when the kids were planning to come up. I made Chocolate and Smores ones. The Smores were my favorite. Made with graham flour and filled with the marshmallow frosting and dark chocolate ganache.

John and Rachel and Emily and Joshua drove up after church. First we picked the raspberries and then we had ribs along with a bunch of salads, then we toasted marshmallows. Take a look at the size of those marshmallows I found! HUGE. The kids loved them. Joshua especially liked it because he could burn it, tear off the burnt layer and then burn it some more! After that, they lit off some fireworks.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!! Father's Day had a little bit of a different celebration to it this year. John announced to the family that today was his last day of meat cutting and being the dept. manager. No, he is not retiring. Not yet...but he had himself transferred to a different position. Tomorrow morning, he will begin training to take over as the store secretary. Don't laugh, well, OK, laugh all you want!...he is too! He thought he might just be the first and only store secretary, but found out that WINCO has FIVE other male secretaries. It will take a few weeks to pick up his duties, but once he gets it all figured out he thinks he will like doing something different until retirement. For the first time ever, he will have weekends off and will not have to wear long underwear to work in 100 degree weather. On his way out of the store today, he picked up a cheap bottle of champagne to celebrate his news with the family before we had Father's Day dinner at my parents place.

airport again? already? you would think it would get easier, but I always hate having the kids leave. This time, not only my kid, but HER kid! unreal...but God willing, they will all be back in September!

We went to Newport for the weekend. John ran a marathon on Saturday morning. He was really happy with his time: 3:50:40. It has been raining and raining here this spring and it was raining all day on Friday, but Saturday morning, we woke up to beautiful clear skies. A great day for a run. Especially since he was the one that got up at the crack of dawn to run it, while we slept and leisurely got up to sip on lattes.

As it turns out, the house we rented was right on the course, and they ran past our house two times at the beginning of the race, so we got to sit there in our lawn and see him run.

We loaded into the car and headed to the finish line a couple hours later on, we dropped Joshua off about 2 miles from the finish line and he ran in with his Dad.












After the race, we went to the tide pools. We always like looking at all the things that live there, but this time, I had an extra bonus. Of course I had my camera and I wandered a ways past where everyone else was congregated, somehow, I didn't even notice some little signs posted that told everyone not to pass....REALLY! I did not see the signs....and so I got all the way to the end of the beach, and I remember thinking, WOW! Why aren't more people down here? I saw some waves crashing up on some rocks, so I climbed up to get some better shots of the waves and on my way up, I noticed on the wall behind me...sea gulls nesting...so cool, I have never seen nesting seagulls. But an even better surprise was in store for me... SEA LIONS!!! Right there ahead of me, there they were laying in the sun...but to make it even better, a BABY! He was in the water and making all kinds of noise trying to get up where his mother was laying. Finally he made it up and started nursing, I took so many pictures. I decided I better get back to the group, since they had not seen me slip away...and there behind me was a park ranger telling me that I was out of bounds and was not supposed to be there! I think that maybe she believed me as we walked back and I showed her how I got to where I was....there really is a way that does not go by those little signs. Oh well, I got great pictures!!!

Jessi made it home...of course that was 2 weeks ago...we've been so busy, shopping (she CAN'T go home without maternity clothes, right?), lunching, meeting up with old friends, seeing family, Julie came from Phoenix with her new baby for a weekend and then the next weekend Alan brought his family from New Mexico. I could not wait to see her pregnant belly...which has already grown from her first day here, the blue photo was day one, the dress was a couple of days ago. We went to her midwife for a visit and on Friday get to go see my little grand baby on the ultrasound.





The weather has been record setting wet, but in spite of that, we have had tons of rainbows. In between downpours we have managed to get a few walks in and when it is too rainy we have done her 'Fitmama' workout DVD. It is yoga and salsa dance. I could not believe how pregnant I felt after the first time...my back was aching! Julie, her college room mate from Phoenix came up for a visit with her newest baby, Drew. He is such a content happy baby to have around. Jessi had not met him yet. It was so much fun to see those girls together again. We drove around to all the local places that they used for filming the 'Twilight' movie. We have had lunch out almost every day, except for the days that we had the flu...oh yuck!...that was horrible, I got it first and thought it was food poisoning, I can not remember the last time I was that sick. Two days later, before I was feeling normal yet, Jessi started throwing up...thankfully, it only lasted a day for her. John started feeling like he might be getting it, but to his relief he made it without getting sick. Alan and Melinda and Makena and Alana (AJ) were due in at noon on Friday, we had to call and let them know we were not doing too well. They decided to get a hotel when they arrived and see how things went. We were so happy that by Saturday morning, we were pretty much back to normal and they came on out and spent the rest of the weekend with us. They have such cute little girls. So with all the little kids and babies around, Jessi and I got a little practice in for when her baby joins us!Today, I cut her hair...normally when I cut her hair, it is just a blunt even cut. But today, when we got the highlights in, she decided it would be fun to try to do the haircut on the front of the highlight box. UMMM....that was a bit more than I know how to do, but we decided the worst thing that could happen was that we would have to rush someplace and have them fix my mess. Surprisingly, I am pretty proud of it! Sure, there are some rough spots, but not too bad if I do say so myself. Jessi always has been a pretty brave one!