Family reunion

Our summer has been a whirlwind of events, and the West Family Reunion was one of the best.

We invited everyone, and some of my family members came for a little while as well.

Our bouncy obstacle course was a big hit with all the kids. 

There was plenty of food, fun, conversation, and lots of sunshine that day. What a blessing of a day for us!

Charlie brings out the guitar. Aunt Gerry and Colleen to his left.

We brought out the shade tent. It was a hot one that day.

A new addition to the family. Reece had a fantastic time on the inflatable.

It was an all-boy affair that day.

A little one prepares to exit the
inflatable obstacle course.

The new drum set arrived via Charlie. Sean's first set is
getting pretty beat up. 

Charlie was here for the summer. He landed some gigs in Seattle and needed a drum set. It made sense for him to buy one here instead of paying to have his shipped from Nevada. So Chuck offered for us to pay for the set and when Charlie was finished with it we could take it. 

Steve, Colleen and Cassie watch as Charlie helps Sean
set up the drums in the gazebo.

My Aunt Bennie and my Grandma with
Aunt Gerry.

The pool was a perfect respite.

Lilly made an appearance for a few minutes.

As the day heated up, the squirt guns came out.
Poor Charlie was the target.

West clan.

Memories on Monday: Driving with Mom

While driving through town last week I was suddenly transported to a space in time. It was more than a memory, really. The air was just right, I was traveling on a street in the city and St. Joe's hospital was visible to the left. I felt a strong connection to my mom. It was a street we had driven countless times.

I have a lot of photos of places and things I've done with family and friends, but some of those every-day activities I did with my mom have become the sweetest memories for me. I never knew that the mundane things we did together would bring such comfort to me after she was gone.

We drove a lot when I lived with her while she was sick. I took her to the Dr. a lot, and to her treatments. Whenever I had to take Sean somewhere she would ride along. If I needed to go to the store, she would come too. That was so much help. Sean would sometimes fall asleep in the car back then. He was a toddler, and was still taking naps in the car. She would sit with him in the car while I darted in to do the shopping.

Driving, eating at restaurants and shopping at Ross are things we did a lot.

So on that day the air had a feeling of autumn, the sun was shining on the hospital building, I was driving the same direction we had gone so many times, and I almost turned into the parking lot we used to park in for her appointments.

She's been gone almost five years, but I know I will always miss her. Sometimes I wish so badly that she was sitting in the passenger seat while I drive.

Sunshine for a while longer, please

Already the air has that feeling of autumn. I'm not ready. I want more summer. I want more days of swimming in the pool, gathering veggies from the garden, clipping flowers and foliage for pretty bouquets. And I want lots more barbecues with friends and family.

I love being outside, but I can tell we are in the midst of the last hurrah of summer. Soon it will take forever for the linens to dry on the line, the thought of donning a bathing suit will make me shiver, we'll be reaching for a jacket in the mornings, and the light of day will fade way too soon.

Autumn used to be my favorite time of year, but since moving to the Northwest I've decided summer is my favorite season. We don't get a lot of summer here. In fact this has been one of the best years for summer since I moved here. Autumn here is not that colorful, and it doesn't last very long either. We have a season I call grey, and it lasts for about 10 months.

But while I can, I am going to enjoy every minute of summer. So I'm going outside now to soak up some of the sunshine.

May I get you a drink?

Sean and I were blown away when we visited Wendy's in Port Orchard and saw this Coke machine.
It's a touch screen, and I think the sign says there are more than 100 flavors! There are even sport drinks and such on this one. I used a similar one at a convenience store near Sean's old school, and then suddenly it was gone. Didn't have 100 flavors, but it was a touch screen.

So I was excited to see this version. It seems cleaner than the old style, but you really do have to fill one at a time on this machine.

I'm pretty predictable, so I just got regular Coke. Sean was adventurous. He tried a couple of different Sprite flavors.

As far as I know it's the only one like it around here. After doing a little research I found out it's called the "Freestyle," and I guess we are one of the last areas to get one. Coke has been sprinkling them around the country since 2009.
I never knew.
It is pretty cool. Lots of flavors I had never heard of, such as the strawberry Sprite that Sean tried.

Bird attack!

So, we've got these chickens. And for months I've had a close relationship with all of them. I have spent time inside the enclosure crouched down talking to them and petting them. I go into the enclosure every day, at least once and usually twice.

The chickens love me. I bring them food and water, and when they see me coming from many feet away they start to get excited and gather around the gate that leads into the enclosure.

So yesterday I got their water bottle out and cleaned it and refilled it, and when I went back in some of the hens were gathering around my feet. They like it when I talk to them and sort of sit with them for a while and pet them. I've done this countless times.

I went inside and crouched down to talk to one of them and when I reached out to pet her the big grey rooster flogged me.

I was shocked because he has never been aggressive toward any of us. I know he was doing his job, and he perceived something I was doing as a threat to the hen, (or his manhood or something) but I wasn't having it. I decided he needed to know I was the boss, so I got a stick and lightly tapped his wing and scolded him.

He's so beautiful, and I love him, but I hope he isn't going to become a mean rooster.

This is Luke back when he was Lula. Lilly named him
Lula because we thought he was a girl. He was so cute!

Still Lula, and so much smaller than the girls.

King Luke, clearly a rooster. 

Memories on Monday: A Boy and a Bear

I consider myself one of the luckiest moms in the world. I get to enjoy a relationship with two grown children, and I also have a wonderful little boy who keeps me informed on the latest technology, Legos, Goosebumps books, and has taught me to love snakes and spiders.

I am a sentimental kind of gal, and I have kept a baby book for each child, tried my best to write down the things they were doing at different stages of their childhood, and kept millions of drawings and crafts they did in school and at church.

Though I used to think I was keeping all of those things to give to them when they grow up, I know now those things are really just for me. Each item has a memory attached to it. There are only a few things my mom saved of mine that mean anything to me, and already my grown children have shown they don't have any desire to have most of the things I saved of theirs.

Memories are our own. We remember things differently. I think memories are fascinating. The way we retrieve them and store them is of great interest to me. Recently a television show triggered a memory for me. I was transported back in time to when my oldest son was less than two years old.

He was fascinated with the Snuggle fabric softener bear on the television commercial.  As soon as he heard the voice he would come running into the room to see the bear on TV.

I know he doesn't remember that. He loved it so much that I ordered a stuffed Snuggle bear for him through one of those Sunday mailers that comes with the newspaper.  I'm sure that I could never convince him of how sweet it was to see his reaction to that bear, and I know I could not convince him to see that bear with affection now.

I know that if I try to share this memory with him I will get the inevitable flat, "I don't remember that," response. If I shared that memory it wouldn't mean anything to Dave.

It only means something to me, because it is my memory. And I am so blessed to have a lot of them.

Fabulous Friday

These are the desserts you dip into the dessert fondue of your choice.
It is soooo good!! We loved it!

There are so many great things to do and see where we live. We've had the great fortune to experience a lot of it. Some of these things we can't do often. We save them for very special occasions.
Such is the case with The Melting Pot restaurant.

We have several of these restaurants in our area, but we've only been to the one in Tacoma. Each time we've eaten there it was a special reason. Our first two times were in celebration of a rare date night, and the third time we took the kids there to celebrate the end of the school year. Both of them will be moving up to another level at school, so we thought it was an appropriate way to celebrate.

If you've never been to The Melting Pot, it's a very nice restaurant that serves a four-course fondue dinner. You start with cheese fondue and dip bread, veggies and Granny Smith apples into the cheese fondue. You get a salad, your entree, which is more fondue in a different fondue cooking sauce of your choice, and then dessert fondue. That is my favorite part, but really the whole meal is great.

The fondue pot sits on a hot plate at your table and the server brings the mix to the table and prepares it there. If you've never had fondue, you should try it. It's delicious. One of the best parts of the meal for me is the time I get to spend with the people at the table. This meal takes a while, so we have plenty of time to sit and talk. The kids love it, and Sean was especially impressed with being able to cook his own food right there at the table.

It can get pricey, but there's a special 3-course dinner through September for $29.95 per person.  That's a deal, because some of the 4-course dinners can run almost $50 per person.
And kids 12 and under eat free on Sundays and Tuesdays.

The whole experience takes at least an hour. So, if you're looking for a way to celebrate a special occasion, or want to get to know someone better and spend some time talking over dinner, The Melting Pot is a fabulous choice. I would say it's a fabulous Friday choice, but if you have kids 12 and under it might be a more fabulous choice on Sunday or Tuesday.

Disclaimer: The Melting Pot is not giving me anything for free, or even discounted, for posting this on my blog.