Fourth of July Celebration

It's been a while but we made the trip back to New York over the fourth. It was largely a spontaneous decision to go on our part. Mike learned from his sister that Uncle Gus and his neighbors would be throwing a big (~70 people) 4th of July party and all the cousins and their families would be there.
We also wanted to surprise Mike's mom who is doing ok but recovering from hernia surgery. After traveling on the fourth and arriving at my sister's quite late, we managed to get over to Longview just before lunch time. The four of us wandered into the cafeteria and found mom patiently waiting for her meal. Unfortunately, we were not early enough to take her out for lunch but the surprise was worth the trip.
For many reasons, it was a good trip. We caught up with family and friends, visited old haunts, made a trip to Cooperstown, did a little hiking and just had a fairly relaxing time together. New York weather didn't disappoint us either... There was no shortage of humidity and thunderstorms. Here's a photo album from our time in Fair Haven.

Comments

A Thanksgiving Road Trip

Bozeman Montana was the late November destination with a two fold purpose: visiting Montana State University and Thanksgiving with family. Trevor really enjoyed the campus visit. He’s interested in studying engineering and has been accepted at MSU. It will be interesting to see if there’s yet another Bobcat in the family. Which brings up the second reason for the trip. Jolyn's aunt Judy hosted six Oregonians (including Jolyn's folks Richard and Sharon) and Judy's son and daughter in law, Tim and Tracy (plus Kimber and Jill) joined us from Missoula! We all had a grand time preparing a wonderful meal, counting our blessings, and just spending time together. The day after Thanksgiving became White Friday... A far more desirable goal for this crowd than the much darker alternative. The caravan first stopped at Bridger Bowl to let Kimber and Jill run and play in the snow. Bridger was not yet open for the season but many people were skinning up for a little alpine tourin...

Water in Crystal and Liquid Forms

Yes, winter is winding down and summer seems to be on its way... That's the definition of spring isn't it? Around here (at least on the "Wet Side") it starts in February and continues... more or less through May. April was a very interesting month for outdoor activities in the Merrifield household. On the first, Trevor and Mike went downhill skiing . They took a friend of Trevor's and his brother and Dad. The four of them had taken snowboarding lessons earlier in the winter. Seemed a little strange to be skiing on April Fool's Day but the joke was definitely not on us. We had a great day. Then sailing started the following week for Mike. All are happy and thankful to have our local lake back again. The original earthen dam was build in the 40's and the drainage system was failing. (Earthen dams actually leak but it's supposed to be a controlled leak...). Somehow the Army Corp. of Engineers prioritized the repair project higher and found the money to f...

A Mother Duck...

We love the idea of publicly thanking moms. We don't do that enough. It somehow costs more to do it this way. It's more meaningful perhaps. The other awesome thing about The 1K Moms Project is that it helps other Moms and their families. How appropriate since that is what moms are all about. Helping others -- particularly their families. The story about the mother duck plucking her own feathers to line the nest really resonates with our family. Houses may be bought, built, or borrowed. But homes can only be made. And only with bits of ourselves . When you build a home, you start with a blank slate. It only comes together (both as a house and a home) with "bits of ourselves." Jolyn poured much more than her own feathers into our previous home. She was all in -- making sure that every detail, every decision was going to bless her family. “Mother ducks pick feathers from their chests to line their nests.” She lines the nest with bi...

Merrifield Times

Search This Blog