A Baptism 2'fer

On occasion you get Serendipity. July 30th, two beautiful granddaughters were baptized on the same day into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. One reason Josh's family planned their month-long trek to California, was so we could all take part in Melina's and Gabriella's baptism. Melina turned 8 on July 8th, and Gabby on July 28th, so with much planning and preparation we were able to schedule the baptisms for the same time and place. It took place in the Runyan's Church Building, which is on the same property as the Sacramento Temple - a special place for our family, since our whole family was able to tour the temple 5 years ago during the Open House in 2006. We've added lots more grandchildren since then, but we'll always have special memories of our time in the temple with the whole family.
Congratulations to two beautiful young ladies. You are treasures!


Cory & Gabriella Runyan and Josh & Melina Stubblefield just before the baptism.



Grandma and Grandpa with Melina and Gabby.


The gang on Runyan's play fort. It was great to be with so many of our children and grandchildren, but we sure missed the ones who weren't there.


Be sure to read the following post which tells all about Crazy July.

Summer 2011

This has been one of the craziest summers we've had in a long time. We started off by celebrating our 40th Wedding Anniversary - which is crazy that we're old enough to have a 40th anniversary, and crazy that we're still married (or crazy because we're still married??) We took a long weekend trip up to Ashland, OR for the Shakespeare Festival. We went last year and enjoyed it so much we decided to do a repeat. We saw Love's Labors Lost, The Imaginery Invalid, and The Pirates of Penzance. All were superb. It's so lovely to sit outdoors in the Elizabethan Theatre. This year we were wiser and took jackets and blankets. We also did a jetboat trip on the Rogue River, which was fun, beautiful and exhilarating.
When we returned home, we helped the Lyons move to San Ramon. They'd decided a year of being apart was enuf - or they decided a year of living with us was enuf. Either way - they are all together again and Aaron is just 30 min from his school.
Then the crazy stuff really started . . .
The Tripp kids were here for 3 weeks. I was supposed to go to Los Alamos to take care of the crew, while their parents helped chaperone a youth Pioneer Trek, but the week before my departure they were evacuated from their home due to a huge wildfire. So they decided to bring the kids to me. We had a blast swimming and hanging out together.
Also about that time Josh's family arrived in Cali. They stayed in Roseville at Courtney's folks, other than a few nights here and there with us. You can read more about each family's experience on their own blogs.
Just after the 4th of July, my dad had a mild stroke. He went to the hospital a couple of times, then it was determined he would be better cared for and receive intensive therapy if he was placed in a Skilled Nursing Facility for 2 weeks. He did that, and made good improvements which enabled him to return home to his Assisted Living Apartment. He seems to be stable at this time, and can take care of his personal needs.
Mid-July, we took a long planned for trip to Yosemite with our 10 oldest grandchildren. Cory and Andrea tagged along with Amanda, and Megan tagged along with Tyghe and Ada Jane. We spent 2 nights camping outside the park, and one very full day in Yosemite Valley. The kids were all great sports about hiking and looking out for one another. What a treat to spend time like that with the "grands" who were almost 8 and older. They were all tons of fun and we laughed a lot.
Megan and her crew headed back to New Mexico, after being away from home for 4 weeks!
Then Josh's family came to stay with us for the last week of their 4 week vacation.
We are so grateful for our pool - which got used to the max!!
After 2 days to change beds and move a few things around, the Lyon kids came to stay for 3 nights. Emily had a conference in San Diego and I volunteered to watch the kids. It was nice to have the "Reds" back at our house. They do love their new home though.
So here's a few pic to document "July."
Yosemite was spectacular this year. All the falls were going full blast from all the snow this winter.
I will do another post with some photos of the other BIG event in July.

 

This is Mr. Burned Marshmallow Man. Can you find the image of a face. I was hoping to sell him on Ebay - but he got eaten.