November, a continuation of July, August, September and October...

In November, Stan returned to Utah to see is parents.

Upon his return, we went for an early morning hike above Multnomah Falls in the Gorge. It was incredible!



About a week after his return, we learned that his aunt Julia had passed on. We traveled to Nyssa, OR for the service and met Stan's parents and sister there. He hadn't seen many of his cousins for 10+ years. In that way it was a wonderful experience.

Uncle Darwin and Darr

We also went back to Seattle. There is so much more to do.

Thanksgiving we spent with Nancy's Dad and some dear friends in Hillsboro. We have much to be thankful for.

Retirement? activities

Many of our friends keep asking what retirement is like. The only thing that Stan can say is, "It's different." Hopefully the pictures and dialogue below will give you an idea of what we have been doing.

Starting in July...the first thing we did was visit Tyler, Jessica and Makayla in Arizona to celebrate Makayla's first birthday. We were there two weeks and endured the heat. We had a great time. Check the earlier post.

We also spent about 2 weeks in Seattle, helping Al visit doctors, sort, take him to a class reunion (see earlier post) and make plans for a move to a retirment community.

In August, we went up to Seattle several times but spent two weeks in Utah, Idaho and then back to Seattle.

Our Utah experience included Education Week, (the first time)...

Spending time with Stan's Dad and Mom...

...and visiting family in southern Idaho, (Connie and family)...

...and in eastern Washington. (Near Coeur d'Alene) Den and Lisa were there visiting Daree and Adam and Katie and Eric.

Then back to Seattle

In September we spent about two weeks in Seattle. The weather was GREAT!

In October, we booked passage on a airline to visit Ryan, Stephanie and Mia in Pennsylvania. We had a terrific time visiting historical sites, picking apples, exploring the New Jersey coast and just "hanging out."

Then back to Seattle

...where we packed up some furniture and moved Al to a place in Vancouver. It really is a nice place but nothing can compare with the view on Mercer Island.

In summary, our Summer and Fall were busy but also very enjoyable. Being in a position of flexibility makes all this possible and how thankful we are for that. Retirement really is "interesting."

MIA'S BIRTHDAY!!!

We are SO excited that it's Mia's second birthday. Since we can't be there to celebrate, we are sending our greeting via BLOG.

Happy Birthday Mia from Grandma and Grandpa!

Family History Connections in Washington

While visiting with Al in Seattle this past week, we decided to take him to his high school class reunion in Cle Elum, Washington. While there we tried to pick is brain about his youth and gather what we could about his father and mother and hoped it would "trip" other rememberances of his 18 years of living in that community. Here is Al in front of a friend's house just outside of Cle Elum.

This is the house Grandpa Mladenich built around 1923-24. This is where Al lived until he left for the service in 1942.

Since Grandpa Mladenich, (Matt), worked in the coal mines for 30+ years, we thought we would check out any remnants of that time period. Number 5 mine was located in the area where I am standing. We found some coal to bring home and add to our rock collection. (Nancy will receive a piece in her Christmas stocking).

This sign showed the place where the railroad spur from Mine #9 met the main rail line. Matt worked in Mine #9.

This was all very interesting!

New Wheels

Since Stan can't jog anymore, he decided to take up biking for his daily aerobic exercise regimen. He is particularly pleased with his new wheels.

He is really fond of his new "gel" bike shorts.

Nothing like a hike in Oregon Country

Recently I, and some of my hiking buddies, climbed to the top of Neakanie Mountain on the Oregon Coast near Manzanita. The views were spectatular. We are so blessed to live in such a beautiful part of the country.

Into the HOT country!

We enjoyed a recent trip to Arizona to see Tyler and Jessica and help celebrate Makayla's first birthday. We were true to our commitment to Tyler that we would not complain. Hot it was but it didn't stop us from having a great time together. The saguaros were particularly interesting.

You can't tell but it is 108 at the park which was cool since is was 112 in Gilbert.

We did take a two days and travelled to Prescott and Flagstaff for a get-away. We enjoyed the 79 degree temperatures and visiting with our good friends, Paul and Chris, from Page.

It was also nice to stop at the Mesa Temple grounds.

Family portrait after church. Notice Nancy's eyes are partially open.

Ryan and Stephanie come to Visit

Ryan and Stephanie recently came to visit us before they move to Philly. Stephanie requested that we attend the annual Rose Festival Parade in downtown Portland on June 7th. We had front row seats and some questionable weather.

Here's Mia patiently waiting for the first float to go by

Here's everyone else patiently waiting for the first float to go by - in the middle of the street.
Float goes by. The floats are made out of all natural ingredients. You could say they're organic floats.
Mia misbehaved so we sent her to the Principal's office. Actually, she just came to Stan's office to play with the knives he confiscates from students.
Despite never having to style a little girls' hair in her lifetime, Grandma convinced Mia to let her give it a shot.

Here we have Mia "reading" a bedtime story to Grandpa.

We had a great visit and are excited for Ryan and Stephanie's new opportunity back East.

Al's Visit

We invited Nancy's dad, Al, to come for Easter. One of our excursions was to visit the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, OR. He was totally in awe as he stood next to the "Spruce Goose." And truly, it is something to behold. Equally awe-inspiring is the fact that it is made almost totally of wood. However, it is not made of spruce as its name implies. It is actually constructed almost entirely of birch. It should be called the "Birch Goose."

The museum has a lot to offer and is very interesting. The Space building is scheduled to open in June of 2008. We were told that Evergreen has requested one of the Space Shuttles once they have been decommissioned. That would be quite an addition for this site.

Many of their display aircraft are outside as they are preparing for the opening of their other building. These aircraft do intrigue me. It is time for me to start working on my pilot's license.

Here we are after Easter services. It was great having Al with us.

Just Getting Started

Nancy and I spent the weekend of March 14-16 in Utah visiting my parents, Cal and Verla, and checking on Ryan, Stephanie and Mia. It was a short trip but we really enjoyed it.

Mom and Dad went with us to hear Ryan speak in one of the wards on Sunday. It was a real treat being together. Ryan's talk was also inspiring.

We were also able to see my sister, Marla, and her husband, Jamon.

Nancy was true to color when anticipating the flash. When her eyes were open, she had a great time with Mia.

Although this picture has nothing to do with our visit to Utah, I had to include something from our school-wide effort to encourage Reading. Our theme this year is "Hunt for the Treasure of Reading." Captain "Book" and his crew visited Joseph Gale Elementary School late in February to enlist the help of the students to find this "treasure." Pictured here is Captain Book and his ship mates; First Mate (Shirley the Counselor), Second Mate (Diane, the Librarian) and "Check" Mate (Jaycine, the Secretary). As of this writing, their ship, The Comprehension, is well on its way to find "The Treasure of Reading," something more valuable than gold. With each hour of Reading by students, (scallywags), on their own, and at home, the closer we are to reaching our destination by April 11th. Aye Mates!

We are having a great time. Nancy can't understand why I would want to leave this.

Incidentally, the bulletin board behind us is actually quite appropriate. My staff does have a lot to "persevere."