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."