Ammon at Nine

Ammon turned nine this week, and on Sunday a bunch of us got together to mark the occasion. Murray was in fine form, chasing anything that moved, and Joshua had a great time throwing things for him. Josh was always surprised and happy when Murray licked his face. Lura was looking great in her beautiful red dress. We all had tacos for dinner and Ben and Sarah brought homemade blueberry icecream for desert. They also made their own cones and "dishes" with a wonderful, old-fashioned piece of kitchen equipment Sarah (Shultis) had found at Goodwill for $4 or something. The homemade cones were a great accompaniment to the sweet, tasty ice cream, which tasted like a bite of frozen blueberries in every mouthful.

Sam is off to scout camp in July-he'll be 12 on the 24th!

Ben is going to Minnesota to work on his doctorate there in the middle of July.

Father's Day 2009

I had a great Father's Day. Went up to Whidbey Island and spent the weekend with Becky and her family. On Saturday we took a trip to Coupeville, just north of them, and took a walking tour of the tiny downtown. We walked out on the dock and saw a seal, and just took in the scenery. We went home for a dinner of bleu-cheese burgers and ice cream.

Sunday, Becky made a great breakfast with blueberry waffles and a blueberry smoothie. We spent the morning playing together. Then Mike and Becky put out a great lunch of grilled pork skewers with veggies and a tangy sauce. Mike made good use of his Father's Day gift, a new gas grill, very fancy and modern! I got some good books to read, and I'm looking forward to that. The day was topped off by the traditional strawberry-rhubarb pie, always a great way to end a day.

The only difficult part of the weekend was the struggle of their new puppy, Luna, who had been spayed and tore out her stitches and then her staples. Becky had to make 2 emergency runs to Mount Vernon to get the dog treated. She seems to be doing better now, but that's been a challenge for them. They have to keep the dog pretty drugged up to keep her quiet as she needs to be.