Mother's Day 2015

 

Mother's Day is always special for me.  It's so nice to be pampered by my loved ones.

This Mother's Day was Melissa's first one, and we were so happy to be able to celebrate it with her.

 

 

She is such a good mother, and her total joy in caring for baby Bronson shines through.

 

 

Daddy Adam is truly a hand's on Dad, and as you can see, he loves being right in there doing things like making Bronson smile.

 

 

Grandpa is always right there to hold and play with the baby.

 

 

He even suggested that we take him outside in their beautiful yard.

Being outside is one of Bronson's favorite things.

 

 

This is just a small sampling of the gorgeous flowers in the yard.  I neglected to photograph the wonderful fruits and vegetables they also grow.

 

 

Now that he's a little older, Bronson likes to play with hanging toys and dials.  He talks (babbles) a blue streak while he's trying to catch them.

 

 

Mom and Dad are a little concerned that Bronson may suck his thumb, but, of course, Grandma and Grandpa think it's adorable!

 

 

Daddy tries to give him toys to hold instead.

 

 

The baby loves all the attention, but eventually falls asleep in his mother's arms.

What a fitting end to this wonderful Mother's Day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baby Love!

 

February 12, 2015 little Bronson came into our lives.

 

 

Grandma and Grandpa couldn't wait to hold him.

 

 

Aunt Heather, Maddie and Reese were overjoyed over this new addition to the family.

 

 

Maddie will probably be a great babysitter!

 

 

Bronson was a big crowd pleaser at Grandpa's 70th birthday party.

 

 

 At Easter Melissa loved showing him off in his new shirt and tie.

 

 

At times, Bronson seems older than his age.  I wonder what he is thinking???

 

 

Here's his doting Aunt again!

 

 

Hey Grandpa......leave my toes alone!

 

 

Love those happy parents, and their sweet, contented baby.

I feel so blessed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Big Tree Park

Duane and I love taking short field trips to places of interest.  This past weekend he told me about a tree he saw while working at Glendora Hospital.  It was across the street, and he thought it was a Carrotwood----one of our favorite trees.  But it wasn't......

 

The tree is in its own little park with a covered picnic area.  I think we will return with a picnic lunch one day.

 

 

It's fascinating to look at, and just imagine what it has witnessed from its planting in 1880.

 

 

I took this photo in the wrong direction, but it says it was planted by Edgar J. Owens.  He imported it from Australia in the 1880's.  It's botanical name is Ficus Macrophy Ila', commonly called the Moreton Bay Fig.

 

 

We had fun climbing around on its massive roots.

 

 

It is 90 feet tall, the branch spread is 110 feet wide, and the trunk is 30 feet in circumference.

 

 

Wouldn't it make a terrific treehouse?

 

 

In any case, it is a magnificent specimen.  I'm pretty sure we saw one like it at the Santa Barbara Mission graveyard a couple of years ago.  We'll have to go back and see....

 

 

 

 

 

 

Out With The Old......In With The New (Fence, that is...)

 

Ever since I can remember, I've been looking at this fence in the back yard.  It was in two sections, one wood, and the other chain link.  It was right next to the pool and spa.  Ugly doesn't even begin to describe it.

 

 

The wood section had a block wall under it, part of which could have easily been 75 years old.  When we were going to finally get the wood fence replaced, the workers noticed that in a 24 foot area, the wall was about to fall down.  It moved quite a bit when you pushed it.

 

 

Needless-to-say, this part of the block wall had to be replaced.  What was to be a one day fence repair was now going to take four days, and an additional contractor came on the scene.

 

 

When you replace sections of block walls and have to match the other sections, it's not easy, but luckily we had a great team working on it.

 

 

The fencing contractor and the block wall contractor turned out to be related (hmmm), but they worked very well together.

 

 

The wood fence was looking good.

 

 

And, the block wall matched the old wall very well.

 

 

The wood fence was then placed on top of the wall.  You may notice a small gap at the bottom of the wood fence, but they fixed that nicely and now you can't even tell it's there.

 

 

I'm thrilled with my new fence.....now I think I have to look into drought resistant plants, because everyone in the State of California has to use 25% less water than they did in 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Hero

 

In 1963, after graduating from high school, this nice looking young man joined the army.  This was not the easiest or safest time to enlist.  The Viet Nam War was in full swing, and many of our brave men and women were dying for our country in a place that many of us had never heard of.  But Duane felt (and still does), that it is an honor to serve your country.  He received orders three times to go to Viet Nam, but each time the orders were changed.  He ended up serving at Fort Leonardwood, in Missouri, then Fort Lewis in Washington.  He did temporary duty at Fort Wainwright and Fort Greeley, both in Alaska. He spent many months in the Mojave Desert participating in Operation Desert Strike.  We just crossed the Mojave Desert last weekend, and we talked about that mock war.  He remembers places like Kelso, Bagdad and Ludlow where he passed through with his heavy equipment.

 

 

After we built our house in San Dimas, we were delighted to find out that the City was building a memorial to all those who had been in the Armed Forces.  We inquired and Duane's name was added to the list.  It is called San Dimas Heroes.

 

 

If you look closely, you will see Duane's name right above our heads.  I didn't realize at the time that we would be in this picture too.

 

 

Duane is very proud to be a part of this memorial, and to be remembered for his service.

 

 

It's a wonderful and peaceful spot with a lovely fountain in the middle.  Memorials like this one are thought provoking, and comforting to the people inscribed there, and their families.

 

God Bless the U.S.A.

 

 

 

  

70th Camo Party

Duane turns 70 on March 9th.  He didn't want a party, but our kids had other ideas.  The girls are all on Pinterest, and I created a Camo Party board to which they all added pins. We had so many ideas that the party planning was easy.  The actual execution turned out to be a bit of work, but it was a labor of love.

 

Using an old sign from Adam and Melissa's wedding reception, we set the mood for our party.

 

 

The next sign seen by guests was this one.  It was definitely a party for a Duck Dynasty lover.

 

 

Many tables were set with camo and burlap, and rustic flower arrangements.  Lights above added to the ambiance. 

 

 

Cattails, grasses and used shotgun shells delivered the theme.

 

 

There was lots of wine, beer and a mixed drink.

 

 

The beer was served up in wheelbarrows, with a bottle cap rimmed blackboard sign above, naming the different brands.

 

 

In addition to great Mexican food, we had a wonderful table with many different kinds of sweets.

 

 

 

Our new grandson Bronson made his appearance.

 

 

 

 

Lots of friends, relatives, and neighbors came to wish Duane a Happy Birthday!

 

 

Kim and Shannon devised a camo backdrop which was fun for many photos.

 

 

 

 

As you can see, we had all sorts of props, and everyone hammed it up!

 

 

 

Here we have the true duck hunters from the past season.

 

 

You always have to have some cute girls posing.

 

 

And everyone wants to hold a baby.

 

 

The birthday boy had a great time, and got lots of fun and heartfelt presents.  Thanks to all who helped in the party preparation, and who came to wish him well.