David and Tai's Wedding Shower

Dena decorated the house, the yard, the tables, the window sills!  Every flat space had a gorgeous bouquet of flowers!  

The iffy June weather didn't phase us one bit.  The warm sunshine enhanced all the warm and love floating from the upper deck to the lower tent.  

I love being with young people!  My nieces and nephews are the best..they smile a lot, giggle a little, and give the best hugs in the world.  And, they've traveled all over the continent, so I listen in and feel like I've been around the world.

Shea (sister), Tai, and Kyra (soon to be sister in law)!  All Gorgeous!

Here's a picture of my favorite   -  Tai and Dave are both WSU Grads - what a perfect gift.

The Caterer labelled every cracker and plate of yummy food!

Anne won a prize for having the most items on this list in her purse!  We played another game that helped us get to know Tai!  She and Dave met at a frat party at WSU.  

This lovely cookie jar gets passed around to each new bride.  Krya and Brad enjoyed it for years and now Joe and Jill relinquished the gift so it can be the center of attention on Tai's kitchen counter.  

My sister, Joan, gave her the Shark.  Tai had just told us about their new home and 2000 sq ft of hardwood floors.  She said, "We'll definitely be using this gift and soon!"

Aunt Frances and Uncle Larry.  

Pictures of lovely guests

 Mom-to-be, Jamie, expecting her third son in August.

Anne expressing best wishes....

Kaitlyn and Frances found the perfect "words" for the picture.

 Tai's step mom, Betty

And Betty's friend who looks like her sister!

The groom showed up as soon as all the gifts were opened!  He'd been at a Leadership Conference all day...just a step away from earning his Master's Degree in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga.

This little sweet heart - Tai's niece will be the flower girl at the wedding.  She loved the fuzzy puppy purse and tried to get the puppy face in front of the camera.

It's almost impossible to get away from a Kopczynski celebration without a group picture.  Larry took this one of all the beautiful women who attended.  I'm grateful to Dena and Shea for gathering us together so we could meet Tai's family.  I don't know how her mom, cousin, and sister escaped the picture.  I left the shower feeling grateful for the gift of family and confident David and Tai are in for a long married life because of their extended family support.

Colin's Mini-Donut Day at Moscow Farmer's Market

The organizers of Moscow's popular Saturday Farmer's Market opened some space for children to sell their crafts, food, and plants this year.  Anne helped Colin do the research and determine all the items he would need to have a successful day selling mini donuts.  My sister, Marilyn,  passed this yard sale donut maker on to him earlier this year and he figured out a process that would work.  Colin and I practiced at home and decided that a variety would be nice - some with cinnamon-sugar, and some with frosting and sprinkles.  I also made some mini maple bars to give the customers some variety.

Colin determined that two people could walk two blocks to Duane's office and make fresh donuts every hour or so.  We used a white cake mix, which made about 50 little donuts.  Anne stayed back and helped Colin at the booth in front of the Breakfast Club (which was the Knobby Inn for years where my sister Carole worked).  We used walkie talkies to communicate with each other!

 It was a lot of work to get everything set up and ready for customers by 8 AM.

 Other kids were selling jewelry

And a whole family made rubber band bracelets to sell.

Colin made the decision to sell the donuts or mini maple bars for 30 cents each, a dozen for $3.00.  He figured out all the math did a great job making change.  He had to take $5.00 out of his profits to pay for the table space.

Our little table was right next to the Aichele Farms, Hermiston, Oregon, table selling berries.  They had long lines all morning and sold out all their berries by noon.  I bought some raspberries and they are  so good, especially with a little ice cream!

I'm a proud grandma!  Proud of Colin's entrepreneurial spirit and his ability to sit patiently waiting for customers and then greeting them and making the right change.  I'm also grateful to sensitive adults who stopped by and engaged in conversation with us.  One gentleman asked Colin how he planned to spend the profits and Colin told him he was saving for his own computer and the man handed him a $5 bill.  Priceless!

Mary Lou's Birthday Celebration

My 4th Day Reunion Group honored Mary Lou on her 75th birthday.  We invited guests from her book club, her Oblate Group, her neighborhood, her former co-workers, and of course all of us in her prayer group!

Mary Lou enjoying a morning Mimosa.  

Marcia loves to decorate her home with gorgeous bouquets of flowers

Regina drove to Pullman and picked a bouquet of Peonies

Of course, we all prepared wonderful food!

Kathy added a bouquet of lavender to the card bowl.  We offered this prayer as we gathered to celebrate:

Lord of Life,
as we celebrate this traditional feast
in honor of the day when Mary Lou
was Your gift to her parents and to the world
we ask of you a blessing.

Bless Mary Lou and each of us with wisdom.
Make us younger on each birthday
Awaken within us the child
who is so often asleep
Open our eyes to wonder and awe;
delight our hearts with amazement and playfulness.

 Colorful Cindy and Jackie

Kathy and Mary Lou's sister in law, Karen

Our guest of honor with dear friends Liz and Betty

 Guests visited around an inside table - Jack, Jim, Don, Charlene, Grace, and Pat.  We were overjoyed to see Don and Charlene because Don's had some health problems recently. 

 And out on the deck - Kerry, Betty, Kathy, Tom, and Mary Lou's brother, Bill, who drove all the way from Bonner's Ferry to celebrate with us.  

Karen, Mary Lou, Anita, Kathy, Liz, and Christine

One final picture of the last of us to leave.
I've already received a lovely thank you note which read in part,

Thank you...the praying together just warmed my heart
and made me so grateful for such wonderful friends.

Father's Day on the Coeur d'Alene Bike Trail

Colin had a special surprise for Duane and I got to watch him open it.  He'd typed a personal note on the computer, printed it, and pretended he was going to send it to Aunt Joan just to add to the drama.

  He wrote several sentences about why his Dad is so special.  And then Colin mentioned that Duane's real Father's Day gift was in the garage....

The Mini-Cooper cannot haul four bikes so we packed them in the back of the truck that has been banned to the side driveway!

Clouds threatened to make our bike ride to Harrison miserable.  I certainly wasted a good worry.  We all dressed in layers and actually the temperature was perfect.  Anne planned the day to give Colin and Duane some special time together.

The first time (August, 2011) we all rode this trail we packed a picnic lunch and stopped lots of times so Colin could rest.

Three years later the ride seemed so much easier.  We rode from Heyburn State Park to Harrison in less than an hour - just in time  lunch.






We enjoyed a nice lunch and some tangerine beer!  Colin and Duane played Darts while we waited for our meal to be prepared.






I watched, with amazement, as Colin played as if he'd been playing for years.  Only a few broken tips!

Our big reward came at the ice cream store - yummy flavors and great service.  We'll definitely be back.

I couldn't resist taking pictures of the flowers surrounding the city park.

And some blooming  wildflowers on the trail.

I love the blue Bachelor Buttons!

Probably the best Father's Day ever!