Bradleigh's birthday

My granddaughter, Bradleigh, is Sweet 16 today.  Sixteen years ago John came out to the waiting room with her and said, "she has red hair and can't be named Jennifer - we'll have to come up with a different name."  When he told us her name would be Bradleigh Susanne O'Shaughnessy Karen said, "Oh, John, she's going to hate you when she's in Kindergarten because that is a long name and a lot of letters to learn to spell."  She was named after John's best man, Brad Kime, and Karen's maid of honor, Jennifer Susanne Uhlorn.

My life changed dramatically when she was born.  I remember my brother Don saying to me, "I can't believe how googely-eyed you are over that baby."  Well he's a grandpa now and I've seen that same look in his eyes when Peyton runs to his arms.

"My grandma thinks I'm the most beautiful baby in the world. "  The caption I wrote in her scrapbook.

1996

2011

I treasure our annual together pictures!  It means so much to me that she endures this picture taking time.

2003

2005

Grandma Delores found this great key chain for her and attached a bunch of old keys and told a great story to go with it.  "One day Bradleigh said to me, 'Grandma I hope you are not going to walk into school with all those keys because someone will think you are the janitor.'"

Riley and Bradleigh

Colin picked out a another key chain and Duane gave her some black dice for her 1992 Honda Accord, which she'll be able to drive all by herself on Tuesday when she gets her license!  She's already passed both the written and driving tests.  I think Bradleigh will be a great driver and I'll let her drive anytime she's with me - she laughed at the way I drove in Denver!!

When I was a teenager the Crests had a popular song called, "Sixteen Candles"

The song became the inspiration for my gift to Bradleigh.  I baked a small cake and rolled 16 $10 bills up in pink and black scrapbooking paper and insisted that she listen to the song on my IPAD.  It was better than trying to sing it myself.  I wrote a little poem to go with the gift and I hope that all those wishes I have for her will someday come true.

Happy birthday, happy birthday, Bradleigh 

Oh, I love you so 

Sixteen candles make a lovely light
 

But not as bright as your eyes tonight
 

Blow out the candles
 

Make your wish come true 


For I'll be wishing sixteen things for you, That 

You never have to wear braces again

You always have gas money to go to your favorite places

Your brother becomes one of your best friends

You discover how smart your parents are

You take time to be with your grandmas when they are old

You keep a song in your heart and continue to play the piano

You laugh often and much and win the affection of children

You reach out to the less fortunate in our society

You are fine wearing sweatshirts and your closet can hold all your shoes

You honor and respect God’s creation

You get to go back to Disneyland and on to New York City,

Norway, and Australia

Your family appreciates your expert cooking abilities

You will always enjoy watching the Sound of Music

You are the most outstanding Volleyball Setter in the State

You can always find cinnamon rolls

God blesses you with peace, love, and respect of others

You're only sixteen 


But you're my teenage beauty queen 

You're the prettiest
 

Loveliest granddaughter I've ever seen
 

Sixteen candles in my heart will glow
 

For ever and ever for I love you so


Other things I noticed at the reunion

I've learned how to be a little more observant when I think about taking pictures and writing on my blog.  At my age I need all the help I can get to remember special moments.  Just wanted to recall a few more precious memories...

The lovely view from the Johnson cabin.

Grace and Sharlie the Sea Monster

Upside down fun in the hammock

AnnMarie surfing behind the boat

Playing Foosball with Uncle Allan

Uncle Garry relaxing

Karen and Dale, our hiking leaders

Mr. Fox enjoying his breakfast near Meadow House

PJ's art work

Jake playing Yard Jarts

Everyone took turns working on the mosaic

Kennedy getting ready to play Stomp Rockets with the big kids

Listening to Gus's stories

Levi enjoying the Kayak

Waiting for news of David Kopczynski's Ironman Competition.

Bertha's favorite family meal - Chicken and Noodles, Sauerkraut and spare ribs, Broccoli Salad

We missed Larry and his sweet family and prayed for all of them as they made plans for Holly's mom's funeral.  Margie inspired us all with her devotion to her kids and grandkids.  Our hearts feel so empty without her.  

The finished mosaic project

This is what happens when you leave a  car window open and have banana bread on the back seat of your car.  Dale examined the footprints and decided it was a raccoon!  Mr. Racoon also chewed through the Red Licorice container and got into several boxes of food stored on the Johnson porch!

I always get a little choked up when I begin leaving the Camas Prairie and head down the Winchester hill.  I usually notice the pink flowers that are still in the highway marker that Garry made in honor of our Mother who died on that highway.   I thought as I drove by that Mom would've enjoyed the week in McCall and I think she would've been proud of us - the way we organized the food, the time we took to visit and enjoy each other, and the effort we all made to be there.    Tears flowed as I thought about my Mom and how her devotion to all 10 of us continues to affect us even though she's been gone for almost seven years.  I hope her memory never fades, but remains strong into the next generations.  Perhaps we'll enjoy Kennedy's version of Mom's chicken and noodles someday and who knows what ingredients she might add to the mix?

 Thank you, Zeke and AnnMarie, for hosting our group and honoring the memory of Mom & Dad.

Two trips to Home Depot, Three men and two boys later

One of my outdoor faucets has been dripping precious water for over 2 years.  I could never seem to get it turned off tight enough.  John told me I probably needed a new faucet, but it seemed to me you'd have to take the siding off the house to get to it.  Instead I googled old faucet repair and the magic of the Internet told me what I needed to do, step by step.

I thought I had the right tools and discovered my crescent wrench wasn't big enough so off to Home Depot I go and a nice man listened to my story and sold me a 12" wrench for $19.95.  I worried a little that it wouldn't be able to turn it so the Home Depot man told me I could use a piece of pipe for more leverage.  Luckily it turned quite easily and I was able to also turn the valve inside my house that turned all the water off.

The folks on the Internet suggested I take the piece to the local hardware store so as to purchase the right washers, gaskets, etc.  That's when the fun began.  I showed it to the the man greeting people as they walked in the door.  He seemed certain a hose washer would work so he called a boy to help me and I got a little packages of hose washers, but this young boy wasn't too sure those would work so he sent me to Aisle 36, just to confirm the purchase with a plumber. There,  another young man looked at it and tried to get the little orange screw out and couldn't so off we go to the tool section and there another man took a look and together they decided a power tool would do the trick.  And yes, it did!  Tools sent me back to plumbing and I was told by yet another man that the orange washer needed to be replaced.  He started to pop it out, but it had sort of grown into the metal so off this man went back to the tool section.  Gosh he was gone for about 15 minutes and all I could think about was "they are going to ruin it and it's Sunday and I won't be able to turn my water back on."  The tool man and the plumbing man finally came back and said they had a heck of a time getting it out, but now they were ready to put in the new washer.  Try, try, try - the washer they'd selected just would not slip into the right place.  The man took his Xacto knife and scraped some more and it still wouldn't go in.  Eventually the plumbing boy came back and took another package of washers off the shelf and this time it worked!!!  I apologized and said I had no idea it would be such a lengthy process and one man responded, "neither did we."  I got the feeling that had they known, they would never have helped me in the first place.  The plumber man suggested more than once that I just needed to buy a new faucet.  "Too stubborn, "  I responded - why waste a good faucet when a $1.19 package of washers and screws will solve the problem?

It leaks no more.  Perhaps all the water I'll save over the next few years will eventually pay for the crescent wrench!  Thank you Home Depot men and boys!

Kopczynski Reunion, Part III

No worries that I was the oldest person attending the Kopczynski reunion.  I vowed to myself that I'd hike, bike, walk, kayak with all my younger siblings, nephews, and grandkids.  The first morning we were there, Karen suggested that we hike to the Secret Pond and then enjoy the Shaver's gardens.

According to Karen, the son of this property owner studied Botany and has plans to continue to develop the family property into lovely gardens that for now at least one can walk through and enjoy with no restrictions.  We enjoyed visiting with this woman who was tending to the garden and especially fussing about the peonies because they were not blooming yet!

The Secret Pond is a short hike off Warren Wagon Road, but well worth it look at the view.

I hiked up to this pond twice more, once with Duane, Paul, PJ, and Colin and then again with Allan and Connie, Bradleigh and Karen.  The young boys were quite adventuresome and led us to an old logging road and they delighted in boulder climbing and showing us just how much fun getting off the trail can be.  Karen was surprised by a snake and happily took one of my walking sticks to shake the ground before she took another step.

The next day Dale, Karen, and AnnMarie, planned a more aggressive hike for us to tackle.  We drove to Boulder Lake Reservoir and began a 2 mile hike up and up.

Beginning at the reservoir

Dale was confident we would eventually reach a high mountain lake so he did a little scouting while we women waited and rested.  He came back and helped each one of us do a little boulder scramble, including AnnMarie who has packing Kennedy on her back.

At the top - Boulder Lake

Look at the view - it was so worth the effort!  I'm proud of my effort - being a 65 year old hiking with the twenty-somethings and my sisters who are all younger than me!!

I hauled two bicycles down to McCall fully intending to ride one and share the other with my sisters.  The Johnson place proved to be a great starting place for a great bike ride on Warren Wagon Road.  The reunion headquarters was just 3 miles from town, and the road to town mostly flat, with a paved section for bikers and walkers along Warren Wagon Road.  The day of this hike Duane and I rode our bikes into McCall and ended up on the east side of the lake where a nice lady at a bike shop suggested we ride back, not on Highway 55 with all it's traffic, but on the back streets!  So much easier and safer.

Friday we sisters did a little retail therapy and found a delightful consignment shop called the Dandy Lion.  We each bought some slightly used clothes!  Marilyn loves to shop for her surrogate grandchildren and even Amanda found something for the Baby Kuhlmann.  Marilyn insisted that I buy a new beach hat, but that was not to be - the shop where this picture was taken had several, but I was not about to pay over $30 for a new hat!!

Saturday morning Allan and I got up early and drove with Duane to Upper Payette Lake so he could shoot some pictures.














He took a lot of pictures and delighted the whole group with a slide show at the end of every day.  One night he stayed up late to take pictures of the stars.  It's a great picture viewed on a big computer because you can see the entire Milky Way.  I don't know if one can really see the effect on a little picture on this blog.  I saw him doing a little research on the Internet before I went to bed - the conditions have to be just right, including a clear sky and no artificial light.  

Those of us who live in the city never get to see the stars like this because of city light pollution.

Paddling around in Karen's kayak made my appreciate how relaxing a week at the lake can be.  I might even have to change my profile picture..

Looking forward to more retirement years!!

God Bless America

Today, the birthday of our great nation, reminded me of how blessed I am.  I attended Mass with several of my 4th Day friends.  The reading from Amos admonished us to seek good and not evil, but Father Neely reminded us that we have choices.  And freedom, too, is a choice - perhaps thats why this particular reading seems appropriate on the 4th of July.  The church was not full, but the voices rendered a touching America the Beautiful.  Grace's sister, Ethel, and their brother, Vern, and sister in law made up most of the choir.  There was not a dry eye in the church after the last song.

My special friends, Mary Lou, Betty, Cecilia, and Kathy, gathered on my patio for mimosas, home made biscotti and scones, and fresh fruit.  Mary Lou mentioned how grateful she was to her courageous ancestors who came to this country from Italy.  We each had an opportunity to share our ancestral stories.  I wondered how difficult it must have been for people to leave their homeland - mind you without telephones, cars, the INTERNET, mapquest, Smart Phones - none of those modern devices to connect with distant cousins who encouraged them to come to America.  Betty thought perhaps those pioneers had a more adventuresome spirit than we could even imagine.  Anyway, we said lots of prayers of gratitude for our freedom and the choices our ancestors made over 150 years ago.

Later, I rode my bike to Pioneer Park and met Jack and Regina there - all of us in awe of this great family event.  I thought perhaps this is the way our ancestors celebrated the 4th of July - just simply gathering in a park and enjoying each other's company.  Today people were waiting in line to ride in an old fire truck and/or a horse drawn stagecoach.  I loved to listen to the clop clop of the horses as I followed it around the park.  Music groups entertained those sitting in chairs in front of the bandshell and kids were drawn to the fountain, splashing and cooling off.  I continued my bike ride down to the levee and noticed Southway Boat Ramp full of boat trailers.  There were lots more people enjoying the water than walking or riding on the levee today.  But some people were fishing, some were swimming at the old Beachview site, and some were setting their chairs up along Prospect Avenue for the fireworks tonight.

The Lewis-Clark Community Band provided a great concert in Pioneer Park late this afternoon.  Many dedicated musicians gave up their holiday to entertain a large crowd gathered in the Park.  Listening to America the Beautiful for the second time today brought tears to my eyes.  The band also plays the theme songs for every branch of our military and the leader asked the veterans or current servicemen and women to stand up when their song played.  Honestly, what a gift these men and women have been to our country!  Most of them made the choice to serve so the rest of us could enjoy freedom and peace.  "God shed his Grace on thee" in the form of these dedicated veterans.  

Mary Lou and I visited with a serviceman that told us about the POW flag.  He said when servicemen gather in their dining halls they always have an empty chair and the flag at that space reminds them of their fellow service people either missing in action, or prisoners of war.

Grace's family also enjoyed the concert.  It's Vern Nathe, Grace, Ethel, and Gladys

Now it's time to get packed up so I can ride my bike, with a chair on my back, over to Prospect Park and enjoy the fireworks.  God Bless America and all of you!

Hydrangeas

I've always loved hydrangeas and have several plants in my front yard.  The blooms are gorgeous and plentiful this year.  I tell people it's because they haven't bloomed for two years.  They suffered an early frost in October, 2009, and this is the first year they've bloomed since then.  I learned that the blooms come from old wood, so maybe it's taken them this long to recover from that hard frost.  

Some people amend their soil to get the blue color - mine must be perfect!  It's interesting that some blooms are more pink and even lavender than blue!

My back yard pots look happy now too - it's not been so hot so far this summer.