Mary Ann's Musings

May Minnesota Memories

2010-05-05T11:30:00.000-07:00

May Day brought us to Ada, Minnesota for the wedding of my Goddaughter Rachel Fuller. The Fuller family has been an important part of my life since Rachel's mom and dad, Carolyn and Scott, arrived in Anchorage, Alaska, as the intern at Gloria Dei. Their son Scott was born in Anchorage. When he was seven days old he was on our boat in the bay by Homer while we pulled the crab and shrimp pots. I remember Scott trying to get Carolyn to feed him, as he is tucked under the life vest. Rachel and her new husband are both students at Luther Seminary. How lucky our church is to have young people like Rachel and Tim to be future Pastors for our church.
Scott joined Rick at Trinity Lutheran in Tacoma, Washington for seven wonderful years of ministry. Rachel was born while they were in Tacoma. Fast forward 25 years and here we were at her wedding.
Can you see the love between daughter and father in Rachel's face as her Dad delivers their wedding sermon?
There were people from all walks of their lives here at the wedding. They made a milepost to show where all of the people attending the wedding had come from.
Everyone looks pretty relaxed at the reception. Thank you Rachel and Tim for inviting Al and myself to be a part of your wedding.

After our time at the wedding we spent time with Grandma Kaia Emily Halvorson. She is my first husband's mother. She will celebrate her 96th bithday this July. What a grand woman she is. We celebrated Mother's Day early with her. Isn't she beautiful? How lucky we are to be a part of her family!! I loved both of these pictures, so decided to include them both. Enjoy!!

Circus Memories

2010-05-05T10:44:00.000-07:00

When I was a little girl in Grade School, the one of the exciting times of the year was when the Shrine Circus came to Sioux Falls. I remember sleepless nights thinking about going to the circus. My parents were working, so I drove the 65 miles to Sioux Falls in my friend's parents car. I'm sure I had many treats, but the one I remember year after year was cotton candy. Still when I see cotton candy for sale, it brings back the memories of the circus. Last week Sara said they were going to the circus with Kaia and her family and asked if I would like to come along. Those old memories quickly came back. I said yes and it was wonderful day. Now I have circus memories as a Grandma.

Our day started with me going to church with Sara, Ava, and Olivia. Aren't they cute in their spring dresses?

Zach had been at a fishing weekend with his friends, but got home in time to join us for the circus. It was a beautiful day with sunshine and warm weather. We spent some time outside of the arena waiting for Kaia, Oliver, and Mae to arrive. Joe is a Shriner and was assigned to be with the Calliope. It was fun to hear the Calliope music as you wait in line to enter the arena.

Ava and Olivia spent the time skipping and playing on the big round seats in front of the arena and also with Mr. Clown.
Grandma had to have her picture taken with them also.

I love this picture of Kaia, Joe, Oliver and Mae. They had been to the circus earlier in the week, so they knew all of the fun things inside to do before the circus started. Joe was also able to get us in without standing in the long line.
Once inside the girls wanted their faces painted, Oliver wanted to slide and have a lighted sword, and all of them wanted to ride the elephant. Joe went on the elephant with them.

Grandma enjoyed having her little ones by her side as the show started. The first act was the tigers.

Two hours later we headed home with our tummy filled with cotton candy, popcorn, drinks and our heads filled with many new memories. I hope they will remember the Shrine Circus 2010 when they become Grandparents

Grandchildren's Visits

2010-04-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

After being gone in January and March, I needed some Grandchildren time. Emily and Maia haven't been over to stay, but I have gone to several of their soccer games and we went to a musical Emily was in at her Middle School. Kaia has been working in Olympia for the past three Wednesdays and has brought Oliver and Mae with her, so they could spend the day with us. Ava and Olivia were able to come and spend the night Saturday and Sunday with us. Grandma and Grandpa have had a great time!!

Oliver got this bat and ball for his birthday and was excited to come and play ball with Grandpa.

Mae enjoyed watching and cheering when he would hit the ball.

Grandpa had to take his turn at bat as Grandma cheered.

Mae finally got into the action and pitched the ball to Oliver.

Mae spent most of her time outside just running and having fun. She always has a smile on her face.

From baseball we moved on to riding the bike. The first day they were with us, it rained, but he rode in the rain. The next two Wednesdays were sun shine and warm weather. The first day he spent most of his time looking at his feet and Grandma kept reminding him to watch where he was going. We also had a lesson on how to stop, after he went down the hill with Grandma running after. The past two weeks he has been riding , turning circles, and stopping all on his own. What fun it has been to see him learn new things.

Mae has taken 3-4 hour naps in the afternoon, after being outside all morning. Oliver on the other hand, didn't want to nap. It finally caught up with him last week and he fell asleep at the table after eating supper. His Mom had just called to say she was coming to pick them up, so I just let him sleep there. I love this picture!
Thank you Oliver and Mae for coming to visit us.

Sunday morning breakfast was pancakes and scrambled eggs. Ava was in charge of making the pancakes and Olivia was in charge of the scrambled eggs. I think she is getting the hang of cracking eggs.

They love to go into the toy closet, which is the same closet I store my fabric. Today they found the sequined fabric and made capes and ran around the house with their capes flowing behind them.

We had outside time with Ava and Olivia also. It was a beautiful day. They enjoyed having the freedom to ride their bikes on our street without the worry of cars. We live on a quiet street.

We moved from bike riding to working in the yard. Ava took one look at the birdbath and decided to clean it. It has never looked so good. We have a big rock from Montana in the bird bath, so the birds can sit on it and get a drink and Olivia decided she would clean the rock. I called their home the next day to let them know the birds really liked having a fresh drink of water when they came to the bird feeder.

We have a big evergreen tree on the corner of our lot. It is pretty close to the road and the homeowners association was wondering if we should cut it down, so it wouldn't hurt the road. We decided just to trim it up and see if that would make them happy. Both Ava and Olivia helped put the branches in a pile as Grandpa cut them. Thank you Ava and Olivia for coming to visit us!!

For me part of the joy of having the Grandchildren visit is cleaning up after they leave. I usually find some little thing out of order, which is a gentle reminder to me they have had a good visit at Grandma and Grandpa's. These are the reminders from Oliver and Mae.

Oliver likes to play the bamboo drum. I found the stick for playing the drum in the hole of the birdhouse.

Mae loves to play with her dolls, so I brought the cradle down from the attic, I had when I was a little girl. I think my Grandpa made it for me. I found Mr. Bunny tucked under the covers in the cradle.

Ava and Olivia also left reminders of their visit with us.

The basket of beads are a big hit with Ava, Olivia, and Mae. It was a surprise to find them hanging from the antique ink well.

We have a basket full of beanie babies. One of them was intertwined on the base of the table Al made. I have the toys all cleaned up now, but left this last one in place on the table as a reminder of the great visits we had and for the visits to come.

2010-04-09T19:30:00.000-07:00

On Easter Sunday we gathered with some of our family in Seattle. Our children Kaia, Clark, Sara, and Godchild Katherine and their families gathered to celebrate the Risen Christ and also to celebrate Oliver's 3rd birthday. We missed our Son Eric and his friend Morgan, from Portland, and our daughter Marit and her family Mike, Britta, Everett, and Trina, from Waconia, Minnesota. In this picture Oliver is giving his Mom a big hug as the birthday celebration begins.

Oliver was excited when the candles were lit and tried his best to blow them out. You guessed it, they were trick candles. I don't think he ever figured out what was happening.

He is all smiles as he listens to us sing Happy Birthday to him.

Even though we wanted all eyes on the camera, there is one, who is trying to decide which cupcake he wants to eat. I love the smiles on the faces of Oliver, Ava, Hawke, Olivia, Maia, and Emily.

Maia, Jen, Emily, and Clark live in Olympia, only four miles from us.

Sara, Zach, Ava, and Olivia live in Tacoma.

Kaia, Joe, Oliver, and Mae live in Seattle.

When I was on my trip to California, I went to a quilt show and found a pattern for a flirty apron and some wonderful cupcake material. I spent the week before Easter making aprons. I made some little boy aprons for Oliver and Hawke. I didn't know Olvier was going to have cupcakes for his birthday cake, when I made the aprons.
Ava looked so cute in her little flirty apron. She is getting so tall.

When Katherine was fixing supper on Monday night, Hawke came with his apron and asked to help her cook. What fun!!

I love the smile on Oliver's face as he waits for Easter dinner. Kaia always fixes something special for all of the kids to eat.

Little Mae is enjoying one of the birthday cupcakes as she wears her apron.

Olivia always has a smile for Grandma and Grandpa and usually a song to sing to us.

I just had to include this picture. It makes me happy!! Easter Blessings!!

Boyce Arboretum--Arizona

2010-03-18T06:59:00.000-07:00

We spent a fun day at the Boyce Arboretum, about 50 miles east of Phoenix, with our friend Lois Spencer. Lois was a former member of Al's church in Beaverton.
They have had more rain than usual this summer and the hills were green and the cacti were in bloom. What a fun walk we had in the sun and 80 degree weather.
Enjoy a taste of what we saw!!

We didn't take the long walk, but it would have taken us up to the base of the mountain.

Thank you to Lois for taking us to this beautiful spot.

Japanese Garden Phoenix Arizona

2010-03-12T06:27:00.000-08:00

My sister-in-law, Linda and I went to the Japanese Garden near downtown Phoenix, Arizona. This group of rocks was part of the monument at the beginning of our walk. I don't think I have ever seen so many rocks the same size before. My friend Suzanne loves round rocks and wants a round rock garden.

The garden was made for quiet time and had many spots like this to sit and meditate, or to just enjoy the beautiful scenery.

The boulders in this picture forming the water fall were all hand picked. The bolder creating the two water falls weighed 25 tons!!

It was a little cool for our walk, but the sun was out making the garden very beautiful. The rest of our day was spent at a nursery. It almost felt like we were in another garden as we walked through the rows of trees, shrubs, and flowers. I enjoyed seeing all of the plants and trees that grow well in the desert.

Petersburg Friends Thousand Palms, California

2010-03-09T14:16:00.000-08:00

We began our March vacation in Thousand Palms, California, staying with our friends Suzanne and Larry Peterson. We had a fun filled four days. The first day we visited the Living Desert. We saw beautiful plants and trees growing in this dry climate. We enjoyed seeing the African animals who also live in the desert climate

We ended our afternoon at the San Andreas Fault. We drove out of town in the desert and all of a sudden we saw a big stand of palm trees. Water seeps up through the fault to provide water for the trees. We took a mile hike to see the small lake formed by more water from the fault. We decided we were pushing our luck to one week stand of the beach with a chance of a tidal wave hitting the beach and the next week to be standing on the San Andreas Fault.

Friday Al played golf in the Squarehead Scramble. This is a golf tournament for Petersburg people living in the area. Al has not had a golf club in his hands for about 5 years. His team won the 1st place trophy!!! I spent the day with a friend at a quilt show, lunch in downtown Palm Springs, and a visit to a quilt shop. We both had fun days. About 75 people gathered for dinner after they played golf.

Saturday afternoon my friend Sylvia had a luncheon for me on her patio. About 14 of us gathered for good food and lots of visiting

Al and Larry visited with Wally and his brother Norris while we had our luncheon. After the luncheon we went over for a visit at the Swanson's beautiful home.

Our friends Wally and Colleen Swanson

Our last night in Thousand Palms was spent with our hosts, and Wally and Colleen Swanson and their daughter Caol and her husband John. We went to PF Changs for dinner and to celebrate Larry's birthday. It was a perfect ending to a great vacation in California.

Celebration of Life and Death

2010-03-09T13:49:00.000-08:00

About 90 people gathered on the hill side of a small cemetary in Naselle Washington ten days ago, to celebrate the life and the death of Joe Pentilla. Joe lived with his daughters in Petersburg during our time there. We grew to love Joe and his family. Joe lived his life to the fullest. Every time you met him he would flash his big smile. He always seemed happy, but when you visited with him he usually reminded you of what a wonderful person his wife Dorothy had been and then there was a sadness in his voice. We gathered in the rain under the multicolored umbrellas.

His daughter Teri and her husband Rob were checking last minute details with Al. Al was in charge of the service. He gave a little sermon, we prayed, we sang, and we remembered. The service ended when his Son-in-law played "Amazaing Grace" on the harmonica. The tears mingled with the rain drops.

Joe spent much of his life working with wood. He and his family lived on an island near Petersburg during the summers where he had a logging company. In his later years he could be found in his workshop still working with wood. It was fitting that his casket was made from pine. After the service we all gathered for a luncheon and more stories of Joe's life were shared by many. God Bless the memory of Joe Pentilla.

The weekend we were in Long Beach for the service the beach was opened for clamming. Friday night there were about 15 who braved the cold and most of them came back with their limits. On Saturday afternoon it was a little different. There had been an earthquake in Chilie and there was a warning for the Washington coast for a tsumani. By Saturday afternoon, they figured the tsumani was not coming so they headed out again. The sea was angry and the clams dug down deeper in the sand. I don't thing anyone came home with their limit that day. I guess we are happy they came back with some clams and the tidal wave didn't come.

Al enjoyed being on the beach with his little shovel and bucket. We now have some clams in the freezer at home.

2010-02-22T09:39:00.000-08:00

Sunday afternoon Al and I drove to Seattle to spend some time with the Busch family. We hadn't seen Oliver and Mae since Christmas and that it too long. We also wanted to celebrate Joe's birthday. It was a beautiful day and even though they had been to the park to bike ride in the morning, Kaia and I took Oliver and Mae to a different park in the afternoon. It was fun to see the kid's excitement as they ran from one thing to the next.

Little Mae loved it all from the train, slide, swings, to the monkey bars. She is not afraid of trying anything. It made Grandma a little nervous.

They are on their way to the slide. The first time down for Mae, she got a little push from her brother Oliver, but after that she went down by herself many times.

Mr. Oliver is trying to decide which way he wants to come down. He did it all --on his bum, on his tummy, and sideways. He has no fear!! This makes Grandma nervous also.

They loved to swing, being pushed by their Mom, Kaia. The higher the better.
We loved being able to spend time with the kids and their parents. We ended the afternoon by making home made pasta and then a wonderful dinner with the pasta.

Shalon My Friends

2010-02-19T10:15:00.000-08:00

Last night we went to Tacoma to attend Ava's first grade music concert. The first and second grade classes from her school participated in this concert. I was impressed how her music teacher had total control of all of the children. The teacher sat at the piano and played and the children knew when to come in and sang their hearts out. I am always happy to have music a part of their education. Last week we went to Emily's music concert for her school. I hope someday Emily will be able to play the piano for a concert and Maia will be able to play her guitar for a concert.

I love the joy you see in the faces of the children.

They closed their concert with the song "Shalom". They sang together and then did it a round. It was a fun evening for Ava and her friend Will (in the stripped shirt) and also for Mom, Dad, Olivia, Grandma and Grandpa, Will's Mom, Dad, and sister Amelia.

Shalom my friends. May peace be with you.

No Broken Bones--No Blood--Only One Dead Fish

2010-02-13T10:20:00.000-08:00

This past week, Al and I spent with Ava and Olivia. Their Mom and Dad went on a trip to Miami. Zach had meetings for American Express and Sara went for some time of rest and relaxing. We had a fun week with the girls. They enjoyed getting up a little later, eating breakfast at home, and being taken to school and day care. Each morning they got up there was a special card for each of them from Mom and Dad. You never know what kids are going to notice on a card. For them, it really mattered how many XO XO XO XOs were at the bottom of the card. They love those hugs and kisses from Mom and Dad

For Christmas this year the girls got a salt water aquarium. It is really fun, just to sit and watch all of the fish, crab, and creatures move around. It was my job to feed them three times a day. I loved watching the fish and crab try and catch all of the little shrimp I put in the tank. One night the girls came to me and asked me to come into the living room, because the beautiful blue fish had died. They wanted to pray for the fish. When I got to the living room, they had all of the lights off except for three battery operated candles. We each had a candle. They proceeded to sing, dance, pray for the fish and then we had to clink our candles together. The fish had a great celebration of his life and I got to see the girl's faith in action.

Each day I let them pick out their clothes for the day. They usually picked out dresses or skirts. It was my job to try and give them new hairdos every day. We had fun coloring, playing games, cooking, setting the table, going swimming, getting Valentines ready for the school party, and doing first grade homework.

Tucker, the, dog, and Tommy, the cat, were two of our other charges for the week. Tommy is an indoor cat, who liked to hide during the day and who would love to go outside. Tucker and I enjoyed a long walk everyday. One day we even walked down on the water front. It is too bad we don't live closer, I could walk him every day. It would be good for me and I know he would love it.

Ava and Olivia, Grandma and Grandpa had a great week with you. We thank your Mom and Dad for trusting us with their two beautiful girls.

Waters of Baptism

2010-02-09T13:35:00.000-08:00

Al and I were privilaged to attend the baptisms of Corrine and Jordon Gilbertson. These cousins are both in college in Oregon. Corrine's family lives in California and in Arizona and most of Jordon's family lives in the Portland area. The celebration happened at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church. This is the church Al retired from. There were three sets of Grandparents, one set of Great Grandparents, Moms, brother, sister, cousins, Aunts, Uncles, friends, and the whole congregation. Their Grandma and Grandpa Gilbertson attend this church and are very good friends of ours. It is exciting to attend a baptism of a young child, but even more exciting when a young adult chooses Jesus as their Savior and friend.

Jordon, child of God, you have been washed by the waters of baptism and sealed with the cross of Christ forever. Thanks be to God!

Corrine, child of God, you have been washed by the waters of baptism and sealed with the cross of Christ forever. Thanks be to God!

Time share Moving Day

2010-01-18T21:23:00.001-08:00

Norma, Al's sister and I went for a walk to enjoy the sun and captured this photo of our home for the past two weeks, on the sixth floor in the corner. It was a good two weeks at the Marriot, expect for the last evening. Al gave us a scare on Saturday night after being in the hot tub. The hot tub is now off limits for him. After our walked we packed things up and moved to the Sheraton Vistana for our last week. We are enjoying having some exciting card games. Quiddler is probably the first choice for the day. It is a word game. One week from today we will be back in Washington. Time does fly by.

2010-01-14T07:05:00.000-08:00

We are at the end of our second week in Orlando, Florida. We are guests of Al's sister and her husband, Norma and Hans. Today will be the first day of "normal" temperatures since we have arrived. We have had frost almost every morning. We are having a good time, despite the cold. Al has been running in the morning, working out in the gym, and then hitting the hot tub. I join him in the hot tub later in the day.

Mr. Squirrel greets him every morning.

Christmas 2009 Continues

2010-01-08T00:54:00.000-08:00

I had planned on this post and the other Christmas post to all be together, but my learning curve didn't allow for that. You can see the smiles on all of our faces--except one--as we gathered in our home on Christmas Eve. I hope in the future, we might have all of our Grandchildren with us. We loved sharing this day with Maia, Emily, Ava, Olivia, Oliver, and Mae.

Jen and Clark were here with thier daughters Emily and Maia. Grandma and Grandpa enjoyed having Emily and Maia come over the day before Christmas Eve to help us prepare for our Christmas celebration.

Because Sara took all of the pictures on Christmas Eve, they had to take their picture in thier home, before they came. This was the year Ava and Olivia played Santa when it came time to open the presents. Olivia was very excited when she finally found a present with
her name on it.

Our son Eric from Portland also joined us for the day, as well as Jen's Mom from Nebraska.

Remembering Christmas 2009

2010-01-08T00:02:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve was a wonderful time for most of our family to gather and celebrate Christmas and being together. Here is a picture of Kaia and Joe and our youngest Grandchildren Oliver and Mae. I hope they will remember the excitement of opening thier presents and their joy when they saw what was inside of them. It is good to see Christmas through the eyes of the very young.

Happy New Year 2010

2010-01-03T18:03:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my blog and Happy New Year 2010!