Sunday, January 17, 2016

Scott's Retirement

Scott invited all of us to his retirement party in 
Ridgecrest and surprisingly we all made it

Marci came from Wenatchee, WA
Di came from Florence, AZ
Mel came from Filer, ID
and me 

The party was a big bash of over 300 people
Di, Erin, Ryan, Carl, and Joyce

Mel and Gary

One of three "Family" tables

Erin and her newest nephew, Scott Ray, 8 days old

Another "Family" table
Katie, Matt, Chris, Brooke, Lindsay, Monte

Daddy, Rory, and Scottie

Monte and Bruce having a heart to heart

Scott's Roast

He got a lot of awards
from the community of Ridgercrest to

 the Department of the Navy,
for his 43 years of service at the weapons center

And  a write up too!


Scott even got to make a speech

Scott has a 1978 Ford truck he drives to work. 
He received this bench from the school district's STEM program, made out of a tailgate 
with a plaque that has all his kids graduations dates from the local high school
It now sits in his back yard

Scott coordinated a tour of the base for us the day after the pary

We couldn't take pictures anywhere except at lunch

The base people took this picture of us and emailed it to us
We were in an area with chemicals and stuff so we 
had to wear coats and goggles

They thought Finn looked like the Mad Scientist

That evening Ruth and Scott hosted dinner for our family
A mere 30 people the other 30 couldn't make it down 
for the weekend.  They were all missed!!



Some of the cousins playing at the bar


The bench already in use
by cousins and second cousins alike

Scott's ski lift swing with Amare

Isla and Daddy, Ryan

The five of us first time together in 10 years


The older cousins

second cousins building tents


Good food, good wine, good company

Bennett, Liam, and Ellie

Scottie, 9 days old, with Mommy, Cassie

Ellie and Pete playing in the hotel

We had a great time and we were glad to be included!!
Thank you Scott and Ruth for having all of us.



Post Christmas at Ellie & Pete's

After Christmas we went over to Ellie & Pete's to help with the 
office renovation and play  

Ellie kept busy in her corner

while Pete was barricaded he played with the 
sandpaper musical instruments 

Ellie keeps all her little things in these jars 
so Pete can't get a hold of them

She loves playing with the old things revisited by Pete
We could save a lot of money by just putting these
things away for a year and bringing them back out

I just love watching Pete squat down and stand back up
without holding on to anything.  He did this way before
he even started walking

Ellie loves to help cook

Helping?

Pete might be the one to be the climber

On the go

"Row, row, row your boat" with Gram
Fun Times!!

Friday, January 1, 2016

16th Annual New Year's Eve Bash

It seems like all my posts are of grandkids so I thought 
I should post more of the other stuff we do.  We have this
New Year's Eve party every year and I never take pictures
This year wasn't much different I forgot to bring the camera
to the first house and at our house I forgot to get the camera out

In 1999 when everyone was worried about our computers
crashing at the new millennium our friends and we decided to 
have a New Year's Eve party.  As we were planning we decided
to make it a progressive dinner so we could see each others
houses decorated for Christmas.   So now 16 years later I'm just 
now deciding to take pictures!!  Go Figure 


The first course was drinks and hors d'oeuvres
Mary Anne made beautiful ones too I'm really bummed
I didn't get pictures of them

Salad was the second course at our house
Didn't get any pictures of my pretty Waldorf Salad (sorry
 I really don't think to take pictures of food) 
but here is my New Year's banner 

and our table to seat 10

Main Course was a yummy stew at Jamie's

I brought the camera!!

Some chatting is always good




Then on to the New Year's Eve party at Jan's with a dice game and
snacks.  We all chipped in $10 and bought Lottery tickets (50)
and scratched them throughout the evening.


As you can see...we should have just kept our money and 
we would have been ahead!!


Jan just had new bookcases and fireplace put in and
updated.  The house looked new!!

New Year's at the Space Needle


Happy New Year!!!