Over the July 11th weekend we attended a Hamlin Family Reunion in Dixon, California, hosted by Tim & Amy LeFever, with Terry's immediate family. There were 37 of us (Terry's parents, uncles, aunts and cousins). The states of California, Idaho and Illinois were represented. Josh and Kelly's family of 5 were unable to make it due to Josh's work schedule at the church on Sunday plus VBS started the following Monday. We had wonderful food cooked by cousins Amy, Mindy & Neal; games, swimming in the LeFever pool, homemade ice cream, lots of visiting and just plain fun!

Visit From Kelly, Skyler, Conner, Chloe & Macie

We were blessed with a visit from Kelly, the kids and their dog for 3 days last week. Josh was at camp with the church kids so Kelly drove everyone over to Boise from Gresham! This was her first time driving with 3 kids and a dog in the car by herself for 6 1/2 hours. She was so proud of herself and we are glad that she did - giving us a fun time to play! We went swimming at the "Y" twice, visited Powell's Candy Shop (a dream for any kid as you can see by the picture), took walks, roasted marshmellows a couple nights, went to the movies "Kung Fu Panda", ate out, played at the park, took a small hike along the Boise River and waded the river. Skyler invented a fishing pole from things he found along the river bank to scoop out fish from the river. We hated to see them leave but Kelly said the return trip was uneventful other than the dog getting car sick over the Blue Mountains. We LOVE having them closer to us!!!

HAPPY 35TH ANNIVERSARY

HAPPY 35TH ANNIVERSARY TERRY - I LOVE YOU MTTYBNAMAT!
You're my best friend!!
Love, Sheri

Trip to Portland

We got to spend the 4 days in Portland last week watching the little kids while Kelly & Josh flew to Phoenix, Arizona for a little R&R. Sheri learned the new routine of getting everyone to school in a new town - she had learned Holmen, Wisconsin pretty well and was comfortable driving around but Gresham, Oregon is a whole different city and it seems like triple the traffic! Since Kelly & Josh moved to their permanent house in May and they didn't want to change schools at the end of the year, they are now about 20 minutes each way from the boys' school. So they are driving to school at 7:30 am to take Skyler then back home, back at 11:15 am to take Conner to school then back home, and then back at 2:15 pm to pick them up. Kelly says it's not unusual for her to put 90 miles on their car in one day with school and in addition to errands and church. Thankfully they only have 2 weeks left of school and then it's done. Their new school is just 1 mile from their house! Kelly is trying to save time and gasoline by staying in town during the time from taking Conner and picking them both back up. Some days Josh takes Skyler on his way to work which really helps out with a trip.

Also, we celebrated Terry & Chloe's birthdays so Dusty and Kara came down from Seattle on Friday and stayed until Sunday.


It was fun having 1-on-1 time with the little kids and getting to put them to bed, helping with homework, taking walks, reading books and playing games. We just don't get to do it enough but we are so thankful that they are closer to us and just a quick 45 minutes by plane!

Our Trip to San Diego

Saturday: We drove 3 1/2 hours to Pendleton, Oregon and met Josh, Kelly and the kids for breakfast at 8:00 a.m. , picked up Conner and drove him back to Boise with us.

Sunday: Terry and I had the fun adventure of taking Conner on his first trip to San Diego. We boarded the plane at 11:00 a.m. and upon landing in San Diego, Conner got to sit in the cockpit with the pilot and tested out the controls. We stayed in downtown San Diego at the Wynham Resort in the "Gaslamp" district (thanks to my parents giving us some of their timeshare points) which has 90 restaurants and 150 stores within a 10 block area. We spent the day walking around getting our bearings and checking out the local area.

Monday: We went to Sea World - got drenched at the dolphin show because Terry and Conner wanted to sit in the "soak zone"! We spent the full day and saw everything there was to see and rode all the rides that we could handle. Saw Shamu, penguins, polar bears, dogs, cats, seals, etc. Conner enjoyed petting the stingrays and walking through the shark exhibit.

Tuesday: We went to the San Diego Zoo, it was a beautiful 78 degrees and we walked everywhere. Conner's favorites were the Reptile House, the petting zoo and shopping in the stores!

Wednesday: We went to the beach on Coronado Island, looked at the USS Midway in the harbor, toured the San Diego Padres Stadium (Petco Park) which turned out to be quite interesting in that the pitcher, Jake Peevy, was being interviewed by ESPN while we were in the dugout area and finished the day relaxing in the pool.

Thursday: We headed to Legoland first thing in the morning, arrived at 10:15 am, rode rides, played in the play areas and shopped in the Lego Store. We headed out about 2:00 pm, drove to the airport and caught our 4:00 pm flight back to Boise. Needless to say, we were pooped when we got home!

Friday: We took Conner back to Pendleton, met Josh & Kelly's family for dinner at Denny's and then drove back home arriving around 10:30 pm. It was a great time with Conner and we enjoyed him fully (he has alot of energy for a 6 year old), he never complained about walking and was a real trooper. Pop and Gram will never forget our vacations to San Diego with Conner and Skyler! Next year - it's Chloe's turn!!

Kelly, Josh and the kids came over for a quick weekend trip as a surprise - the kids were really "hamming" it up for pictures.

Sheri's Trip to Florida

I just got back from spending five days in Sarasota, Florida visiting my family and relatives. Dad, Mom and I visited the Selby Botanical Gardens and had a 2 hour personal tour with a friend of my parents' that works there. I took the picture above of the Great Blue Herron - we were walking along the path and he was soaking up the sun along the bank of Sarasota Bay. The second picture is of an orchid plant at the Gardens. I have to admit that it is the strangest looking orchid I've ever seen! And, a visit to Florida wouldn't be complete without a picture of the little lizards that run around all over the place!

While in Sarasota, I went to my niece Carlie's softball game, worked a little in my parents' yard cleaning up a flower bed and helping to repot some orchid plants, spent time with my brothers and their families, visited with lots of aunts and uncles, and of course, went to the beach! The weather was a perfect 80+ degrees every day with a slight breeze so it was a very nice change of climate from 30-40 degrees in Boise. My folks are doing well. Dad is in the process of recouperated from his cancer treatment and Mom doesn't seem to be having any new problems with her heart (it has been 5 years since her open heart surgery). My brothers are doing great and keeping very busy. Doug is getting his boat ready to race this summer and his wife Sherri has been promoted to a new Bank branch in Venice. Bryan is still working at the marina and his wife Bonita works for the Florida Highway Department. The last picture is of an Egret waiting at the front door to get his lunch. The house is down the street from my parents' house and I saw this bird every day as we drove by. Mom said that the people feed him and he patiently waits for them to come to the door each day. The man of the house was working in the flower bed on a couple of the days and the bird was standing just a few feet away from him - like he was supervising. These crazy birds aren't afraid at all of people.

Just a picture to show that all the animals in our house are getting along just fine. Macie (Kelly's boxer), our little Boston, Maggie, and our cat, Nemo, really enjoy lounging in from of the fire on cold February nights. Usually Macie ends up with her head on Maggie - using her for a pillow! What a way to spend a cold winter night.

Birthday Party

The family met up in the Portland area again on January 25th, and celebrated the birthdays of Conner, Dusty and Sheri. Conner turned 6 on January 20th, Dusty turned 29 on February 3rd (Super Bowl Day) and Sheri turns ?? on February 21st! We had a very rich double-chocolate cake. Terry and Sheri flew over on Thursday night and got to babysit the little kiddos while Kelly and Josh were gone on Friday and Saturday to a Marriage Conference with their church. Kara and Dusty drove down on Saturday for the birthday dinner and to spend the night. Another weekend of Wii Guitar Hero!