At the Beach

While DJ was in town, we decided to take a trip out to the beach. "We" ended up being myself, Derrick, DJ, our friend Julia, and Jade. This was Jade's first beach trip so we were very excited to get her out and let her run around.

Usually when we head out to the beach, my family always seems to head to Seaside. I'm not sure why, but that's always the way it's been. But we decided to break tradition and head toward Cannon Beach instead this time. The change in routine was due to two main factors: 1.) We figured Cannon Beach would be less crowded and therefore more fun for Jade, who still barks at strangers and doesn't like being limited by her leash, and 2.) the day we chose to go ended up having a very low tide that morning and Cannon Beach has an amazing tide pool area during low tide.

The morning started out cloudy, which is not unusual. Oregon beaches sometimes feel like they come with a "rainy day" guarantee, but not this time. By lunchtime the clouds had pretty much blown by and it ended up being a very nice day. The wind on the beach made it chilly while we were on the sand but for the times we ventured into town, it was a pleasant, balmy Friday.

When we got there, first thing we did was head out to the sandy area. DJ, who had sprained his ankle earlier in the week and was having trouble walking on the sand, claimed a location and we laid out the blanket for him to sit and enjoy the view. Then Derrick, Julia and I took Jade out to her first meeting with the ocean. It took her a little while (and Derrick showing her how) but she eventually started playing in the waves like a true lab. I couldn't help but laugh when she would bark and try to bite the breaking waves. Silly dog!

We also made a brief stop to see some of the critters in the tide pool area. It was pretty neat. I liked the cave with all the starfish in it. I've never seen so many in one place, not even in my many trips to various aquariums around the country.


Derrick got a really cool pirate ship kite awhile ago from mom and Don and hadn't had a chance to fly it yet (it needed a lot of wind to get it up), so him and Julia put it together and took it out for a fly. Everyone thought it was really cool. A lot of people commented on it when they walked by and I even saw an elder couple take a picture of it!

I brought a smaller kite along for DJ to fly. It was small enough that it didn't require him to have to move from his spot on the blanket. At one point, Derrick gave him the pirate ship to steer for awhile and so DJ attached his kite to Jade's collar and she walked around flying a kite too. It was really funny.

Jade enjoyed playing in the sand as much as playing in the water. She'd chase after her Frisbee (covering her face in sand in the process) and then start digging holes. She usually gets in trouble for digging in the back yard, so she must have felt like she was in doggie heaven to be allowed to dig all she wanted here. We didn't even complain when the dirt she dug out kept landing on the blanket.

Eventually we got hungry. I had brought along stuff to make sandwiches for lunch, but Derrick had just gotten paid for some work he had done for mom and felt generous enough to take us out for lunch. Jade was tired, so we left her in the car (with the windows rolled most the way down, of course!) and she napped while we ate. Since Derrick was paying, he got to choose the location and we ended up at a Brew Pub. It was perfect because he wanted a burger, I wanted clam chowder and he was able to drink a beer.

We had a lot of fun. Well, we always do when we're together. My brothers are so goofy.

After lunch, Derrick, Julia and I took Jade back out for more fun on the beach. DJ decided he was tired and took his turn to sleep in the car. Julia and I sat on the blanket (me reading, her people-watching) while Derrick and Jade did more wave chasing. Every now and then Jade would run back up to make sure we were still there and decide I needed to get a little of the beach on me. First she'd roll around in the sand until she was covered and then she'd then proceed to rub herself against me from her head to her tail, getting me both sandy and wet. It made Julia and me laugh.And of course, Julia and I couldn't leave town without raiding a candy store for salt water taffy.

It was a great day. As we were packing up to head home, I looked at Julia and said, "You know what the best part is?"

"What?" she asked.

"That today isn't even Saturday!" We both realized that not only had we had a fun and very relaxing day at the beach, but we both still had two more days of the weekend left.

The drive home was quiet, as both boys and Jade were fast asleep in the back seat and Julia and I were tired. It's amazing how exhausting being outside can end up being. I did get a sunburn too. The beach was cold enough that I wore a sweatshirt over my sundress and put a towel over my legs while I read, but that still left my face uncovered. I had brought some sunscreen with me, but it really doesn't do much good from the car. So, I ended the day pink faced and sore. It's been a long time since I've had a burn that was bad enough to peel, but that's exactly what I did this time. I forgot how annoying that is.

And we've all decided unanimously that Cannon Beach will be our new beach destination.

By the way, the pictures here are only the highlights. To view the entire album of pics, click on the following picture and it will take you to my online album.

Cannon Beach

A Rough Couple of Weeks

I want to apologize to all of my readers, and friends, for my extended silence lately. There's been so much going on and I've been wanting to let everyone know what's been going on with me, but I've been having a hard time putting it all into words. It's just been a bit overwhelming for me to sort through.

I miss my grandpa so much. So much more than I ever thought that I would. I mean, don't get me wrong, I always knew that I would be sad when he was gone, but I never realized how much I would miss his presence. I know I promised to write a tribute for him, like the one I did for Bill, but I just haven't been able to get there. It's taking me a long time to work my way through the grieving stages and at times it seems like I keep defaulting back to denial. I did the memory board for Grandpa's service, the last thing I was able to do for him, and while it turned out beautiful beyond what I had imagined, it was so hard for me to do. At one point I found myself crying about how no matter how much I do, it wouldn't be near enough to tell the full story of the wonderful man that was my grandfather.

DJ came into town a week earlier than we had been anticipating. We were very glad to have him here for the extra week.

I'm trying to get back to my normal routine, back to daily life, but it's been hard when my work weeks are disrupted for personal days dealing with loss. But I know we'll all get there eventually.

And in the meantime, I will continue dealing as best I can. I'm sorry that I don't have more to say, or at least more I can put into adequate words. And eventually, I will give you more and try to tell the story of the great man I miss so much. For now, the memory board will have to do. (Sorry, the photos don't do it justice, but here's a glimpse into his life).

These were my favorite pictures. I loved seeing him as Dad. Mom said he was an amazing dad.

Grandpa's favorite activity was fishing, so I made sure to include many pics of that.

Grandpa was a great example to his kids (and his grandkids) of what true love should look like.

There was never any doubt about how much Grandpa loved Grandma.

Grandpa's Happily Ever After was his family and he let each of us know the importance of our own part. I'm glad I got to be a part of his family, of his life, and of his story.

The Great Game Hunter

I don't remember the first time I met Bill. Try as I might, I can't recall that moment when Colynn brought me over to him and said "Bill, I'd like you to meet my niece". I think back upon the hundreds of thousands of Christmases, Thanksgivings, Easters, birthdays and other random family gatherings of my lifetime and try to recall his first appearance. Relatively speaking, it was only a small fraction of time that he was in my family memories, but it felt like he was always supposed to be there, as if he filled a void we never realized was there until he filled it. And now I can't remember our family without him.

Bill was a kind, handsome man with an infectious grin, twinkling eyes, and rosy cheeks that would make any Santa impersonator Grinchy-green with envy. I can't remember ever seeing him without a smile, even during those moments when someone would be feeling a bit cranky and snap at him for no apparent reason. He would just chuckle and let it roll off his shoulders. He had a patience and good-natured-ness that few posses.

Colynn and Bill got married this past October. It was a beautiful intimate ceremony at the home of a friend. They had a large celebration of a reception in November. Thanksgiving was the first holiday that he attended as an official member of our family and even though we loved him the same after the wedding as we did before, there was a definate change in the feel of our family. For the good, of course.

Every year our family gathers for various holidays, but the biggest and most exciting gathering is always the 4th of July. Everyone gathers out at my mom's house for a BBQ. And I mean everyone: family, extended family, extreme extended family, ex family, close friends, old friends, new friends, acquaintances, random people walking down the street, the cashier where we got the meat for the grill.... (okay, not really, but it seems like it). We eat, swap stories, play horseshoes, sing along with the musically talented members and finally end the evening with a truly spectacular display of fireworks (one year, we even had the sheriff called out on us!) Bill was always ready for the day with his own brand of celebration: he'd always begin the fireworks early in the day with his dry-ice bombs (for those of you who have never attended 4th of July with Bill, those are plastic bottles like the kind water comes in that he would fill with dry ice, replace the cap, then leave somewhere in the yard. The dry ice would cause the bottle to expand until finally BOOM, it exploded with the sound of a car bomb) Those of us who had been around long enough would always keep one eye on Bill all day and knew that when we saw him walking swiftly toward the crowd with a mischievous glint in his eye, it was time to cover our ears and wait. It was always fun to watch the unsuspecting faces of our first-time guests.

Bill also has a place in my memories of more intimate groups. Colynn, Bill, Mom, Don, my friend Barb and I were all regulars at the plays at Clark College. We had season tickets to all the performances and it was always fun to meet up and attend them together. It always felt strange when someone wasn't able to make it and we had to replace them with one of our alternates. It's a special activity that we shared together and will never be the same without him.

There were sides of Bill I didn't know as well, like the great outdoorsman his children and Colynn knew. Those were theoretical hobbies to me. I knew the man who liked 4th of July pranks and introduced and played Apples To Apples with the family. He was a fun, funny, kind, gentle man and our family is better because he was a part of it, even for the short time that he was. And those are the images I will forever treasure in my heart.

Here's to you, Bill! Thank you for being a part of our family. We love you and miss you and look forward to the day when we will all be reunited in that better place.

In Mourning

This has been an amazingly tragic week for my family. We lost two of our men within only a few short days of each other.

My aunt Colynn's husband, Bill (I guess that would make him an uncle to me) left us first, around 12:35 am Tuesday morning. He had his wife (my aunt) on one side of him stroking his hair and telling him how much she loved him, and his kids on the other side also expressing their love and pride in his strength. He took a few breaths and then went peacefully.

Grandpa went tonight, around 9:30 pm. He'd been surrounded by his family for quite some time, just the way he always liked it. When he drew his last breaths, he had his mother (my 97 year old great-grandmother) holding onto one hand, his wife of 53 years holding the other, and his kids surrounding his bed. He kept holding on, as if waiting, until finally Grandma laid down on the bed beside him and put her head on his shoulder. And that seemed to be what he was waiting for.

I wasn't at either man's final breath, but I had been with Grandpa until just before. When we realized it was close and that my youngest cousin didn't seem to be doing well being there, Colynn and I decided to take Denny home. I went over to Grandpa, kissed him on the forehead as I always did, and told him what was going on. "Colynn and I are going to take Denny home real quick." I said. "We'll be back very shortly. But if you go before we get back, it'll be okay. We won't be angry." (We were all worried that he was fighting to remain for our sake). We weren't even gone 15 minutes before we got the call....

It seems unfair to have to lose two of the greatest guys ever in the same week. I had barely begun processing and accepting Bill's death and now I have to deal with my grandpa too. They both happened so quickly that we barely had time to see it coming.

Since I'm still in the shocked, unbelieving stage, I don't really have much to share. I'm going through my pictures and searching the recesses of my memories for tales to tell of these wonderful men, but it's going to take a little time before I put anything up about it all. But I thought it only fair to share with my readers what's been going on, in case there is an extended silence on my end. I apologize in advance for the sadness that will most likely be filling my next few blogs. And I promise, next time I'll share with you how truely wonderful these men really were.