Mike meets the clan

Tonight, most of us made it over to Dave & Jane's house to meet Mary's fiance, Mike. We had a nice visit and were very lucky the heat let up for a change. The cake was a beach theme...imagine that.


They make a pretty cute couple. We didn't quiz Mike on names at the end of the evening but he seemed to hold his own pretty well. Mary just kept smiling all evening!

Molly and Robin were smiling too.

Sara was busy and remained happy way past her bedtime. Grace moved too fast for me to get any pictures of her.

Two poodles, Ben and Brutus. I had not met Brutus before...he is a big pup. Very good temperment but busy. He was running around all evening with the kids and with "Annie", Kyles dog. My photos of the two dogs together are just a blurr.

Sorry, I didn't think to get the Harrison group to pose together. A good time was had by all. Welcome Mike, hope you and Mary make it south often.

thanks for the shirts margaret!

We really missed being at the reunion this year and hopefully in coming years we'll figure out how frequently we can make it. This year's absence came with a consolation prize in the mail. Margaret sent us shirts!

My Job

So some of you may know what I do and some of you may not. Either way it is a lot of fun and sometimes a lot of work but almost always a spectacular result.

This is my upper office.

Our latest set was put up and lit in one week. By one week I mean that it was done by the next weekend. It actually took 4 twelve hour days and one fifteen hour day plus a small army of awesome volunteers.

It seems a shame that it will only last for 4 weeks before we tear it down and do another one.

Em's Epic Adventure

My first post! This blog was such a great idea, it is a very helpful tool to keep us all connected even when we are oceans apart.

And as many of you already know, I was over on John and Monica's end of the pond two weeks ago. I was visiting my friend Lucy in the UK, and took the pictures to prove it!

I have WAY more than just these, but I am going to put more up in separate posts once I get them all together. For now, these are only photos I took while in London, enjoy!















The Tower of London...which wasn't really a tower at all. The historical society banner amused me.















London bridge- Very big! And yet so beautiful. Wish the bridges in Cincinnati were this refined.















Me and Lucy on the train. Excited much?




















An old church in London. I honestly can't remember the name, there were a LOT of old churches.
















You see these double decker buses everywhere, I got to ride in one of them as well.
















Trafalga square, it took us forever to find, but it was worth it. Each of the four lions were separately sculpted by hand.





















The Peter Pan tribute, another hard to find statue. It was in the very back corner of St. James park.





















A tribute to Queen Victoria's son. I forget his name... >_<

















The house of Parliment! It is a lot bigger than I imagined, and right along the Thames river.






















Couldn't pass up Big Ben!






















Why was I using my phone? It doesn't even work over there, and with a conveniently placed booth right behind me too... for shame.

















Another tibute to somebody... Right in front of Buckingham Palace
















And there it is!
















This picture is from Brighton, a seaside city about 40 miles south of London. This is Brighton Pier.
















And a better shot of the pier. It goes out a long ways...

















Back to the city, with the Eye of London. I didn't get to ride this however, the line was about two days long and we didnt have a reservation. But London is still awesome on foot.






















Big Ben again.

















A palace with eastern architechural influences.





















Yet another old church. Their size and intricate details never cease to amaze me.


There will be more photos coming in the future! But for now I gotta get packed up for college. I am heading back to school this sunday. I send my love to everyone.

Someone came to visit

Prior to the reunion, Milla gained a playpal while Jay, Michelle and family went to Florida. Here are some pics of Milla and Gryphon hanging out together. When Gryphon left, she was sad to see him leave.

you know...

if everybody who is a contributor to beth and jims made it a goal to post one item a week there'd be something new for everybody to see every day. there's got to be something interesting going on in your life, right?

don't forget to take that digital camera along and let's get those digies up there. how's that for cheerleading?

Now blooming at Mapleleaf Gardens

I'm excited. As a novice at orchids, I'm delighted when anything blooms. I've learned a bit in the last couple years about enough light and feeding. They aren't ribbon winners but I'm pleased. It's a hobby that requires patience because many only bloom once a year. The bonus is the flowers last from 2 weeks to 2 months. I'm guessing these won't last long due to the heat we are having now. The C. Ports of Paradise is taken at an angle (dizzy) on purpose. It opened sideways...so I turned my camera.

Top to bottom:

• Brassolaelia Morning Glory (2 photos)
• Cattleya Ports of Paradise 'Emerald Isle' (classified as "green")
• Oncidium Carnival Costume (has bloomed for me 2 years now)
• Iwnanagara Apple Blossom
• Laeliocattleya Blazing Treat

bush league EAST

Now Sam, you have to keep your eye on the ball. Don't swing at it until it's over the plate. When you hit it, you get to RUN!

temperature contrast

We were supposed to hit 100+ degrees today. It felt like we did but I have confirmed that actual reading. It is 68 degrees in Stockholm as I write this with a high predicted of 74 and chance of rain. I know we only get a few weeks of this every year but that looks pretty great to me right now.

Graduation Party

Ok, these didn't post in the order I wanted. The big news is Dan's graduation!

As things were winding down, Laurie and Em did their steel sisters demo for us.

It was good to see Emily back from her trip to GB. Now it's her friend Lucy's turn to visit here. She'll be here a couple weeks. Laurie was happy to introduce everyone to her boyfriend, Sam. Nice to meet Lucy and Sam. Hopefully, Em will take some time to post some photos of her trip.

Julie is happy to have all her kids under one roof for the afternoon.

Graduation party

Once again Dwight and Julie were gracious hosts. Today we celebrated Dan's graduation from college. It was good to see Dan (I think he's taller than the last time I saw him).

I confirmed that our Minnesota family is ok after the bridge collapse in Minneapolis. Everyone is ok and accounted for. Linda told me that Barry is typically in traffic at that time of day and the bridge is on his route. What a blessing. Breathe deep and say Thank You!

California comes to the reunion 2007

Above: Zach and Josh

Top: Paul and Gene, Middle: Sam and Zach, Above: Terri and scavenger hunters, Below: Darren, Zach and Sam.

We love the odd years, because that is when our California contingent turns out. This year it was a cabin overflowing. I didn't get a great picture of Terri because she didn't stand still long enough. The scavenger hunt was Terri's brainchild and she organized it with loads of help from Aunt Gene. She was on the run the whole weekend and always with a big smile and lots of energy. The whole family participated in some fashion which was the point. We were so happy to have Zach and Sam come this year and wish Sandy and Paula could have been with us too.

Traditional gift for the great grandchildren

Uncle Arch said he makes a hobby horse for his great grandbabies. This beautiful one was for Coryn and was made of red wood. Coryn was gracious (and too young to notice) so she let Keylee (Brooke's) try it out.