Lynnette's News

Surprise, Surprise!!! I'm Back........

I know that I haven't blogged since the holidays but I have a great excuse. My account with Typepad had expired and since I didn't try to send a blog, I didn't realize what had happened. Sorry.........I'll try to keep in touch better this year.

Steve and I had a whirlwind season in Palm Springs. Some of it was kind of stressful, but most of it was wonderful. We had some great times with friends there as well as seeing Stephanie, Jeff and the kids a time or two. We saw two musicals while there at the McCallum theater which included South Pacific and Mama Mia. The latter was our favorite and after all, who doesn't love Abba music?

Steve's sister Claudia and husband Danny were able to make it to Palm Springs for about a month this year. Danny has had two brain surgeries since Nov. 2011 and was just recovering from his second when they made the trip south. He was having a lot of trouble regulating his body temperature and was so uncomfortable most of the time but seemed to enjoy the warm climate and visits with friends and family. Curtis came to Palm Springs to bowl in a two day tournament and did very well. We were able to visit with them for a couple of days, and as always, Norine was a ton of fun. While there I had cataract surgery on my right eye which went very well. The surgery was fast and uncomplicated and it restored my distance vision to 20/20.  I don't have to wear glasses except for reading or sewing which is wonderful.

Curtis traveled here from Phoenix to bowl in a NW tournament a month ago and did extremely well. He placed 2nd so he will be back in early June to bowl in the invitational here in Vancouver. We so enjoyed having him and look forward to his return.  (He's almost 6 feet tall already and only 16). Steve took him out and let him drive our Mustang convertible which was a big hit!

Alexis will be finished with her junior year at Eastern in a couple of weeks. She is anxious for a summer break but is searching for a summer internship as we speak. I guess it's difficult these days to get one of these not to mention summer work at all. She will finish her degree next year and is anxious to be a college grad. We hope the job market picks up when she's ready to join the workforce as the economy doesn't seem to be promising at this time......let's all hope for a brighter future for the young people in this country!

Alexis in the middle with her college roomies

Norine is in kindergarten and is being home-schooled as they all have been. She's also active with "Daisy's" and is enjoying the girl experience. She particularly likes to wear the uniform which is so like her. She and Stephanie take part in field trips and outings with other children who are schooled at home. She has grown so much and we think she will be taller than Alexis. I don't have any current pictures of her but I'll get some from Stephanie so I can pass them along.

We're trying to find time to get to Eureka to see mom Fridley but Steve has been suffering with back problems since we came home. He is having PT right now but the problem doesn't seem to be going away. The doctor ordered x-rays on Friday and we should know more next week. I'll keep you posted on his progress.

I hope everyone is caught up now and please let us hear from you. We miss our friends and family that we haven't seen over the past few months and would like to hear your news too.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

WE WOULD LIKE TO WISH OUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM OUR HOUSE (THE RV) TO YOURS! THIS YEAR FLEW BY AS THEY ALL SEEM TO DO THESE DAYS.

THIS PICTURE WAS TAKEN DURING OUR FAVORITE TRIP THIS PAST YEAR TO GLACIER NATIONAL PARK IN MONTANA. THE LAKE WITH THE MOUNTAINS IN THE BACK ROUND SEEMS LIKE A PICTURE POSTCARD. WE WOULD LIKE TO RETURN THERE SOMEDAY AND SPEND A LITTLE MORE TIME CHECKING OUT EACH AND EVERY SIDE OF THE PARK.

WE HOPE THAT THIS BLOG FINDS YOU ALL HAPPY AND HEALTHY FOR THE HOLIDAYS AND THE NEW YEAR TO COME. LET US KNOW WHAT ALL OF YOU HAVE BEEN UP TO DURING THE PAST YEAR.

STEVE & LYNNETTE

Gone for the Winter

We left Vancouver on October 23rd which was earlier than usual this year. Steve's mom (age 88) fell in her home and fractured her pelvis in two places, so we headed initially to Eureka to see what we could do to help. Steve's sister Claudia was there the week prior and was able to get home once we got there. Mom is incredibly strong and was released from the hospital in a mear three days. We stayed an additional week and helped out with some details and left for Palm Springs on November 1st. Steve's brother Kenny and wife Doreen pitched in so much making the whole endeavor much easier.

While on the road to Palm Springs we learned that our brother-in-law Danny, (Claudia's husband) was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He had surgery which went very well and is now taking both chemotherapy and radiation. So far Claudia says he's doing well with treatments so we're hoping they will make it down here after the first of the year.

Sometime in the morning hours of November 19 our home in Vancouver was invaded and we were robbed. The following day a neighbor was walking by and noticed a strange car in our driveway and the front door wide open. Apparently the robbers were back for a second look through the house but fortunately the neighbor took their license #, called 911 and then called us. The suspects are still at large and we lost quite a few things, including family heirlooms which of course are not replaceable. It's obvious what criminals are after these days.........gold and silver. I lost my grandmother's sterling silver which made me both sad and angry. Steve flew home for a few days to pick up the house and talk with detectives and luckily got a flight home for Thanksgiving. We are grateful to be ok and unharmed despite feeling tired and a little stressed out.

It is quiet here in December and the weather has been really nice with the exception of a couple of days of Santa Ana winds. Steve has a bad cold and is just trying to get well at this point. I'm fine (so far) and trying to avoid the "bug". I am scheduled for cataract surgery on my right eye later this month. It seems like "when it rains it pours" is appropriate at this time. I will try to blog more often while here this year and also hope for some good news.........anything like that would be welcome to our ears!

Summer Fun With Alexis

We were lucky enough to see our granddaughter Alexis for almost a week earlier this month. She flew in from Spokane on a Monday and the fun began.

She and I did some shopping almost immediately while Steve caught up on some house and yard stuff. We then introduced her to bingo on Tuesday night at the American Legion and what an experience that was! I think she thought it was going to be a bunch of old people (which it was) but soon learned she could get addicted to the game fairly easily. We told her that if we won we would "donate" to her college expenses and lo and behold we won 5 different times between Steve and I. She luckily returned home with quite a bit more cash than she came with. We managed some more shopping, got manicures, went out to dinner, and just hung out at home to catch up on the life of a college student. The week went by too fast but she had to get back home to work before school starts again in late September. She is still dog grooming in Spokane and will continue part-time once school commences. Below is a very cute picture of her and Steve (even though grandpa closed his eyes).

 
 (For those of you who have known Steph over the years there is a glimpse of her in Alexis). She is starting her junior year at Eastern University in Spokane and has had a difficult time declaring a major, but she finally decided that technical communications is her choice. She will minor in music which she has always loved so much. We are incredibly proud of her as you can probably surmise.

We also made a 3 day trip to Sequim to see our dear friends Bill and Candy. Lots of catching up and always a fun time with them. We probably won't see them again until our pilgrimage to the desert for the winter. That is coming up sometime in November for us.

 

Summer's going fast

We returned home last weekend from a trip to Eureka and up the Oregon coast. Our stay in Eureka was to visit Steve's mom and attend the Fridley family reunion. Steve's sister was there so we all helped out at mom's before and after the reunion. Seeing the family was wonderful since we hadn't all been together for about 5 years. Steve's mother was the only one of the original Fridley aunts and uncles and spouses present, so it was pretty special. The weather was rather dreary but typical for that time of year.

 Steve's mom Doris (88 in Sept.) and brother Kenneth

 
Steve's brother Kenneth, Steve, cousins Tom & Richard Fridley

We left Eureka and met our friends Bill and Candy in Coos Bay Oregon and traveled up the coast over the next 4 days and eventually landed here at home. Our friends stayed here a couple of nights and we had a ball as usual.

Since arriving home we have been busy busy with usual stuff associated with home and yard. We had our 100 foot tree trimmed yesterday and we both had sweaty palms watching this young guy run up to the top and start lopping off branches. Some of them were as big as trees themselves. Scary! Neither of us do heights very well and certainly not tree stuff. Steve refinished our kitchen table top last week and is busy building a new counter top for our motor home. He loves to do all of that kind of stuff and I'm very fortunate that he does. I've been sewing for our youngest granddaughter Norine and having a lot of fun with that. She has taken swimming lessons this summer and is quite adept we hear. Alexis is coming to visit us we hope sometime in early September. She will be starting her junior year in college later in September so chances of seeing her after that are slim until the holidays down in Palm Springs. Curtis has bowled in quite a few tournaments this summer and has done very well. His scholarship fund is growing and so is he! He got his drivers permit last month so I guess he's practicing behind the wheel now. Below is a rare picture of Curtis since he usually dodges the camera!

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Our Vacation to Glacier National Park

We returned home from Montana on Monday June 27th.  It was Steve's 63rd birthday on that day, and even though it was spent on the road, our trip to Glacier made up for it and then some. We spent 2 nights on route to Montana and arrived on Monday June 20th where we met up with my sister Kristen and her husband Steve. From there we spent 4 nights in Columbia Falls which is about 20 minutes from the national park. We had so much fun and found the sights to be indescribable!  A big highlight for us was spotting a young black bear, but our tour bus frightened him and we were unable to get a picture before he ran off into the woods. We now realize why people call Montana the "big sky" state. I think my pictures will explain an outstanding and very beautiful vacation. We hope to get back there some day as we were unable to take the "road to the sun" which is Logan's Pass ........unfortunately there was still snow at the peak and it was impassible at the upper elevation while we were there. The park folks informed us that you can travel the pass from July through September, so maybe next time.

 
Lake MacDonald

 

 
Steve & Kristen in front of our "Red Bus" tour. A must at Glacier Park.

 
Kristen & I at the river overlook. It looked very cold.

 
Columbia Rv Park, Kristen & Steve on the left and us on the right.

 
Stunning view of Lake MacDonald

All in all our vacation was a once in a lifetime treasure. For those of you who haven't been there, please make the effort if you can. I think it is one of the most beautiful national parks, although there are many in the U.S. that we have not visited yet. Notice I said "yet".

Another Family Graduation

Kristen and Steve traveled from their home in Wenatchee to Grants Pass last week to attend Taylor's high school graduation. Taylor is Craig's daughter and will be attending college in the fall. They are very proud of her.

 
On Friday morning they headed up our way in Vancouver and spent the weekend with us for our annual garage sale. They are always a ton of help and brought a few treasures of their own to sell. It was a success and as always a lot of fun. Kristen and I played bingo Saturday night and had zero luck but had lots of laughs as we always do! They left on Sunday morning and traveled home via the Columbia River Gorge where Steve took these amazing photos of the Multnomah Falls.

 

 Steve Hiett told us that he had just re-familiarized himself with his camera and his new expertise really shows in these pictures. Thank you Steve! We will be leaving next Saturday in our motor home en route to Glacier National Park in Montana and plan to arrive there on Monday the 20th. We will meet up with Kristen and Steve in Columbia Falls and spend 4 days sightseeing and just having fun together. This is why we have been waiting for Steve H. to retire completely........one of many more adventures for the four of us to enjoy in the future. I'm sure we will have many beautiful pictures to share when we return. 

Fun In Sequim

Steve and I took off for Sequim Wa last Monday to see our friends Bill and Candy. For those of you who don't know where Sequim is, it's north of the Olympic peninsula on Highway 101 and just a little south of Port Angeles. It's a very scenic drive and not that far for us to go. Timi and Tia really enjoy it there because they consider these friends to be their second set of parents. We had a blast as always and played a ton of bingo. Steve won 4 TIMES and I won once. These are long time friends and there is never a lack of conversation and catching up on each others lives.

Bill holding Timi & Tia in our rv a few years ago..........................

 

We came home yesterday as we didn't want to be on the road that close to the Memorial Day holiday. We hit some heavy rain near Olympia which caused us to slow down a bunch, but it never seems to affect the big rigs as they zoom by and throw rain everywhere! It's scary, but I guess they're used to the weather up here.

Our next rv adventure will be toward the end of June with my sister and brother-in-law. We are heading east to Glacier National Park in Montana for a week or so. Our plan so far is to take the "Red Bus Tour" which will take us to various  highlighted areas of interest in the park. (I hope to have a few awesome pictures of Montana to blog when we get home.) We're very excited and anxious to see some new country and have new experiences with Kristen and Steve. We will also attend a family reunion in July in Eureka. Diesel fuel is expensive, but we can't wait for things to get better when they may not for quite awhile. This is truthfully living the dream for us and we plan to enjoy traveling while we can.

More Fun In The Yard..........

Just a quick update on what's going on with the Fridleys. It seems that working outside is all we do, but we so enjoy our yard. We have had some warm sunny days and in between some nice spring showers to get our plants going. Everything is in bloom or about to be. I planted more perennials this year and they are all taking off nicely.

 
This is the far side of the backyard and the trees are really beautiful right now. Timi is checking it out........

We've been busy running around doing the normal stuff as well as spending time with some of our good friends here that we haven't seen since we left to go south last winter. Steve has taken care of obligatory doctor visits and the good news is that his eyes have completely stabilized since the onset of Graves disease in 2002. My turn is next and I'm confident that everything is just fine. I've been working on Curtis's scrapbook and made Norine a little summer outfit. My sewing machine is in for routine servicing so I haven't started more projects as yet. Steve always has projects and some more on the back burner. We had our roof power washed last week (something we do up here every 5 years or so) and it made quite the mess. With that came window washing and all the typical spring cleaning.

Trying to plan a few short fun rv trips for the summer and haven't made any definite decisions yet. We will definitely go to Eureka for a Fridley reunion in July. We hope diesel doesn't continue to rise.

 

 

Home and Settled In

We've been home just about a month now and have slowly but surely settled back to a fairly normal routine. Most of our time has been spent working in the yards and getting things ready for the summer.

Steve is happy to have his garage back and I am very happy to have the king bed and jacuzzi bathtub. Those of you who are "bath takers" will understand this. Timi & Tia are especially thrilled to have the run of the backyard without leashes or pens and have resumed chasing our neighborhood cat who is chasing our birds and squirrels. We hope Tia loses a little weight in the process.

Our once-a-year neighborhood garage sale is coming up in early June, so we have been gathering more "stuff" to once again let go of. It seems like we are both feeling that less is better these days. We are also planning a couple of short rv trips this summer depending on how expensive diesel fuel gets...geez!  I've been sewing a bit for Norine and have also been working on Curtis's scrapbook. My goal is to have one for each grandchild by age eighteen. At the rate that they are growing up, it won't be long.

 Keep in touch and we hope all is well with family and friends.