Another Busy Week: June 23 - 28th

On Wednesday, Cary and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary and our tenth year together.  A whole decade has gone by since we met and fell in love, creating the most peaceful and happy part of my whole life.

The funny thing is, we both forgot all about our anniversary this year.  Cary had taken his mom shopping that day, and among other things, she bought some flowers.  As he was helping her unload her groceries, she put the flowers in the pretty vase below, and said, "Happy Anniversary!"  He said, "What???"  After dropping off the flowers and the vase at our house, he scooted on downtown to buy me a card.  I was the surprised one when I came home, and felt awful that I had forgotten all about our special day. 

Our friends Tom and Cheryl came over to help us celebrate. We ate some pizza.  Tom and Cary got the 5th wheel ready for this season of camping.  (We are planning on camping this coming week.)

The vase is very special.  You see, right before Cary's Dad died, he had us get 60 red roses and the vase for him to give to Darlene on their 60th wedding anniversary.  The day after their anniversary, he died of esophagus cancer.  He had it all planned out that way.  That was six years ago.

I know that Darlene would not really like the picture above, so I hope that she doesn't read this post, but I am very grateful to have her as my MIL.  I sure do miss Troy too.  Here is how Darlene usually looks, but even better now.  She doesn't even have to wear oxygen these days:
 

All of a sudden, things have fallen into place for me at work.  Our new crew is working together, having fun, and things are not so overwhelming.  It is now just my job, and I am able to leave it there for the most part.  I am reclaiming the rest of my life, including having energy for blogging and getting back in touch with my friends and family.  I am not sick anymore (that last cold lasted for 3 or 4 weeks!), and am really feeling blessed.  

On Friday, Julie, Amy and I took the kids for a long walk.  It was a beautiful day, and some of the pictures turned out so cute.

There was a deer up ahead, so we all slowed down and lowered our voices.  The last thing that we needed was for it to become startled and run out in front of a bunch of cars.  We took the path right before the spot where the deer was standing, and it just walked away without any drama.

I LOVE Central Oregon summers!  That is Paulina Peak in the background and where Cary and I will be camping over the 4th of July.

I couldn't get a good picture, but there were actually two bald eagles soaring above our little group that day.
 

There was a stand of cat-tails, and Ms. Amy walked down to pick one for each child.  Some of the cat-tails made it back to school in one piece; others were plucked to the very stem by the time we returned "home".

The kids are just so cute!  I am used to seeing them in the school setting, were everything is their own size.  They look tiny when out in the big wide-world, don't they?
 

Julie pushed the stroller the whole way (most likely close to 2 miles, I'm not sure how the kids did it).  I took pictures, and of course, that is why there are not any of me.

Cary and I plan on going into Bend tonight to celebrate our time together so far.  I have shown this picture in the past, but here is our wedding photo.  We both look so much younger!

I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend!  Thank you so much for stopping by to visit me.

~ Kathy M.

At Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy, if you miss a day, you miss a lot!  All material on this post is copyrighted and not for use without my permission ...Please click here to go to my home page and see what is happening in Mayberry today.
 

Sepia Saturday #183: The Oregon Caves

Last week, my friend Wendy from over at Jollette Etc., challenged me to post two weeks in a row for Sepia Saturday, so here I am once more.  

This week's Sepia Saturday theme photo led us Sepia Saturday folks to the subject of caves, so I searched through my blog to see what I could find.  I came up with the vintage postcard that I posted a while ago, of The Oregon Caves.  I also have another post of my friend Wendy's trip to the Lava River Caves near where we live.  If you would like to check that out, "please click here."       

In trying to find out a bit more about the Oregon Caves and still make things easy on myself, I found these great pictures and some other information on Wikipedia.com.  The ladies in the photos below look awfully familiar to me!  The pictures were taken in the 1940's, and somebody must have done some fancy photo-editing and turned a few of those pictures into postcards.

 Source:  Wikipedia

 Source:  Wikipedia

Below is the first part of the article from Wikipedia about the Oregon Caves.  I think that we stopped at the monument when I was little, but I don't remember walking all the way through the caves.  I can't imagine 4 little kids being safe crossing over those skinny little bridges.  I'm not sure that I want to go there even now, but the caves are quite magnificent.

"Oregon Caves National Monument is a National Monument in the northern Siskiyou Mountains of southwestern Oregon in the United States. The main part of the 488-acre (197.5 ha) park, including the marble cave and a visitor center, is located 20 miles (32 km) east of Cave Junction, on Oregon Route 46. A separate visitor center in Cave Junction occupies 4 acres (1.6 ha) of the total. Both parts of the monument, managed by the National Park Service, are in southwestern Josephine County, near the Oregon–California border. The climate is generally mild even at the cave's elevation of about 4,000 feet (1,200 m) above sea level, but icicles can form at the cave entrance, and winter snow sometimes blocks the park highway. 

Elijah Davidson, a resident of nearby Williams, discovered the cave in 1874. Over the next two decades, private investors failed in efforts to run successful tourist ventures at the publicly owned site. After passage of the Antiquities Act by the United States Congress, President William Howard Taft established Oregon Caves National Monument, to be managed by the United States Forest Service, in 1909. The popularity of the automobile, construction of paved highways, and promotion of tourism by boosters from Grants Pass led to large increases in cave visitation during the late 1920s and thereafter. Among the attractions at the remote monument is the Oregon Caves Chateau, a six-story hotel built in a rustic style in 1934. It is a National Historic Landmark and is part of the Oregon Caves Historic District within the monument. The Park Service, which assumed control of the monument in 1933, offers tours of the cave from mid-April through early November.

Oregon Caves is a solutional cave, with passages totaling about 15,000 feet (4,600 m), that formed in marble. The parent rock was originally limestone that metamorphosed to marble during the geologic processes that created the Klamath Mountains, including the Siskiyous. Although the limestone formed about 190 million years ago, the cave itself is no older than a few million years. Valued as a tourist cave, the cavern also has scientific value; sections of the cave that are not on tour routes contain fossils of national importance.

In addition to cave touring, activities at the park include hiking, photography, and wildlife viewing. One of the park trails leads through the forest to Big Tree, which at 13 feet (4.0 m) is the largest diameter Douglas-fir known in Oregon. Lodging and food are available at The Chateau and in Cave Junction. Camping is available at Forest Service campgrounds and private sites in the area."  Source:  Wikipedia.com

Links:

Links to BING images of the Oregon Caves

The National Park Service: The Oregon Caves

Wikipedia: The Oregon Caves

Oregon Caves.com

Oregon Caves Chateau.com

So, there you are, my friends.  If you enjoyed this story, please visit my Sepia Saturday friends by "CLICKING HERE" to find other neat photos and stories.  To read more about my family and other stories featuring old photos, memories and more, please look for this picture of me and my dad on the left-hand sidebar and read whatever else catches your fancy.  Thanks so much for visiting!

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

At Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy, if you miss a day, you miss a lot!  All material on this post is copyrighted and not for use without my permission ...Please click here to go to my home page and see what is happening in Mayberry today.
 

Thursday Pictures:

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Good Morning!

Here are a few random pictures that I took when we were out and about during our travels a couple of weeks ago.  Which ones are your favorite?  I am drawn to #3.

Hope everybody is doing well and having a wonderful week!

~ Kathy M.

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At Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy, if you miss a day, you miss a lot!  All material on this post is copyrighted and not for use without my permission ...Please click here to go to my home page and see what is happening in Mayberry today.
 

I made two posts today, so don't miss out!  The top one is a Sepia Saturday picture of Cary in Pakistan, and the other one is chocked full of grandchildren photos and is regarding our recent trip to Washington. 

~ Kathy

Sepia Saturday #182: Cary in 1968

Yes, I am still alive, my Sepia Saturday friends.   Ever since I have began working at the child care center in March, my blogging has gone down to the bare minimum.  Life has gotten in the way, but I did want to share this picture of Cary with you today:

While in the Air Force and stationed in Pakistan, he got his picture taken on the back of some guy's donkey.  When I saw the prompt photo, I just had to post this one.  

Back when I was spending 3-4 hours a day each morning on the computer, I would have researched and scanned the other things that Cary has from that time period.  But, instead this post will be short and sweet with only one picture of a tall and handsome young man.

Hope that you have all been doing well.  I think of you each Saturday, but even if I had an idea of what to post I didn't want to if I couldn't return your visit in a timely manner.

~ Kathy M.

So, there you are, my friends.  If you enjoyed this story, please visit my Sepia Saturday friends by "CLICKING HERE" to find other neat photos and stories.  To read more about my family and other stories featuring old photos, memories and more, please look for this picture of me and my dad on the left-hand sidebar and read whatever else catches your fancy.  Thanks so much for visiting!

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

At Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy, if you miss a day, you miss a lot!  All material on this post is copyrighted and not for use without my permission ...Please click here to go to my home page and see what is happening in Mayberry today.
 

Graduations, Grandkids and Travels:

Hello Friends!

I'm finally finding some time to post about our trip to Washington last weekend.  This is long, but it is mostly pictures.

Two of our grandchildren graduated this year.  Halie graduated at the end of May, and Cary flew out to attend the ceremony.  Here is her announcement:

Halie will be attending college this fall, and is pursuing a career in nursing.  Congratulations, Halie, we are both very proud of you.

On Thursday, June 13, we drove up to Washington for Chase's graduation.  It was a lot of fun, and there was a gathering at the house afterwards.

This was our view of the ceremony.  We were sitting on the second floor bleachers, and I took most of my pictures through the railing, in the dark.  That in mind, Shanna and I thought that I did pretty well with how things turned out. 

Chase was so happy, and was beaming the whole evening.  He is really a neat guy.

Getting ready for the family pictures ...

That picture cracks me up!

John, Collin, Chase, Johnny and Shanna

Henry sure is eying that soda. 

Grandpa Cary is awfully proud.

So am I.

It was fun seeing my Facebook friend, Lisa R.

Cheri and her Dad.

This is our grandson, Garret, with his cool new blond hair.

Johnny, Jordon and Gage make Smores 

around the fire-pit in the backyard.

During our stay, we watched Johnny and Collin play basketball.  Quote of the day from Johnny to Collin, "You think that you are doing pretty good, but you are forgetting that you are almost 6' tall and are 4 years older than I am."  Amen!

On Friday, Cary got up early and visited with some of his old friends.  I slept in until 8:45 a.m., and it has been years since I did that.  Later that day, Cary and I took a field trip to the Washington State Patrol Academy.  He was the first graduating class at this current facility, back in 1970.  I will do a whole post on it soon, but here are a few pictures.  It was really a neat place.

Cary's friend Freddie gave us a tour of the driving course and some other areas.  He is such a nice person.

Later that afternoon, while the LaBranches were attending another celebration, Cary and I went to the casino and over the course of our visit I won enough to keep me busy and buy us the seafood buffet.  He broke even.

We got up the next morning, said good-bye, and drove down to Lake Oswego to watch our 6-year-old grandson Gage play in a baseball tournament.

I loved this sign.  It was a gentle reminder to be nice.

Garrett and his friend Grant were 

watching their little brothers play.

This All Star traveling team is made up of kids between the ages of 6 and 9 years old.  Gage is the youngest, and he is a natural at the game.  I'm not just saying that either.

We watched two games that day.

We stayed overnight in a hotel that looked good but wasn't and then drove back home the next morning.  I am deciding whether or not to do a post on it or not.  

I was so tired that I slept most of the way home, and then just laid around after we got here. 

I am finally getting over my cold, and am going to clean house today.  We have friends coming over for burgers this afternoon.  The weather is nice after a rainy week, and I have so much to do!

Making this post was on my list, and I am glad that it is done.  It is only 7:15 a.m., so I am making good time so far.

I hope that you are all doing well and that you are enjoying your weekend!

~ Kathy M.

At Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy, if you miss a day, you miss a lot!  All material on this post is copyrighted and not for use without my permission ...Please click here to go to my home page and see what is happening in Mayberry today.