Off to California/Washington/California

Hi Everyone.
Well hopefully it is packed and ready to go......or it is going to be left. Janelle and I head out to California tomorrow. We will be there until saturday evening, when we fly into Washington. Sunday it is off to family reunion on Micks side and the wedding on thursday. Nicole is taking out her endowments on wednesday evening. Then saturday we are heading to the lakehouse in eastern Washington for a week. The following saturday, August 15th, it is back to California for Trevor Peters wedding, and preparing for the Open House on the 22nd for Graig and Nicole. If you didn't receive an invite, it is either lost in the mail, or something dreadful happened to it. But hey, you don't need an invite. Come on up to the pool and have an In and Out burger with us on the 22nd of August. First burger is served at 6:30 until 8pm. Check out the wedding website for info, times, and places. www.mywedding.com/nicoleandgraig

I'll try and post pics during rtrip. Happy August to all. I return to Jersey on the 28th of August.

Palmyra Pageant

Last weekend we had the opportunity to go the Palmyra Pageant in New York. It was a beautiful 4 hour drive through Pennsylvania and upper state NY. We we able to visit with Sister Macy Halladay who is in the Palmyra Mission and loving it. We are also happy to report that she is feeling and doing much better.

Look who else we ran into? Shelly Young. Mick and I were walking around the temple grounds at the pageant and we hear.....Brother and Sister Ward!! It was so great to see and visit with her for a few minutes. She is wearing one of the elaborate costumes the actors and actresses wear. There were some very creative head pieces there. Should have got the picture of the one that looked like the churro vendor.

Here is the set for the pageant where 700 actors and actresses perform. They also have over 100 people working the lights, stage, make up, special effects and technology that go into the production. It was amzaing. They had waterfalls, explosions, wars, and you name it on that stage. It really brought the story of the Book of Mormon to life. Here is another amazing fact, they set up seating for 9,000 and almost all of those chairs were filled and several brought their own seating! They also have a tasty chicken dinner with the famous salted potatoes and popcorn for the show. If we have our Two Year Mission for Mars extended, Janelle and I are going to be on that stage next year.

Bears in the Neighborhood

A couple of weeks ago we were on our evening walk around the neighborhood. As we rounded the corner a bear came lumbering across the street right in front of us. I was so upset that I didn't have my camera with me. It was such a sight. Well a couple of days later our neighbors were out walking with their camera around their neck. I told him how upset I was that I had not had my camera with me on sunday because of the bear sighting. What time, he asked? Around 8pm. I have a picture I took of the bear in our backyard on the same eveing a few mintues later he said. I was so excited. He e-mailed it to me so I could post it for you to see the bears that live in our neighborhood. A couple of weeks earlier they had strolled through our backyard, once again I missed the shot.

The very next evening on our walk, a skunk was on the side of the road. We turned around and went back the other way. You'll never know who or what you will see on a New Jersey walk.

O'Barrs come for a visit.

This post is a little out of sequence of events.

A family from our ward in Brea, California was on vacation here on the east coast. We had a very fun visit with the O'Barr family, David, Crystal ,and their children Amber, Erica, and Abigail. Unfortunately they were only able to stay one evening with us, but we had fun. We went firefly hunting and were able to catch quite a few. The fireflies put on quite a show for us that evening. This is one of the things I will miss about New Jersey... our firefly hunts.

PS. For those of you who have been to our New Jersey home, you are probably thinking, why are they not on the front porch for the famous " porch picture of those who visit". Well in June it rained 27 of the 30 calendar days and this was one of those mornings when it was pouring down. Thus, picture on the inside porch. Come visit......we love visitors.

4th of July on the East Coast

For the 4th this year I really wanted to see the fireworks over the Statue of Liberty! We had an invitation to see the fireworks several weeks before the 4th from a family in the ward at Lake Hopatcong. I declined saying I really wanted to go see them in NYC. Jared Sparhawk happened to over hear our conversation and said one of the parking garages he manages has an awesome view of the Hudson River from the rooftop on the Jersey side. He added that his family might be doing the fireworks there this year. I immediately invited myself to his party. Well he was able to get permission to go up on the roof to see this amazing display of fireworks over the Hudson River between NYC and New Jersey. We had to leave our home early because they announced they were closing the streets to traffic 7 hours before the show . We packed a picnic lunch/dinner and away we went. What a beautiful day it was, a typical California weather day. Sunny and not too hot and unbelievably no humidity for the east coast. The humidity is usually not pleasant this time of year. Well when we got there Jared was able to get us into a condo that was vacant and for sell. We were able to watch the fireworks from the balcony. You couldn't have had a better view. I was a little disappointed that we couldn't see the Statue of Liberty from where we were. But, you could see the fireworks that were going off over the lady from where we were.What a display that was, but, ours was superb. The paper reported the next day that it was the largest firework display in New York history and the first time it was done in that location since 9-11. They set off over 44,000 rockets. Oh to be part of history. It doesn't get much better than that.

Janelle did not want to go, but her mean parents forced her to have a memorable event in her life. She insisted that she was going to be bored and have no fun. I'm sure from the pictures you can decide if she had a good time or not.

Picnic in the park with Kentucky Fried Chicken....it's tradition.

Face painting was enjoyed by the younger folk.

The streets are closed 5 hours before the show, not the seven like reported. They bring in barricades just like New Years. This is a picture of the barges getting into position. Notice Macys on the side. They sponsored the fireworks.

OK, before the Rose parade in California we get the Thunderbirds flying over the parade route. Before the NYC fireworks, we get the NYPD helicopters.

The tugs came out and put on a pre-show. You can't tell the red, white and blue colors very well from the photo. See all the private boats lined up on the boundary created by the coast guard. Wouldn't it be fun to see the show from a boat! It wouldn't be the 4th without the candy bar game. Another one of our traditions.

Glow in the dark necklaces for all.

I love how you can tell the six barges that set off the fireworks in this picture spread out over the Hudson River.

Just look at all those lights in the sky. I wish I would have thought to get a picture of the reflection of the fireworks on the buildings in NYC.

Just like The Ball Drop on New Years Eve, the streets were full of spectators after the big event. It took us over 2 1/2 hours to get home.

Thanks Sparkhawks for letting us crash your party. I was able to cross off another item on my bucket list of things to do before moving back to California.

What's next you ask?........Palmyra Pageant.