Riley (Guy and Joanne's grandson) who was part of the 'entertainment' at the Hawaiian Luau/Birthday Party... Bless his little heart...he JUST LOST HIS TOOTH and this is the first picture of him. He kept wiggling that tooth telling people that it was loose...well, it sure was!
He and his whole family were so wonderful, friendly, outgoing, happy and they all had no problem talking to adults or speaking/or dancing in front of all the adults either. What a marvelous job his dad is doing in raising him and his sisters.

HERE IS THE BIRTHDAY GIRL, JOANNE, AND HOSTESS AT THE HAWAIIAN LUAU WITH HER HOST HUBBY, GUY.
(and Riley's Grandma)

Joanne opened up our gift and seemed to be saying "ooooh"! We hope she likes her Jeweled Butterfly Pin.

Joanne is lighting the candles on her cake and the wind keeps blowing them out...






The Birthday Girl's cake... Joanne said that her parents still buy her cake as they do every year.....what a lucky girl she is!

Our hostess and Birthday Girl, Joanne with one of our neighbors, Orv.. He had to leave the Luau with his wife, Joyce, as they "put on" the Ice Cream Social every week in Ryderwood... so sorry to have them leave but it is understandable.

Guy's grandson and again I am so embarrassed because I can' remember his name .. I told him he is a very handsome guy (which he is) and I probably will call Guy and Joanne to find out their proper names as these kids are wonderful... and I want to give them credit and at least post their names.
All I can say is I tried to get this all on my blog as I am truly impressed with Guy's family.

One of the granddaughter's of Guy and J0anne who is so adorable... but unfortunately, this old lady can't remember all their names. I am embarrassed by this but included them as I didn't want to leave them out of my blog.

Olivia

This is one smart and adorable little Olivia who was so happy to entertain us all and dance the hula. She told me she taught herself how to hula and also was going to sing a Justin Beeber song, (which she did ~ word for word) and was wonderful. She has no problem standing up in front of all us ADULTS and loved every minute..........as far as her future is concerned there is not problem as her dad has done one incredible job in raising not only her but her siblings.
We had so much fun watching them...

Olivia who has taught herself how to hula... She is the entertainment and she as wonderful.

Olivia doing more hula. She is wonderful..

We all had so much fun watching and listening to Guy and Joanne's grandchildren.. His grandson, Riley was such a tremendously outgoing child, telling us jokes and stories that he made up from the tattoo's he placed on all our arms... I got a fish, hula girl, and tropical bird... Al got a sailboat and all us Adults had fun watching the kids having fun too. Riley, I must say, will do very well in life.

Such a wonderful couple, Bob and Meredith. They both are great people! It is such a pleasure to have friends like they are, who are so accepting, helpful, sharing, truly fun loving, and an exceptionally considerate couple.

Guy's son and father of those adorable grand-kids who are all from California.

On the left is Guy, his beautiful daughter from California is next to him and our neighbor Jim.

This is Sweet Sharon and after this picture was taken Bea joined us. I had never met Bea before, Joanne said I would like her, and I really did. Unfortunately I didn't get her picture to share with you all, as she is another gorgeous Ryderwood Woman!

Dolores has been a Ryderwood resident for quite awhile. She use to live in this house (now owned by Guy and Joanne) but needed to move to a smaller house and still lives in Ryderwood. She has seen many changes over the years.

When we arrived in the backyard there were already a few people there and more arrived within the next 15 minutes. Everyone looked very festive and ready for a Luau...including that Tiki Bar with stools on the far left...not all is in this picture to the large bird cage on the right and again not all in this picture but they were both definitely a perfect addition to the backyard and the party.

I turned around to get the full look at their beautiful yard... They both have been working non-stop to get it looking like this. It is so pleasant and welcoming ~ anyone would love to spend time in this yard.

Their side yard was overflowing with flowers and color. The ground was covered with a ground cover with tiny blue flowers with splashes of Lavender plants, Hostas, those adorable flowering trees, Tiki Torches everywhere and all bordered by more color. Excellent work Guy and Joanne.. Looks incredibly amazing..

This adorable little side area is the home for this cute couple 'standing in the rain'. Now this is definitely appropriate for our beautiful State of Washington.......but notice the hammock in the background... Yes, there still is hope for a relaxing afternoon out in the hammock...

When entering Guy and Joanne's property, they had hung a hula skirt covered with flowers from their flower box at the beginning of the path which leads through the yard to the back where the Tiki Bar was located and the Hula/Birthday Party had just begun..

We are heading to the Hawaiian Luau at Guy and Joanne's home...it is also Joanne's birthday..Yeah we all gotta have em'
They have family visiting and the children will provide the entertainment. Both Guy and Stella are 'from there'...

Look what my Sweetie Pie brought to me from his walk with Cally..
My Darlin' brought me SWEET PEAS!!

This is the hole our Cowlitz County Sewer Department dug in the alley behind our house and the neighbor's house. I will post the picture of the hole they dug behind our garage which is another huge, deep hole. They will continue down the alley until they reach the north end of town, hooking residents up to new sewer as they progress.. Once completed they will come back with the pipes and then cover it up (I think that is what will happen). I'll, of course, continue to post the progression..(this does not happen every day!!). Can hardly wait to be able to park our car back in our garage... Bottom line~ this is definitely an upgrade and much needed in our little Village..

My beautiful, wonderful, thoughtful, artsy, spiritual, accepting, smart, helpful, and loving sister, Darlene. She is so giving and caring and always thinks about the other person way before herself.

Al and I were so happy to have Darlene come for another visit. She is by far one of the most wonderful women I can say I know and we both agree that since I am an only child she will be my sister.

A "Welcome" at our front door...

My begonias did just fine during the heat because they are under the porch cover. I love this little corner of my front and learned not over water them and when I think they need water to wait just one or two more days to give them that drink.

My beautiful hanging basket on our front porch~ it was one of the prettiest I have ever had. Unfortunately, due to all this HOT weather we have been experiencing, it died while we were in Gresham due to the sun and heat. Even though I watered and fed it with "Miracle Grow" the night before we left and the morning we left when we arrived home the next afternoon it was a goner...I feel so bad ~ I just don't have a green thumb when it comes to hanging things... Boo-Hoo ( ; ~{

While traveling to have dinner at 4th Street Brew Pub and to Day's Inn in Gresham, where we spent the night, we drove by the first house I bought with my first husband back in 1971. It was green when we owned it (but looks better being Blue now). One owner since us added a bay window in the front window and someone removed the large cherry tree that was in the side yard on the other side of the car in the driveway. This, my first house, was the corner house on a culesac and we lived there until 1974. (Gee does that date me?)

Kinda sad because we drove by the house "I was born in" (*well not really born in but it was the house my parents took me to when they took me home from the hospital and lived there until I was 6 years old,) but for some reason I didn't take a picture of it.....now this was a "Senior Moment". I definitely will next time I am in Maywood Park. That house still looks the same too, including a huge, gigantic fir tree my dad planted in the front yard about 65+ years ago ~ and believe me it is now a monster. My good ol' dad had a habit of planting trees but unfortunately didn't really think it through as far as just how big the tree might get and where it would grow... But he was a dear, great, good man.

This is our sitting room in our nice motel room at Days Inn in Gresham where we spent the night after we 'dined' at 4th Street Brew Pub!

Al is a happy camper as he loves microbeer, being an ex-home brewer himself.
I had purchased a $25.00 meal coupon for $10.00 and ended up saving ourselves a bunch of money. If anyone wants to know how I did that, ask me and I will share this wonderful 'secret' and then you too can start saving money at too.









4th Street Brewing Company, Gresham, Oregon where we had a delightful lunch and Microbeer. I had Yellow Fin Ahi Tuna and Al had their Fish and Chips...

These were the 4 Microbrews that were recommended to us by our waitress. The IPA and the APA were both too hoppy and we ended up with one Blonde and other one which was not on our Sampler Tray. Fun time at a fun Brewery in Gresham, Oregon.

We headed for Mt. Rainier for the day and what a fantastic day it was! Great clear blue sky and the temperature was wonderful...compared to back home where it was 98*... Life is good!

Due to our new sewer installation we had to leave our house for the day so they could connect our house to the sewer. They are working in our alley, digging down to the old sewer and now we have huge, deep holes in our alley. So we vacated our house today and left at 7:00 a.m. for Mt. Rainier.

We decided to stop at Spiffy's Restaurant at I-5 and Hwy. 12. It has been awhile since we have been there and they have remodeled and upgraded the menu. It was quite enjoyable and a really great breakfast.

Allan's breakfast, ham and cheese scramble with a side of salsa and toast.

My breakfast, Veggie Omelet with Cream Cheese, Fresh Fruit with toast, and I ordered a side of Salsa. YUM-O!

They also serve Freezer Jam, raspberry, strawberry and blackberry.. again YUM-O!

We drove through Morton, Wa where they celebrate the Logger's Jubilee every August. This long time Pacific Northwest industry is definitely not the as popular as it once was but the Loggers still have their Logger's Jubilee. This is becoming a dying art so worth stopping by to witness the loggers at their best.

If you look real close, you will see Mt. Rainier as we first saw it ~ She was a shining spot between the tall fir trees.

Took the off road to the little town of Mineral where Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad is located. This is a great train trip through some gorgeous areas. Hope to take it one day.

Thought this was important to Blog so distances could be seen.

Motorcycle made with 100% scrap metal in front yard "Metal Art Museum" on way to Mt. Rainier National Park. We stopped here 2 years ago and they asked for a 'donation' (which we gave) but this year they asked for a suggested $5.00 donation. It is worth stopping to see at least once.

Horse made 100% scrap metal! This is only one more of the many animals and 'things' that are displayed at this "Metal Museum".