Seven Years of Bliss

This picture was taken seven years ago, today. I don't think my kids have changed much in the last seven years, although their lives certainly have (none of them had kids yet, now they all do).
And this picture was taken on August 12, 2003.

Happy Anniversary dear husband of mine.

What Age Would That Be?

We all have a few friends that have been in our lives for a long time. I think I have about three that fall in that category. Those are the ones with whom you can catch back up with in a matter of moments (and then talk for hours and hours) after not having seen each other for sometimes years. I had that moment a couple weeks ago with Wendy, and once again on Wednesday evening with Vickie. I haven't seen her for seven years.

We both found our guys within a couple of months of each other (I married Bud in August and she married Owen in October, 2002) and we have been blissfully happy since then.
Vickie's house is almost as good as Disneyland as far as fun stuff to do. A play area for the little ones...

A volleyball court...

An archery area...

A swimming pool...

A sno-cone machine...

A great outdoor entertaining area...

A soft-serve ice cream machine...
which makes for big smiles on her grandkids' faces,
and last of all, a zip-line.
I really should act my age occasionally, but Robert (Vickie's son) practically dared me to do it. Check out the very end of this clip...


I took away from that little ride a realization that just because something "looks" fun, doesn't mean you should do it. I should act my age. Shouldn't I?
Happy first birthday to Kaydence!

Wins By A Nose, Or A Shoulder

, Bud ended up having two really close races. The first one was lost by a second and the second was won by less than a second!
Here's the win, if you're interested in seeing it. Sorry I didn't get the very start of the race recorded. My camera was in photo mode instead of video mode. Oops.



Bud is in the lane just above the empty lane and his competitor is just above Bud. At the turn they're pretty much even-steven. Dale goes ahead of Bud and then Bud catches a look and sees where Dale is and turns on the juice, but misses the clean touch and ends up hitting the touch-pad with his shoulder instead. Whatever works! I should have run the video a bit longer so you could hear the announcer say that Bud set a new National Senior Games record with that swim. Don't tell Bud I showed you this! Seriously, don't tell him!
P.S. Happy Birthday to Amy! And also to Cindy (our hostess in San Jose)!

The Meet Is Finished

I don't have my camera cord so I can't post a picture to go with this post. Bud is finished with all his races now. On the really close race, he took second place to the guy who always wins, but Bud only lost by one second! One second! He was happy with his performance, however, and that's what really counts. As far as the other two races, he won them both, setting a new National Senior Games record for both of them. I'm not bragging, I'm just sharing information.
One guy (he took second place to Bud's first in several races) said, "That Knowlton, he's greased lightening!" Yeah, that's how these guys talk. They say things like "that was a swell race." Okay, not really on that. We've had a good time. The next meet will be in October when we'll do it all over again.
5 Gold, 1 Silver. But don't tell anyone. Bud's very shy about all this.

Update on the Medal Count

We're in Stanford, CA. Bud has had three races so far.
Gold,
gold,
and gold.
Tomorrow he says will be his hardest race with his toughest competition. I'd thought I'd report now while he's 3 for 3. We'll see what color he gets tomorrow. Cross your fingers! Three down, three to go.
Hey Bekah, come on over and see us!

Sometimes I Just Don't Think

I needed a hostess gift for the family we're staying with in CA for the swim meet. I thought I'd go to Kneaders and have them put a nice basket together for me.
A couple loaves of bread, a breadboard, some honey roasted peanuts, lemon-blueberry bread, a couple jars of jam and a bottle of Mexican vanilla. I was so pleased with how it turned out.

Then Bud saw it.

He said, "How are you going to take that on the plane?"
I said "I'll hold it on my lap."
Him- "They probably won't let you do that during take-off and landing."
Me- "Oh. (pause) You're probably right."
Him- "Besides, the vanilla is liquid, and they'll probably have issues with the jam as well."
Me- "Oh. (another pause) I didn't think of that."
Him- "That means we'll have to check a bag."
Me- "Ugh."
So much for my great choices. Maybe I should have bought them a book instead.