well,we got through the wedding yesterday. It was on the roof of a recreation center. At rehearsal it was very cold and windy and most of us thought it wasn'tgoing to work, but on the day of the wedding it was bright and sunny and not windy. So the view was gorgeous. It was a huge park.

I thought the ceremony went well. They had a guitarist formusic and he was excellent. The reception was downstairs and was very good BBQ beef and chicken with all the trimmings. It was so great to see Paul and get toknow Heidi. I got to spend a lotog time with my old friend, Priscilla, Paul's mom. Her 5 sisters were there as well, making it quite the family reunion.
I always referred to Paul and his sisters as my kids because we spent so much time together. Yesterday, Elizabeth said I was a grandpa with 4 grandkids now! Holy smokes! To quote Heidi. :-)

our trip to Alaska

We havehsd a great trip so far. We first went to Fairbanks where we took a great paddleboat ride down the Chena River and toured an Alaskan Village and saw how the natives made their homes, clothes and food. We saw the Susan Butcher family. She was the champion Iditerad runner for many years. She recently passed away at age 51. We bought a signed book about her favorite sled dog, Granite.

Then we took a trip to where they dredged for gold at a gold mine. The fun part was panning for gold. We all found a bit in our pans.

We then took the train down to Denali. We toured the park and saw moose, carribou, eagles,Dall sheep and Grizzly bears!

Now we are in Anchorage to see the Hurleys and do Paul's wedding.

Mom's Fire

Well, I had a scare yesterday. Around 4:00 p.m. my mom called me to tell me she had an oven fire. I was having a hard time getting the details. She kept saying there was a big fire in her oven that wouldn't go out. Her roommate was broiling some steaks and the oven went up in flames. I figured it to be a grease fire from the meat drippings or something, but mom kept saying it was plastic melting all over the oven.
Since the story wasn't real easy to clarify, I told mom to call the fire dept. But her roommate kept shouting in the background, "No, no, it will be so embarrassing!" I was getting a bit ticked that they were arguing about this so I rather DEMANDED that mom call the fire dept. and said I'd be right over. I only live about 5 minutes away, so I figured I could get there before they stopped arguing about what to do.
I got in my car and headed over there as fast as I could. As I got on Santa Gertrudes, the main street between my house and my mom's house, I saw police cars pulling out in front of me from everywhere, lights flashing and going oh so ever fast. I prayed they were going to Mom's, but I didn't know. By the time I got to the turn off into Mom's neighborhood, I could see no police cars. When I turned the corner to where I would be able to view Mom's house, there were about 6 police cars and 4 large hook and ladders. I couldn't even find a place to park and of course there were neighbors everywhere. Mom has lived in that house since 1963 and everyone knows her.
I got to the house and mom and her new roommate were standing outside by the garage with policemen standing with her and talking to her. Well, here's the low down. When I hung up, my mom did call the fire dept. and got the process in order. They must have gotten there almost immediately because I couldn't have taken more than 4 minutes to get there. The police took Mom and her roommate outside and wouldn't let them back in. (They were staring at the stove) The fire dept. got there next and got the fire out, put up fans to clear out the smoke and removed the grills, which were very hot. Turns out that someone had taken a plastic cover for the Microwave and put it in the top of the oven to get it out of the way. But, of course, didn't remember to remove it later. That's what caught fire and the plastic was in flames, dropping through the oven into the grill.
It was all over pretty quickly. I was ever so grateful for the police and fire dept. to get there so fast and they were all so nice and helpful. A police woman was there and she helped calm Mom. I'm glad La Mirada is small because it makes response time so fast and they are adding a new fire station on the other side of the city, giving our little place two fire stations. It should never take more than 5 minutes for them to reach anyone's house in La Mirada when that is finished.
So, I'm glad it wasn't anything more serious. Good to see the community support and know my mom is in good hands in an emergency.

Corky and I in Iraq

I didn't have anything to do today, so I took Corky with me on a trip to Iraq. We had a ball. What a fun place!

I didn't have anything to do today, so I took Corky with me on a trip to Iraq. We had a ball. What a fun place!

Chula Vista Here I come!

I haven't posted in way too long. Sorry, you've all probably given up on me. Well, my summer hasn't been very productive. I'm home most days watching the kids. Zack got a weekend job, but it only lasted for 2 weekends. Not sure if they'll use him anymore. He was one of those sign holders with the big arrow. Got the job for Verizon by our house. The pay was good, at least.

I'm off to Chula Vista tomorrow. Taking Zack and Liz with me. Connie will have a peaceful night. It's for a school training program on our new upgrade of software. It's good to see what is new. Remembering it all is the problem. We're staying in a motel and the kids always think that is neat. So, at least they'll get to go swimming, like they don't do that at home very day. Well, that's about it for now. In a couple of weeks we'll be off for Alaska! Can't wait.

Alaska or Bust!

In 1991 a family moved next door to me. The next time I went in my back yard three little heads popped up and said hi. They were Paul, Katrina and Emily. They were Eskimos! The second time I saw them, Emily asked me if I would be her dad. But we were very close and eventually they attended my church and school. There was no dad. The parents were divorced and dad stayed in Alaska. It had a very harsh effect on the children, especially Paul.

I took Paul under my wing and he truly was like a son to me. We did everything together. I took him on vacations with me, even to go up north and see Connie! Paul was one of my groomsmen in my wedding.

Well, after I married Connie, the family moved back to Alaska. I recently heard from Paul and he's getting married. He's marrying a gal who won $240,000.00 on Deal or No Deal. Not bad, eh? They've asked me to officiate the wedding.

I probably should have gone alone and come right back because of expenses, but we've decided to hock our lives and go for it, so the whole family is going on a 12 day trip to Fairbanks Alaska. While in Fairbanks we'll go on an 8-hour tour. See the city sights of Fairbanks, visit Gold Dredge No. 8 and cruise on an authentic sternwheeler riverboat. Includes a miner's lunch. Then we're taking the train down to Anchorage where the wedding will be. We're taking the Denali Star Train

We'll be on a relaxing trip to Denali National Park, on the the Denali Star. The scenery and small-town history along the way will bring you back to a different place in time. The best way to see Alaska is on the Railroad with award-winning service, comfortable seating, and knowledgeable tour guides are part of the fabulous rail experience. The scenery is world-class. (from travel agent)

We'll be at the National park there and see it all and then continue down on the train to Anchorage. Somewhere in there we are also going to go on a Steamboat paddle boat Sounds like too much fun to me. The timing stinks because my income drops in half during the summer, but we'll make it somehow. We always do.

I found out last night that neither Cingular or Verizon work in Alaska, so we'll be cellphoneless®. But, I just found out that the hotel has wireless so my iphone should work just fine! Yea!

Bees, Bees, Bees!

Speaking of bees, this morning after church was over, someone came to me telling me I had to go outside immediately. There, right in front of the church in a small tree, was a very lively bunch of bees swarming around a new hive. We've had a few since I've been there. Unfortunately, this one is very low. Any child could reach it with a stick and a teenager could just touch it easily. So, church is over for us, but I've got the Cambodian church coming in next in a few minutes. I find Pastor Tuy and take him over to the hive and tell him to make sure none of their kids get near the hive. So, he tells everyone to stay away and of course they all go right to it to look. But lookings ok. The bees were friendly enough. It's the touching I'm worried about.

So tomorrow, we have to cut the yard space in half to keep our precious kids away from the hive. I'll try to take some pictures. But, I was happy that so many of my congregation were aware of the recent bee problems we've been discussing. Someone gave me a number for a beekeeper who will simply relocate the hive instead of destroy it. I would have done that anyway, being a bee/honey lover. Maybe I should be paid for the hive instead of being charged for taking it away. I think it was about $100.00 last time we had to do this. It was neat to be so close, however. I've never been very scared of bees. We used to catch them all the time when I was a kid.

An Evening at the Theater

My wife got to use her nursing skills tonight. We went out to the theater to see a play called Greater Tuna. While we were in the lobby awaiting the play to begin and elderly lady collapsed and was having a very hard time breathing. She turned gray and began perspiring and couldn't catch her breath. Connie took her pulse, which was 110, not good. It appeared she might be having a heart attack. Unfortunately, she wouldn't answer Connie's questions, wanting everyone to leave her alone, but her friends who brought her and the theater management certainly did want her around until the Paramedics showed up. They got there quite quickly and took over. I was really proud of the job Connie did taking care of this lady in very difficult circumstances.

Technorati: Connie theater

Quick Scare

When we drove home today from church we saw that the doors to the house and garage were wide open! I did what any Maclectite would do and rushed to my office to see if my Mac was there. It was. That's how I tell if we've been robbed or not. Anyway, nothing was gone, but the door and screen door were both wide open. The garage door, the small, not the large door, was open too, but nothing gone that I can tell. We finally decided it was just the wind and the doors must not have been closed all the way when we left. It's been VERY windy here the last week. I'm thankful everything was all right.

Connie Home and Doing Fine

Forgive me for taking so long to get this up. I have been pretty busy taking care of Connie and trying to take care of the school/church stuff at the same time. Anyway, Connie is doing great. Thanks for all your prayers. The Dr. removed a mass about the size of a soup spoon ladle. It had nerves wrapped around the mass, which he had to peel off. Doing that caused some numbness to Connie's right side of her face. She can't complete a smile or raise her eyebrow on that side, but that will come back as the nerves reattach themselves to whatever they attach themselves too.

There's not too much pain. The worst part is that Connie can't move her head from side to side for 2 weeks. We don't want her to tear open anything. The Dr. gave her permission to go to church on Easter Sunday. Originally he said no to any travel in the car. So, she has to promise not to hug anyone! That will be hard for my wife. She hugs everyone at church.

We thank you for your prayers. We have seen some spectacular healings in the last couple of weeks. God is good.

Different Perspectives

Yesterday Elizabeth came into the house from the backyard all upset. "What's wrong?"I asked her.

"There's something in the pool moving around!" she cried.

Of course, I already knew what it would be. She had found some mosquito larvae in the pool. (Hmmm, who's not putting enough chlorine in?)

But my mind raced back to when I was a boy. Finding mosquito larvae was great stuff! I could usually talk myself and any other boy into believing they were baby tadpoles. Or I'd get a fish net and grab a bunch of them to feed to my tropical fish. A jar made a new wiggler aquarium. They were so fun. Boys and girls, never the twain shall meet.

Connie's Surgery

As many of you know, Connie will be having surgery on Monday, April 2. She has a growth in front of her ear that needs to be removed. She has had a biopsy on it and was told it was benign. She'll be going in for surgery around 9:30 a.m. I'll be taking off from the school for at least 2 days and we'll see how it goes from there. Mom will be watching the kids for us. Don't know what we'd do without her. Pray it all goes smoothly. They say it will take 4-5 hours for the surgery.

Bob

Puppy in the Pantry

My friend, Stephanie, has a Bull Mastiff. I think this is such a cute picture of him hiding in her pantry that I wanted to share it with you all. Hope you enjoy.

Many Faces of Bob Video

Well, my friends should get a kick out of this. An admin on my website, Maclectic.com, made this up. Quite a surprise and a lot of silly fun. Take a look.

Deanne's Birthday

Today was a very special day at church. Deanne Schenk celebrated her 85th birthday. Her granddaughter, Colleen, decorated the fellowship hall so beautifully and prepared a luncheon celebration following the church service. It was a great time.

Sammy the Wrestler

One of our teachers, Mrs. Stephanie, bought a puppy recently. It's a Bull Mastiff, so it's going to get very big. I love this picture. He's on their trampoline wrestling a wrestler doll.

Elizaabeth Trying to Put Aslan to Bed

I seemed to have lost the sound to this on the upload, but it's still pretty funny.

The Big Button

The big silver button is just an experiment I'm working on. Just ignore it if you wish. If you click on it and view it I make a few cents.

Bob

Boy Marks Powerbook with Sharpie

Connie's Health

Most of you know by now that Connie had quite a scare recently. She called me at home as I was getting ready to take the kids to school. She had something happen to her that seemed like a mini-stroke. She became very dizzy and her face went numb. Her co-worker immediately got her into ER (She was already at work when it happened.) Well, she seems to have recovered that and there haven't really been any other episodes, but when the did the MRI and the Cat Scans, they found some growths in her neck and on her thyroid. Tomorrow she will be getting a biopsy on her neck. There's a lump on her gland, right behind her ear. You can feel the lump with your finger. What's on the thyroid, we have no idea. They'll be doing an ultrasound for that. The biopsy is tomorrow morning, Monday, Jan. 29.

Your thoughts and prayers, mostly your prayers, are coveted at this time.

Thanks. We love you!

Bob

Oregon vacation

Hi everyone. I'm on vacation in Oregon. If you'd like to read about our trip, go to this URL. (Sorry, you'll have to copy and paste it into your browser. Blogger seems to have eliminated the ability to place clickable URLS for some reason.

http://maclectic.com/trip/


Enjoy,

Bob