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.