On the Saturday after Christmas, just two days after his birthday, John and Karen had a beautiful wedding in the Baptist church in Astoria. Congratulations John, we are very proud of you. Welcome to the family Karen! Pictures will be added soon……..
June 16th was Sara’s graduation from the University of Oregon. The weather was beautiful and the ceremony proceeded without any hitches. Sara wore bright red heels, and she didn’t even trip on were way across the stage or down the ramp. See the pictures attached. Also, the party was fabulous. in attendance were here beautiful sister from Los Angeles, Erin, both Grandma Layton and Grandma Merrill, aunt Karen, cousins Holly and Ben, and many famous future architects and other college and banking friends. Congratulations, Sara! Take LA by storm.
Robynn and I spent a long weekend in L.A. visiting our beautiful daughter in her natural environment….i.e. beautiful weather, beautiful people, etc.
We began our adventure by taking the airport shuttle to the Universal City Sheraton, as instructed by Erin.
Since Erin had to work on Friday, we slept in, had breakfast and took the shuttle to Universal City to do the Universal City Walk. Of course, we had no idea what that was, but we enjoyed it immensely. Robynn particularly enjoyed the galleries, but fortunately we escaped with only some business cards and pictures of art work.
Then we decided to go ahead and drop the $55 each to go into the theme park. We took the studio tour seeing such things as where the Desperate Housewives live, the Bates Motel, the site of a major plane crash and several studios where various pictures had or are being filmed. It was fun.
When we need a rest, we bought some caramel corn and headed back on the shuttle to our room. After a little nap, Erin picked us up and took us to Sherman Oaks for dinner at the Macaroni Grill and a movie. Fun, but late for us!
The next morning, Erin picked us up and took us to the headquarters of Smashbox, Inc., her workplace. What a cool environment! Erin works as director of quality control. She loves working in the beauty industry and being constantly exposed to movie stars and models. She is turning into a tough business manager too!
Then we had lunch at a great little Brazilian restaurant near her office, and then off to the Getty Museum. The musueum was free, but parking was $8. The ladies enjoyed the beautiful gardens, and we all enjoyed the photography exhibits and the impressionist paintings that were on display.
By now it was getting dark, so we headed towards Hollywood. Traffic moved slowly, but that gave us the chance to shop for real estate. Several places had potential, but in the end, we opted for seeing the stars hand and footprints on Hollywood Blvd a the famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. Rich was thrilled to see the star for Olivia Newton John, but Robynn managed to find such idols as Clint Eastwood, Paul Newman and others.
Then a fine Italian dinner at the mall, followed by Strike City bowling. They had such good security that Rich almost was not admitted. Were it not for two beautiful ladies begging, he would have been left out on the street.
We won’t talk about who won!
Then brunch at the hotel with Erin in the morning and off to the airport.
What a wonderful visit. We love you Erin!
We returned from our trip to learn that Robynn’s dad, Robert Walls, had died on Sunday, September 25, 2005. He was 96 years old.
We love you, and we will miss you. Your memory will always be with us.
A psalm of David.
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, [a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
Well, we finally made it to a cruise of the Mediterranean. Our two week journey began with three days in Rome and continued on aboard the Celebrity cruise ship. We visited Naples, ITALY, Mykonos and Santorini, Greece, Messina, ITALY, Villefranche, France and Genoa, Italy, before returning to Rome.
The weather was perfect, even though it was late September. The people everywhere were friendly, and the accomodations aboard the ship were first class.
We went on this trip to take our continuing education classes, so we endured many hours of class time, but we also enjoyed many shore excursions and many sunny afternoons by the pool. We also enjoyed the evening theatre aboard the ship, as well as the endless supply of food.
We loved visiting Pompeii and learning how the volcanic ash preserved the city. We were happy to return to Greece and learn that neither the people nor the food disappointed us. Rich particularly enjoyed swimming in the Mediterranean on a quiet beach on Santorini. The small ristorante that served us pizza in Messina was also a highlight. And finally, we are now bound to return to Nice after having such a nice day exploring there.
Enjoy the pictures; we have lots more, but we figured this was a good start.
Robynn and I had a very nice week in Montreal. The city was beautiful, and the people were friendly. Montreal, of course, is principally a french speaking province. As usual we enjoyed the challenge and the international flair of the city. Even though, our first day in montreal, was greeted with flooding throughout the city. We put our shoes on and explored on foot. We found the old port area, the government buildings, the shopping district, and finally, the venue for the international jazz festival, which was in full swing. In fact, this was the main attraction of the city. We also discovered that the food in this city was quite good, and that it was definitely a sports minded place, hosting both baseball teams and hockey. It was also host to the Olympics, and we enjoyed touring the location of the 1976 games, especially the impressive swimming area. Currently, Montreal is hosting the 2005 world championship track and field games.
We also enjoyed the efficient subway system and the relatively short flights to get there, considering our usual jaunts to Europe and back. Oh yeah, and then there was that gallery we found……………………..
Robert participated in the official arrival at West Point today. To get a glimpse of what this entailed, visit www.usma.edu. There are pictures and summaries of the events. The day culminated in the official swearing in of the cadets. Good luck Robert. Next step: BEAST!
Ah yes…..Tax season is over and time for a relaxing trip to North Carolina and the magnificent Biltmore Estates…..NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kidney stones rule! The doctors get all of my hard earned profit.
But boy are the people at Sacred Heart Hospital worth every penny. I’ve never been so well cared for. What a magnificent crew. Besides my doctor, I’d like to thank everyone there for treating me so well. Expecially: Rod, the head nurse, Melissa, the nurses aid, the anethesiologists and of course, Lori, in post-op.
These people have an unbelievably difficult job to do it and they do it displaying compassion and love, which can only come from God. And, speaking of the man upstairs, what a terrific reminder of what it means to have a relationship with other Christians, when they encourage you and help you in your times of need.
Oh yeah, thanks for the cards, phone calls and visitors.
Well, I’m off to have a stent removed. Trust me, you don’t want to know.
Things are already picking up at work. Soon we will be fully staffed (two preparers and a secretary) and ready to tackle the hundreds of tax returns that we prepare each year about this time. That means long days and not enought sleep for the next two and a half months.
Of course, it also means we can pay the bills that seem to accumulate every year, and we are thankful for that.
Also, it means we will be able to go on a few more trips this year. We’re looking forward to a trip to New York to accompany Robert to West Point, a little get-away to North Carolina to stay at the Biltmore Estates and an awesome Mediterranean cruise in September.
So……………thinking about it, we really have a pretty nice arrangement; work hard in the winter and play all summer.
Well……it’s official. Robert has been invited to attend the US Military Academy at West Point. Even though we had time to get used to the idea, the actual letter came On Friday, and Robert immediately returned his acceptance. Boy are we all proud of him; this is an amazing accomplishment, a dream come true. Robert has worked very hard for this appointment, and his entire family is thrilled for him. Way to go!!
Of course that means his college education is completely on the US Govt, but, hey, we pay enough tax to support the whole school!
See his acceptance letter here.
We enjoyed our Christmas a lot. Erin and Sara were both here as planned, but we got a big surprise when Paul showed up too. We know it was hard for him to come, but it was such a joy to see him (COLD AND ALL).
Now we are ready for the new year. Robynn and I are pledging to try to work less and enjoy ourselves more. Of course there are the usual resolutions to lose weight, excersize more ( i renewed my club membership for another year yesterday) and to be better human beings Mostly, we just want to find ways to enjoy the wonderful life that God has given us, family, job, home, friends and many other blessings.
Happy New Year!
Go ahead tell me about your resolutions…..
Well, we have finally done it. We went out and purchased this big screen TV!
Now we can read the fine print on the movie warnings!
My sister, Sandy, just returned from several weeks in Nigeria, where she did work on a short term missions project. I’ve added a few pictures that she sent showing her in her Nigerian clothing and with some of the Nigerian people. Thanks for doing the Lord’s work!
Last week we went to the cross country banquet to celebrate the end of cross country season. Robert received a varsity letter, and we all had a good time. The coaches talked about what a great group they had, and we watched many videos from their meets. The food was even good.
Way to go Robert.
Robynn and I went to Seattle for the weekend. Our favorite travel writer, Rick Steves was putting on an educational day about travel to Europe. We have many of his books and videos, but this was a fun way to get additional travel tips. See http://www.ricksteves.com/
We stayed at the Edmonds Harbor Inn and we had a great dinner with our friends Terry and Debbie Heck and their son Tyler.
Robert decided to try the Sheldon High School cross country team for his senior year. He seems to be enjoying the early morning practices and the grueling meets with as many as 200 runners competing. Sheldon has an excellent team, led by the coaches and Robert’s life-long friend, Jeff Randall, who nearly always wins. Check out the pictures.
Terry and Debbie Heck are two of our closest friends. They were brave enough to share some awesome pictures of their family with me, so I thought I would put them on our web page. I hope they don’t mind!
Terry, thank you for teaching me about what it really means to be a Christian.
Robynn and I attended my 30 year high school class reunion in Astoria, Oregon, where I graduated from Astoria High School in 1974. We were hesitant to attend, because previous reunions had not been all that interesting. However, this one was different. Everyone seemed relaxed and willing to talk about what was going on in their lives. Of course, many of our best friends, including Terry and Debbie Heck, Ed and Ginny Mickelson and Don Leach were there. But we also had fun conversations with many others.
Sadly, eleven of our classmates have passed away since graduation.
We stayed at our favorite hotel in Astoria, The Elliot, which is owned by one of my former classmates.
We also visited with Jeff Nelson, who works at the radio station in Astoria.
Rich, Robynn and Robert attended a rally put on by the Republican party at the Monaco Coach near Junction City. We had a great time, and the main speaker was vice-president Dick Cheney. There were about 3000 crazy Republicans there, and 2 goofy protestors. We had a great time. Robert even got his picture taken with Mayor Jim Torrey, who quickly volunteered to write him a letter of recommendation for West Point. Pictures, including the one of Robert and the Mayor will be added soon. The only odd thing was they didn’t have enought buses to return us to the parking area that they had shuttled us from, so we had to walk the three miles back to the car. You should have seen 3000 Republicans walking through the pastures carrying Bush/Cheney signs!
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