Well I am back and the reason for it is my niece Heather. Heather emailed me and asked for my blog address and I realized I have not updated it since June of 2009 so here goes, a lot has happened since then.

To start off with the couple in the wedding pictures (Josh and Shawna) are expecting their first baby (wonderful news). Heather and Rick are the proud grandparents to be and Gavin and Andrew are the proud uncles to be.

We have a terrific new granddaughter her name is Rylie and the last 1 1/2 years of our life have been consumed with her. Rylie was a premie weighing in at 4lb 3oz at birth after our daughter Julie had a very hectic 30 days in hospital, enough said both are doing well and are now healthy.

John has had prostate cancer surgery and came through with flying colors. It was a very worrying time but we got through it with the love and support of our family. Thank you everyone for that. Heather made a special trip from Oregon and Bill and Janet visited everyday. Heather really gave support and help above and beyond just ask Annie and Bliss. Thank you Heather.

I had a very special 60th birthday with all my family around me which most of them were a surprise to me. It was great to see everyone. Thank you Julie and Ashley for all your help in putting it together. Thank you everyone for coming.

We have had a great year. Last winter was mild. We spent Christmas in California with Kyle, Julie and Rylie, John, Cameron and Tracy. Spring was great, summer was wonderful with a lot of visitors. To start with we had Brian, Tina, Brook, Ashley, Jacob, Julie and Rylie visit in the spring plus all the birthday guests. This summer we had Julie, Kyle and Rylie, Brook, Jacob, Tina and Brian, Heather and Maggie. John and I really enjoyed it so very much. We spent the whole summer out on the back deck with terrific weather. The treat of the day was always an ice cream snicker's bar, yum.

John has had two great reports from the doctor and will be going for another visit soon. John improves everyday. His spirit and determination through all of this has been fantastic. We all love you John especially me.

Skype is a great thing please try it everyone it brings your loved ones right into your living room although they are thousands of miles away. Ashley and I Skype almost daily. Grandpa and I just love to Skype with Julie and Rylie we have done it since she was very small. Thank you Julie for all the videos and pictures that you have sent to our cell phones you helped dad get better just by sending all those cute pictures. Thank you also for all the beautiful pictures you take and send to us.

I will enter picutures at the end of this post.

I am looking forward to going to California for Rylie's 1st birthday. I was in California in August spending time with Rylie, she is growing so fast. I am looking forward to our morning times again. I just want to say how much I enjoy spending time with Maggie when I am in California. It is so nice to see Sergio, Melissa and Michael. We had some fun times over at John and Tracy's. Rylie just loves the pool and seeing all the animals. It was nice to see Gail and her new husband this summer. I did get to talk to Donna but missed a visit with her.

We are going to Oregon for Thanksgiving with Brian, Tina, Jacob, Ashley and Brook. We will celebrate Brook's birthday with us then as it is on 11/12. Tina, Ashley and I will go shopping the day after and have a good time. Well done Tina getting your BA. I am sure I have missed many things but can still add them as I remember them. So far fall has been fabulous not too cold and sunny.

Annie and Bliss are both fine.

How do you like my first attempt at a slideshow I am pretty proud of myself. I hope everyone is having a great summer.

We are having a great summer. Jacob and Brook here and have been for quite awhile. We have been to the library a few times, the pool at the Cape, Vic's for lunch, the play park a couple of times and of course we have had a few visits into town. Jacob and I went to see Harry Potter with Tracy, Griffin and Dylan. Alister and Dina were also there enjoying the movie. We have been round to Uncle Bill's for dinner and cards. John just started his 3rd week of vacation. We take Brook back to Oregon on Saturday but Jacob is going to stay another two weeks. Julie and Kyle were here for a week and we all really enjoyed that special time. The weather this summer has been terrific with only 3 days rain in two months. We all had a wonderful 4th and it was so great having Julie and Kyle here also. We went to Roche Harbor for fireworks all though it was good not as good as Friday Harbor. The parade this year was the best. We went to the Fire Station for lunch instead of the Pig War Picnic so it also was a change from our normal routine. Kyle and Julie really enjoyed seeing the eagles this year and Julie got some great pictures of them. We all had a lovely time in Oregon at Josh and Shawna's wedding. It was lovely spending time with the family together. Of course it goes without saying I love my special times with Maggie and Heather. We went on the jet boat dinner cruise for John's 60th birthday and that was a great dinner and lots of fun. John, Kyle, Jacob and I also did some river rafting which we all enjoyed and of course we got soaked. Brook has been busy playing with the Cabbage Patch Babies and all the stuffed animals at the moment she is busy shouting at Bliss to get off of something. Brook enjoys playing with Annie and Bliss. This truly is a lovely summer.