Dad's Slides, Disk 1...

Mom gave me 2 binders of dad's slides about a week ago.  One binder was mostly family and the second is the beautiful landscapes of the Owyhee Mountains and Nevada that he loved so much along with old long-ago abandoned buildings and critters.  Sorry Kate, this first disk was 'pre-you.'

I was so excited to get these and be able to remember our wonderful childhoods.  Most of these pictures are family but the one below is dad's best friend from Garden Valley - Sterling Alley.  He was ONE/ TOUGH. COWBOY.  He often helped dad tag elk and participate in other "manly man" things dad needed to do for his job with Fish and Game.

I'll have copies of these disks made for the other kids as well. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is another picture of Sterling and evidently his horse fell down this hill...

Wild horses in Nevada



 

Thankfully the Shotgun Was in the Far Corner of the Bedroom...

You all know I sleep on the couch because my hubby snores.  Well, last night Adam and Lorry had friends over so I went and laid on Adam's bed to watch the Olympics so the kids could watch a movie in the living room.

About midnight they told me their friends were leaving and so I went out and laid on the couch.  Adam was outside saying goodby to his friends.  I watched them drive off but Adam still hadn't come back in the house.

A few minutes later, I heard Ival get up and go in the bathroom.  A minute later I heard him walk out and then a huge shreek and a thud.  I thought he'd had a heart attack then lots of cussing and laughing, more cussing, more laughing.  What the hell????

It seems Stuart and Paige had been downtown, were on their way home and decided to stop by and see if we were up.  Really?  Stuart saw Adam outside and asked what Ival was doing and naturally Adam told him he was sleeping.  He asked where I was and when he found out I was on the couch he told Adam, "let's go scare your dad!"  They were just going to creep through the bedroom door but lucked out when they walked by the window and saw him getting up to head to the bathroom.  Adam (the chicken) hid behind the bed to watch while Stuart stood behind the wall by the door and jumped at Ival as he walked back to bed (in the dark).  I've worked on plenty of projects with Ival but I've never heard a string that long of cuss words come out of his mouth!  Of course as Ival was screaming at him, Adam and Stuart were laughing hysterically.

I'm surprised Ival survived it.  He's been having some stress at work and was told by the doctor this week that his blood pressure is too high again.  I have to admit, it was damn funny!  Leave it to Stuart to freakin' stop by our house at midnight to see what was happening.  What a goof.

All-in-all it was hilarious and I'm glad Ival didn't drop dead.  I have to admit, it was much funnier since it didn't happen to me!

Caribbean Cruise, Day 1...

Ival earned a cruise through work and boy, were we excited.  January is a great time to leave Idaho for the sunny skies and warm temperatures of the Caribbean!  We were scheduled to take a flight from Boise to Las Vegas, then to Phoenix where we were meeting a chartered plane to San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Our Southwest flight from Boise was great as always.  We arrived in Phoenix to find that our charter plane was waiting for us.  The plane held passengers from California and surrounding states that had flown in and we were going to board there.  The plane arrived and we waited, and waited and waited while the passengers already on the plane waited, and waited, and waited.  After 2 hours, we finally got on the plane and never got an explanation for why we left late.  We did discover that the poor folks who were stuck on the plane were never offered anything to drink and 2 of the bathrooms didn't work.  Not a great way to treat a customer who has chartered one of your huge planes to take their best customers on vacation.

But, we finally landed in San Juan and got on the ship.  As we drove to the ship, we noticed big, beautiful yachts docked at the harbor.  This one was sooooo huge I had to take a picture and Google the name to see if I could find out who owned it.


FYI, this picture doesn't do it justice.  But below, is what I discovered about the boat and it's owner.

 

 

One of the biggest yachts in the world, The Serene, is a $330 million, 440-foot private yacht belonging to a wealthy Russian vodka distributor
.
The yacht’s owner, Yuri Scheffler, controls SPI Group, which distributes Stolichnaya vodka internationally.

The 2-year-old yacht, made in Italy by Fincantieri, has a 52-person crew. The Serene flies the flag of the Grand Cayman Islands and illuminates the water with bright-green lighting at night. It is the ninth-largest privately owned yacht in the world, according to Boat International magazine.

How big? We’re talking massive.

The Serene has two helicopter-landing platforms and a hangar, along with a storage area for a submarine that can dive to 300 feet. It’s longer than a football field and has more than 48,000 square feet of covered space on its seven decks.

The Serene was a finalist in last year’s World Superyacht Awards, and a description on CharterWorld.com called it a “floating palace” with few equals in the world.

The yacht accommodates 24 guests in its 12 staterooms. It has large indoor and outdoor swimming pools, several hot tubs, a steam room and a JetStream exercise pool.

Elevators and a spiral staircase link the seven decks. The ship also features children’s playrooms, where they can scale a climbing wall, slide down from deck to deck, or even play video games. A “Nemo” room gives guests a peek under the sea through a thick glass panel. And to top it all off, the Serene has an outdoor cinema.

The above information and the picture below is taken from an article in the Seattle Times when the yacht, which was the largest that ever docked there, entered Seattle.

Fascinating, isn't it!?

 

 

Who doesn't love the fact that you really can find anything on Google!?

 

 

Tomorrow, day 2.  And, this is what we came home to...

 





January 5, 2014 - 33 Years...

I was rummaging through the buffet a few weeks ago and came across an envelope filled with pictures of dad that I had never seen before.  Evidently mom gave it to me at some point and I never opened it.

So, as I do every year on this day, I will share some memories of dad, this year in pictures. 

 

Most of these are pictures of dad as a Marine when he was in Korea.

 

Mom and Abbey (she was the wife of dad's best friend)

Dad making the rank of Corporal

 Dad and Stan.

 

We miss you and as every year, will remember you and Conley with a toast.  Mom is coming over to watch the football game and we'll keep eachother company.  Adam decided to remember today by going duck hunting.  We love and miss you.