Wow, what a week! We had a really, really great BBQ for John Qualls & his family last night. We had over 130 people in our yard; each wishing Cpt. Qualls and his family the best as he leaves on his second deployment to Iraq. They are a wonderful family. There is John, his wife Doashea, and children Sydney, Hayden & Sophie. Our community is here for their family as they wait for John to return! Bless him (and them) for their service to our nation. It is certainly a sacrifice to be away from your family for that long, but John humbly accepts our gratitude for his service. We are grateful for all of the wonderful soldiers & their families for their service!!!!!
My favorite part of last night; I walked into the house to refresh a bowl of salad and find little Narin Stone in my kitchen with the refrigerator door open. Not a soul in the house, just Narin & I. He looks up at me and says "Ain't ya got any food in this house?". I laughed so hard and told him his Mom was downstairs making him a plate of food. His eyes lit up and he said "Fanks"...(translated into "Thanks" for my readers). I sure do love those Stone kids....aka my second set of children. The other day Noah & Narin walked through the front door and informed me they hadn't even been given any cookies that day. So......we pulled up some chairs to the table and had orange creamsicle soda & sugar cookies. Narin just smiled and said, "Sherri, you know how much I love cookies, huh?". They left my house with cookie frosting smeared down the front of their shirts and orange soda mustaches.
Back to last night.....Matt was put on basketball court duty, Ryan was put on garbage & bathroom duty (a chore he embraced, however, the pool & football game did call his name several times......), Alex was the lifeguard and Cherisse was the "bouncy house captain". I heard her say several times; "If you do that again...........you're out of the bouncy house kid". I love that girl....she's awesome! A very special "thanks" to each of our kids for helping make the night a grand success!
I also want to thank Chris Bailey (aka my partner in crime) and her husband Jeff (the master BBQ'er). Other "thanks" goes to Sam Hornbeck & Phil Scheuers....you two are the best!
After the party, Quinn Chick came over and sat around the camp fire (& did a little bouncy house jumping) with Cherisse, Alex, Ryan & Gen. We are so proud of Quinn....he's leaving on his mission to Texas in a few weeks. GO QUINN!
Alex took his learner's permit test again today....missed it by one. He's working hard at learning to drive, just this little "hump" we need to get over. He has been working at Camp Cowles out of Spokane. So proud of his dedication to cub scouts. He has really, really worked hard this summer...and has donated every dime that he's earned back to Scouts for under-privileged children to have the opportunity to attend camp. That takes a lot of integrity. He's up by 6 every morning and goes strong until 10 pm or so. He has grown about 3 feet this summer.....yikes! School clothes shopping here we come....because this boy has nothing that fits anymore!
Ryan has been studying on-line for his boater’s license. He is taking it very seriously....it's been fun watching him study the packets & take the test exams. He cannot wait to be Captain Ryan Smith, rather than back-seat-driver Ryan Smith. Should be a lot of fun to watch him "drive" the first time.
I'm up early tomorrow to drive Alex back to Spokane....he has to report by 9 a.m. This lady is going to find her way to bed in a few minutes!
Blessings to each of you. Hopefully you are all having a safe, happy summer.
My favorite part of last night; I walked into the house to refresh a bowl of salad and find little Narin Stone in my kitchen with the refrigerator door open. Not a soul in the house, just Narin & I. He looks up at me and says "Ain't ya got any food in this house?". I laughed so hard and told him his Mom was downstairs making him a plate of food. His eyes lit up and he said "Fanks"...(translated into "Thanks" for my readers). I sure do love those Stone kids....aka my second set of children. The other day Noah & Narin walked through the front door and informed me they hadn't even been given any cookies that day. So......we pulled up some chairs to the table and had orange creamsicle soda & sugar cookies. Narin just smiled and said, "Sherri, you know how much I love cookies, huh?". They left my house with cookie frosting smeared down the front of their shirts and orange soda mustaches.
Back to last night.....Matt was put on basketball court duty, Ryan was put on garbage & bathroom duty (a chore he embraced, however, the pool & football game did call his name several times......), Alex was the lifeguard and Cherisse was the "bouncy house captain". I heard her say several times; "If you do that again...........you're out of the bouncy house kid". I love that girl....she's awesome! A very special "thanks" to each of our kids for helping make the night a grand success!
I also want to thank Chris Bailey (aka my partner in crime) and her husband Jeff (the master BBQ'er). Other "thanks" goes to Sam Hornbeck & Phil Scheuers....you two are the best!
After the party, Quinn Chick came over and sat around the camp fire (& did a little bouncy house jumping) with Cherisse, Alex, Ryan & Gen. We are so proud of Quinn....he's leaving on his mission to Texas in a few weeks. GO QUINN!
Alex took his learner's permit test again today....missed it by one. He's working hard at learning to drive, just this little "hump" we need to get over. He has been working at Camp Cowles out of Spokane. So proud of his dedication to cub scouts. He has really, really worked hard this summer...and has donated every dime that he's earned back to Scouts for under-privileged children to have the opportunity to attend camp. That takes a lot of integrity. He's up by 6 every morning and goes strong until 10 pm or so. He has grown about 3 feet this summer.....yikes! School clothes shopping here we come....because this boy has nothing that fits anymore!
Ryan has been studying on-line for his boater’s license. He is taking it very seriously....it's been fun watching him study the packets & take the test exams. He cannot wait to be Captain Ryan Smith, rather than back-seat-driver Ryan Smith. Should be a lot of fun to watch him "drive" the first time.
I'm up early tomorrow to drive Alex back to Spokane....he has to report by 9 a.m. This lady is going to find her way to bed in a few minutes!
Blessings to each of you. Hopefully you are all having a safe, happy summer.
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