Anniversary and the Garden

Mom and Dad celebrating an Anniversary ...

... and Mom slips into her wedding dress for a photo!

Yummm, the summer garden is in and looking great!

We'll have plenty of delicious tomatoes soon!

Growing up I wasn't a fan of tomatoes, but now ....

there's nothing better than a slice of tomato with 

just about everything! Especially if it's home grown!

Mission City Travelers

Mission City Travelers is travelin' again!  

Here we're camped out at a lake ... 

the Swilley's brought their dune buggy - 

it sure was a fun thing to drive!!    

You can see it was a cold and windy campout 

as we strung sheets or blankets to block some of the wind!  

It might have been cold, but we were having too much fun to notice! 

"Oh,it was so cold. In the dune buggy is 

Oliver, Linda, David , Lori and even Buffy! 

Of course Lee is driving with neighbor Joe Sturgil riding shot gun. 

I think it could have been Lake Berryessa" says Dorothy Danielson

Christmas 1976

Hello again, Christmas!  Mom's town on the TV, 

must be the 70s with those gold curtains!

Mom had a terrarium, it's hour glass shaped on the side table.

That's quite a mountain of gifts, Mom! 

Lori passes out the gifts, 

you can just see Buffy at my feet.

And the biggest gift ever... an orange stuffed elephant! 

(goodness, where will I put this!!)

When all is said and done, there's Grandma Pape, 

helping with the cleanup .... or starting her own project??

Lori Dances

Never shy, always outgoing, 

here's Lori, ready for a dance/acrobatic show

held in Santa Clara's Central Park.

Another Camping Trip

Here we are, at some scenic place, it's a beautiful waterfall,

but I can't remember where we were! 

Seems this is Columbia, CA - Gold Country! 

That's me, long hair, wearing my favorite pair of pants.

This was back when it was fashionable to have 

extra large bell bottomed pants! 

A beautiful lake, with a wonderful bridge ..... 

An old fashioned town, and perhaps a stagecoach ride.... 

One of my pet peeves has always been unmarked photos.

And now that we're in the technological age, this same

pet peeve is about photos posted without words.

Sometimes the story behind the photo is more important 

than the photo itself! And generations from now,

someone will want to know the where's and why's.

Get Togethers

Bob and Shirley Liden, with Kathleen and Danny.

We spent many, many evenings together.

The parents would play cards, us kids would hang out,

there was always something going on.

During the later 70s, we started having sing-a-longs.

Uncle Bob had some reel-to-reel equipment, 

and he'd play his guitar while Aunt Shirley played bass,

mostly playing old Johnny Cash songs.  We'd all chime in and sing along.

Here, Uncle Bob is playing the guitar I got for my birthday,

That's Lori on the left, then Bob, Kathleen and Linda.

Gotta dig those orange curtains!  (It matched the carpet though!!)

A New Truck

Dad got his brand new pickup .... and a mustache too!

(Oh the adventures we'll have with this!)

Halloween with the neighbor kids.

Not sure who the rabbit is, then Michelle Swilley, David.

Diana Nault? Donna Martin, Lori, and unknown ghost.

David got a brand new bike for his birthday! 

December ... Again!

Here's Dad's truck without the shell, it must be brand new!

Time to head up to the mountains for our annual trek ...

Our goal:  Find the perfect Christmas Tree! 

Every year, we trudged up mountains and down into valleys

searching for just the right tree!

Looks like our after-tree stop was at Santa's Village.

We always tried to stop and see something else besides

Christmas trees.  Sometimes it was Marianne's Ice Cream

in Santa Cruz, home of the double cone! 

That 70s Summer

And the project begins!  

We're starting to build the family room on the back patio.  

(Peeking into the far background, we still have flamingos!)

And even though this is a little blurry ... there's a bench around

the base of the mulberry tree in the backyard.

Linda's Confirmation at St. John's, 8th grade, loved this dress Mom made.

I remember I wore white patent leather platform shoes with this dress.

Other things to note:  there are ashtrays on the end table

the green couch:  ouch!  what a color!  And the print

on those pillows screams 1970s!

And does Mom still have the "harvest colors" afghan?

And in other news, during confirmation, it was very hot that Sunday.

We were kneeling, one of the boys fainted

and I felt myself ready to faint as well!

What a day that was!

Around the House

A later photo of the house.  Look how small the magnolia tree is!

Always flowers in the front courtesy of Mom!

The three of us in the backyard.  Maroon must have been

the IN fashion color this year!  Note:  we still have the flamingos!

David on the "monkey swing" in the backyard

and ... gotta love those pants with the fancy pattern!

Cool hat, Uncle Gary! 

The Rose Garden

Easter perhaps?  We're posed in front of the Snowball Bush. 

Pretty, but such a pain to clean up after when the petals dropped.

This looks like we made a trip to the Rose Garden in San Jose.

You still have a lotta hair, Mom!

So many beautiful roses 

Grandma Myrtle and her husband, Bill.

More Memories

Looks like we're in Warren Park for a night or two ..... 

Great place for a BBQ - more good eats!

Well done, Uncle Gary and Dad! 

David in the red shirt, I'm on the right side (actually in a photo!)

Family.  Nothing says it better!

"Learning your family history 

is the key to unlocking who you are."

More from the Lake

At the lake, among all the motorhomes

Jeff enjoying some good eats, looks like Buffy is trying to be patient!

Jim and Karen

and Julie too!

Kids at the Lake

All these little ones .... all grown up now!

(If you recognize anyone, let us know who's who!)

Boatin' Time

Uncle Jim .... always good eats when family gets together!