Anniversary

  

Mom and Dad celebrating an Anniversary .. 

and Mom slips into her Wedding Dress for a photo!

Yummm, the summer garden is planted 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!

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!

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! 

Home and Family

An "official photo" of the backyard .... 

complete with flamingos!

Looking into the backyard from the back gate.

Everything is green and growing!

Mom with her two youngest.

Is David wearing Toughskins?

David, Dad and Buffy, with the flowering oleander

Hello Again, Summer!

Grandma Myrtle and her husband, Bill Greer

Grandma has a corsage, was it Mother's Day?

Definitely a Sunday, we're all dressed up!

and here's the rest of the family, blue must have been the

"color of the year" ... we all sorta match!

Those are some long pearls, Mom!

Standing in front of the oleander bush in full bloom,

And another mystery photo:  I'm guessing this is

one of Myrtle's sisters?

Let us know, Dorothy!

Lori with one of Mom's roses.

And what says 70s better than this flashy skirt and vest??

Hard Work

Owning a home means doing things to make it your own.

Dad was always working hard to make improvements.

But he didn't do it alone!  Us kids were expected to work, to pitch in.

 And I believe one of the greatest gifts from my parents 

was instilling in me a strong work ethic at an early age.

So thanks, Mom and Dad!

We did all kinds of work around the house:

gardening, painting, cleaning

In fact, Dad used to joke about having TWO dishwashers; 

said he named them Linda and Lori! 

Dad planting our orange tree.  It's gotten so big and 

we enjoy fresh oranges every year!

All these improvements at our family home

made it a great place to grow up!

The Backyard

There have been so many changes to the backyard

since we bought the house.  Look how small the mulberry tree is!

A row of hedges separated the sidewalk from the patio,

and we had a tether ball!  It was all the rage at school,

so Dad filled a tire with cement, put up a pole and hung the ball!

We played for hours!

Entertaining Pat and Larry McAvoy.

Summertime meant putting up a pool 

to keep the little ones cool and entertained.

Such a happy face!  It might have been small, but it was refreshing!

Random Summer Fun

A random shot, we must have taken visitors sight seeing

in San Francisco, one of the famous cable cars.

David and his trike.  All the bushes in the backyard are so small!

Not sure who's getting a wagon ride, but loved the shot

of the backyard and how different it looks. 

Another summertime shot - Lori on the bike.

Mom's flowers in the background.

Lori and I used to ride our bikes to Warburton swim center.

All the streets were easy to navigate, but we had to cross

San Tomas Expressway.  (It wasn't as busy back then.)

On our way home one day, we stopped at the light, pressed the

button to walk across, and as Lori started out, the bike welds

came apart and the bike literally split in half!

I had no idea what to do, I couldn't carry both halves of the bike,

Lori couldn't push or ride my larger bike.

Luckily, a lady in a Volkswagen stopped to help.  She put the

bike in the trunk, gave Lori a ride home while I rode my

own bike.  Thank goodness for better days when you could

trust a stranger for a helping hand!