Reagan and the Cello

 She is picking the cello up quickly and how I love listening to her!  

Guardian Angels

 SO....

I was at a meeting - or rather LEADING a meeting - when a call came through on my phone.  "Unknown sat number" caller ID told me.  Satellite?  I only knew one person with a satellite phone, and that was my husband.  And he only used it when he was flying, and only when there was an emergency.  I interrupted myself in the middle of the meeting to answer this call.  "I apologize - I think this is my husband, and he would not call on this phone unless something isn't right."

I answered the phone with "Are you okay?"

"Weeeeellllllllll....." he answered.  That's not a good response.

Apparently, he was flying out to Sandy Bay to enjoy the sunset and grill a steak when he lost power in his little plane.  He had to put it down on a deserted road, just over the car of a very rattled driver (who DID NOT STOP to see if he was ok!!).  No injuries, thank the good Lord.  And this was the one stretch of road without power lines to get a plane tangled up in.  Guardian angels were watching over him for SURE.  

Knowing he was still alive and safely on the ground, I finished my meeting before going to retrieve him.  Reagan was mortified by my nonchalance.  "Dad crashed his plane and you're not going out there immediately to rescue him??"

"Reagan," says I.  "He called.  He's obviously ok.  And if I know my husband, which I do... he is sitting on the side of the road drinking beer and enjoying the sunset right about now.  He's probably grilling a steak to boot."

By the time we got there an hour later, I was not wrong.  He was nearly giddy.  The combination of a near miss and excessive beer to calm his nerves made him uncharacteristically talkative and practically joyful.  It would not last, this I knew... but the sheer adrenaline of NOT turning into a fireball upon impact made for an odd response.  

We are thankful Rob is okay.  The plane will stay on the side of the road for the foreseeable future until Rob figures out a way to haul it home, but for now... we are thankful.

Someone is watching out for him for sure.

He grilled that steak in celebration as soon as he got home.

This is how we found him.  Beer in hand, smiling on the side of the road.  

More Track

This girl works so hard.  She's running circles in the 800m, throwing herself over bars.  Just super impressed with Reagan's dedication to getting better, faster, higher!  

And super proud of this young lady, too!  Go Amy go!

 

Washington State Track and Field Finals

 Since we were in Seattle anyways, we got to go to niece Teryn's track and field State Finals.  It was good getting to be a part of it, especially as it's her senior year and the last of her track career.

An Unexpected Trip to Seattle

 

Tragedy struck on Mother's Day with the unexpected death of my cousin Kara.  This is heart breaking and devastating for our beloved Aunt Kathy and Uncle Jack.  I was already in Minnesota for my annual Mayo check up,  and was able to find a cheap fare from MSP to Seattle to be there for the funeral.    A horrible reason to gather, but so good to be with family.  Please pray for Aunt Kathy, Uncle Jack, Kara's brothers and her children.  She left us way too soon.  How our hearts ache for all of them.  

Rick & Elle were able to pick me up in the middle of the night, through a literal traffic jam at 1 am (who in their right mind would want to live in such a place!!) and let me stay with them at their friend's INCREDIBLE condo right on Lake Union.  I mean... look at that view.  This condo was next level.  It's even been written up in the Seattle Times and Architectural Digest.  Swanky.  Far swankier than any place I'd ever stayed before.  I couldn't stop taking pictures of the views from the floor to ceiling windows.

A Salvador Dali signed print was in the hallway on the way to the bathroom.  Seriously.  What the WHAT?

All the houseboats on Lake Union.  Crazy.  

I really appreciate that my siblings have rich friends.  It comes in handy at the most unexpected times.

And then off to Mount Vernon for the funeral, which was beautiful and tragic and sad and good for the grieving soul.  

A smattering of the cousins. 

Sisters.  Vicki said that now that her parents are both gone, she has adopted our mom as her own.  That makes her the big sis we always knew she was.  

Gathering at Aunt Kathy's and Uncle Jack's after the funeral.  No parents should ever have to bury their kid.  

How I love my family.