Ahhhh Summer

Yes, summer has finally arrived. Those 40-year-old memories of Corvallis as a wet wet wet place to live have all come true this year. Even our spring has been unusually wet so now that summer is here we are getting into the swing of the season.
Andy finished his first year as a vice principal at Willamette high School in Eugene and seems to be enjoying the new job after some start-of –the- year adjustments. Madri has spent the year as a full time Mom and has done well. Tyler has finished his first half-year as a Spanish teacher at Colton (near Portland). He took over mid-year and has been hired back with a two-year contract. It’s a four day a week school and he is putting in VERY long days but he has almost 100% good kids and hey, it’s a job! Meghan has subbed full time and hopes to find her own classroom but jobs are scarce. To improve her opportunities she has been learning Spanish this year (she already speaks some Japanese and Kiwi), as that is the first question asked these days in interviews. “Can you speak Spanish?” To further their language skills, Ty and Meghan are currently living with a family in Guatemala for a month. They’ll return later this summer.
Now that the weather has turned, Sheryl and I have kept very busy indeed as Corvallis is glorious in the spring and summer. We attended free fishing day with the granddaughters. They caught our dinner! We took the girls home for the night and Grandma Sheryl read them all the books we have. We had a great week with friends going to the Bay Area and took in a Glee concert, rode our bikes across the Golden Gate Bridge, had a hilarious, but lousy, Chinese lunch, took in a ball game and just enjoyed being with good friends.

Last week we went camping up at Diamond Lake. While Grant Pine and I went fishing, Sheryl and Sandy attempted the impossible circumnavigation of the lake by bicycle. They are tough girls and just because half the trail was covered with 3 feet of snow, fallen trees, and icy streams they were not deterred. They soon will be featured on that show “I Shouldn’t Be Alive,” but miraculously their battered, bruised and beaten bodies did complete the circuit and made it back to camp.

My old friend/roommate Dick Fosbury of high jump fame came to town and it was fun to see Fos again but he was in such high demand we didn’t get to chat as much as I would have liked, but he’ll be back.
Just yesterday Sheryl and took out the driftboat and floated/fished the Willamette River as it flows right through Corvallis. Fishing was slow but it was just fun to be off to an adventure again. Can’t wait to do that trip with Tyler or Andy.
Life has been good. We’ve joined Tuesday night trivia followed by Tuesday concerts in the park. We went on a heavy calorie Nosh Tour of the eateries in Albany including their astoundingly ornate carousel they are hand carving. Wow! That’s worth seeing. We’ve been to the Southtown Street Fair, all sorts of musical venues and in general have that feeling of ….Ahhhh, Summer.