Where Did the Year Go

I can hardly believe that it has been a year since my last post here. That can hardly be true. Since May things have been a little crazy, but a whole year? Well enough has happened that I could hardly catch up any way. Maybe the future will be more promising. I don't think I have even taken any pictures during that time either. The last picture I have seen of activities is Laryn's graduation picture on facebook. I haven't changed much though.

Halloween

We just got back from the family Halloween get together at Peterson's. Lot's of fun when the family is together. Hope to have some pics soon. October is over and the holidays are almost upon us. Laryn's volleyball team will be going to district tournament this week and hopefully on to state. I start basketball practice this week, so now my schedule becomes a little tighter. I just think back to when I was doing this stuff and taking my master's classes and serving as High Priest group leader, and .... I did get my Christmas list out to my family.

My hair color is still hanging in there, but it is a touchy subject around here as Tyra colored her hair last night and she was not a happy camper. I think that she has washed it 5 or 6 times since.

Is that "Just For Men"

I have gotten a lot of interesting reactions for just a few minutes of hair coloring. I decided that a "rapper" in a lipsync probably couldn't have gray hair and that black would be a better color. Now I know what the ladies mean when they get a bad hair job. It didn't come out black at all, and is almost they way it looked many years ago. Laryn said she had never seen me without gray hair. Most the kids at school wondered what happened to my "red spot". The comment that interested me the most is "Mr. Wells, did you die your hair?".

My Favorite Season

Fall is here and it is my favorite season. The days are warm and calm, the nights are cool, football starts, the harvest happens. The only down side is the bugs on the cars and school starting. However, with school comes volleyball (my favorite warm-up in all of sports), football (another trip to the "Dome"), and homecoming (lip sync time). Yup, that's right, all the dressing up, assemblies, powder puff, etc. This fall also included the purchase of a "new" vehicle which is a rare event here at Fairway road. Vard was particularly helpful providing "honest" input for Tyra instead of my biased opinions about vehicles. We did have to say goodbye to Genevive as we traded in the Odyssey in Portland. On the way home the Oregon state patrol wanted to get a closer look at the new 4-runner, so they pulled me over and allowed to spend a little more money in the great state of Oregon. Love that place. Two of the three or four moving violations I have had in my 43 years of driving have come from there.

Family Time

August brought all the Wells' to Fairway road at one time or another. We were never all together here, but we were all here at some time and it was wonderful. We had a total of 5 weeks with the Specht's and Hale's grandkids. Lots of fun. Makaley wroter me a letter recently and reminded me of all the fun things that we did. We played in the river, the tree house, on the trampoline, learning archery, weeding the corn (that one didn't go so swell), roasted hotdogs, watched the stars and ..., well you get the picture. The north lawn is ready for a real family reunion, so we should start planning for next summer as the Specht's will be out here again. Besides, I want to get my order in early for a port-o-potty.

"The bluest skies you've ever seen are in Seattle"...

Sometime in the middle of July we made a trip to Seattle for one of Tyra's appointments. Brielle was here for cherry harvest and we got to have her company for a couple of fun-filled days. We had gorgeous weather and the skies were really blue. We rode on of the ferries across the bay and on the return trip Brielle showed her true colors as she left me standing as the bombing target on a seagull. She assured me she had warned me of my upcoming surprise attack. I guess I am getting a little slower. She was a good sport though, as she had to share a bed with Laryn at the motel. We had an unbelievble view from the motel window of the Space Needle, downtown, and Mt. Ranier. "Genivive" never let us down as we navigated through the big city. She never faltered, though sometimes it was hard to have confidence in her.

"I Love A Parade"

The parade circuit for the Connell/N. Franklin Jr. Miss kept us busy through the summer months and into the fall. We started in Spokane at the Lilac Festival on a beautiful Sat. in May. Our last parade was on a wonderful Sat. in Sept. in Leavenworth and there were 6 others in between. It was a taxing though worthwhile time. I really enjoyed getting to know the girls and their families better and will miss that. We are hoping to have a night at our house soon to enjoy everyone's pictures and do some reminiscing. I am going to write a short "Parents Manual" for future participants parents. One of the first entrys will be to encourage them to offer there daughter's a lot of money instead of participating. After that, I will try to inform them of what they have gotten themselves into.