Leaves and leaving

Maryland in the fall is pure delight for the eyes. This fall it seemed especially spectacular. Maybe it is because of the right combination of rain and sun or maybe just because I just appreciated it more than usual. We have five WONDFUL children. Each of them is married and with children of their own now. I'm saying that so it doesn't sound like I'm showing favoritism. After having Alison next door or even closer for 6 years she moved to Utah in late October. It was hard to see them leave but good to have their family back together (Andy's job has been there for several months). When the leaves turn it reminds me of her because she was born at the peak of beautiful leaf season. Her children love to play in the leaves and it has been fun for me to watch them doing so over the years. This year Karen's daughter, Maya, did a school project on leaves so I collected some and sent them to her. It helped me look more closely at the leaves. Thank you Maya!

The good news is that Steve, Wendy and Crystal will be next door now. And wouldn't you know it, she already loves playing in the leaves.

Tom Graduates

Almost all of the Maryland Kelley Clan gathered to watch Tom graduate from the police academy. He's now on the job serving and protecting. His training was tough but thorough. I guess all of the air gun practice on his brothers has paid off.

Unfortunately young Calvin and Jonathan were sick and couldn't make it.

Way out West

Until this summer I have visited 46 out of the lower 48 states. So this summer I wanted to see the two that were missing from my list, Oregon and Washington. I know it is strange that they are the last to be visited by me when I grew up in California. Here are a few highlights of a fantastic trip:

We flew to Salt Lake City. Cal's mom drove up from her home in St. George, Utah and met us there. We visited with her brother Harry and took a picture of him with "The Trailboss," a statue that he's had for many years.

From SLC we headed north through Idaho and Montana. Butte, Montana was an unexpected treat. It is a true mining town with mines all over the place. Some are abandoned and some are not. One place mom wanted to visit was Glacier National Park in northern Montana. The pictures don't do it justice. We also enjoyed our two night stay in Missoula and the fresh cherries from roadside stands.

A visit to Pike's Market is high on the list of tourist attractions in Seattle. We enoyed the hospitality of my cousin Greg's family in Shoreline, just north of the city. Cal took many pictures of the skyline and I joined in for a couple of pictures.

Next stop was British Columbia. Our son-in-law, Rick, grew up there so we were able to get to know his parents while we were in this beautiful part of the world. They were experiencing many wildfires in the area so it was a little hazy during our visit. Tony and Annie Strong are from England so we had to have some fish n chips with mushy peas while talking about England the 1960's (Cal was on his mission there from 1966-68).

Another part of the west I've not seen before is northern California. I was impressed with the beauty of Mt. Shasta.

We like to visit my dad and Lois when we get out west. Lois had an operation on her foot and is still recovering. We ended the trip with a couple of days at Lake Elsinore with my sister and brother. Mom dropped us off at the airport in Las Vegas then we all headed back home and I started school two days later.

Spring forward

It's hard to know where to begin but the snow actually melted and spring has been warm. During spring break the best mother-in-law in the world came to visit us and we decided to head south. We spent a day in Charolotte, North Carolina and found another charming southern city. Then it was on to Atlanta and then to Jacksonville, Florida. We learned some fascinating history in St. Augustine. The fort pictured here has been owned by Spain longer than the U.S.

The most important event of the spring was the arrival of Stephen and Wendy's daughter, Crystal Dawn Kelley. Being a grandmother again is such an incredible joy. Here she is at eight weeks.

The Day it Snowed Up

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 5th--It started to snow in the late afternoon and it snowed overnight. We were expecting a lot of snow and it delivered. This clip showed what it looked like as the storm began.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 6th--This is a picture of the snow on the rail in the backyard. It began to fall then froze in place creating a snow sculpture.

As the storm ended the sunset was visible for a few moments.

It was great to see the snow plow.

Wendy with Matthew in the Watson's driveway.

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 7th--The sun was out. It was crisp and beautiful. Cal, Stephen, Wendy, Alison, Drew, Sydney and I went for a walk down the park near our house. We came across this car which had been stuck since Friday night when it slid off of the road (going down toward the disc golf area of the park) when trying to avoid hitting a tree that fell across the road.

Sydney and Alison sledding.

Almost pulled out!

One neighbor's very tall bushes flattened out over their driveway. The driveway is in the middle of this picture.

The whole neighborhood came out to shovel.

These are the icicles on our house just outside the back door. I couldn't actually get outside to take the picture. There was too much snow so I got it open a crack and put the camera out the door to take the picture.

FEBRUARY 10th. That brings us to today--another blizzard warning. It snowed down, right, left and yes--UP! Another 10 inches or so. It is nice to be in a warm house.

We've now set the record for the snowiest winter in recorded history for this area.

This and That

Thomas is showing off his new jacket two days before he started the Police Academy. The facial hair is gone and he has survived the first couple of weeks of hard labor. Last Saturday he "volunteered" to swim in the Polar Bear Plunge at Sandy Point State Park (the Chesapeake Bay right next to the Bay Bridge). The high that day was about 20 degrees, it was snowing and their was a brisk wind. He began to feel his toes again after a couple of days. He's been working VERY HARD and we are proud of him.

This our backyard at about 10:00 a.m on February 6th. It snowed about 8 inches more after this picture.

Stephen and Wendy lost their power so we went over to pick them up. This is in Old Greenbelt near their apartment. For those of you familar with the area this Crescent Rd. just above the Roosevelt Center (the Bejing Restaurant). The only cars out were snow plows and large pieces of equipment to remove downed trees. They were all keeping very busy. The lumps you can see on both sides are parked cars, completely covered.