Memorial Day

Once again, thank you all if you've served in our country's military service - or that of any country in the free world.  I believe we don't give enough thought and caring for those who have, do or will risk their lives so that we can be free - to write blogs, travel freely, enjoy all the benefits of our modern society.  As I travel more and more I'm more and more thankful for what we have been given in the US and Canada. We are blessed.

I've been house and dog-sitting for my son, Jeff, and his family for the last three days - living in my RV right outside and enjoying the quiet serenity of the countryside outside the little town of Cottonwood, CA ... about 25 miles south of Redding.  Jeff, Alice and their twin daughters, Malia and Samantha, traveled to Medford, Oregon for a soccer tournament.  My 13-year old twin granddaughters are very competitive and competent soccer players; their parents sacrifice a lot to make it possible for the girls to play on a traveling team - for most of each year.  And, they're GOOD, if I do say so myself!

The tournament this holiday weekend was not their finest hour; unfortunately they didn't make the finals - an unusual occurrence for them.  The positives still outweigh the negatives for the weekend.  They set up, I believe, 10 tents in a KOA campground - and did a lot of having fun with their soccer-buddies and their families during their stay.

Malia and Samantha, in 7th grade, are the youngest of my 8 grandchildren; they're great girls - and becoming very lovely young ladies.  I fished out a couple of photos taken last Summer when they and their mom, Alice, visited me in Guatemala.  I swear, in the last 8 or 9 months they've matured 5 years.  Oh, but it goes by so quickly .....

 This is Malia - named after me!  Malia is 'Mary' in Hawaiian.  She is kind, helpful, thoughtful, smart, agile, Pogo Champ of the family, swims like a fish and a joy to be around.  Two relatively recent changes for Malia:  She's wearing braces on those beautiful teeth and she loves all things cosmetic.

And this is Samantha.  She's intelligent, sweet, loves to learn all kinds of things, competitive, fast, has a memory of steel, petite, loving, Rubik's Cube champ of the family.  This girl is going places.  I expect Sam will conquer whatever world she decides to enter.