Dining with Thomas (7.20.26)

We love to celebrate birthdays with our grandchildren.  On July 20, 2026, Dave and I took Thomas to The Red Balloon to buy toys for his seventh birthday, and then out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse.

Thomas was captivated by the electronic menu, which also included video games.  We were captivated by the endless supply of rolls and honey butter, as well as the great barbecue and "sides."

Love Letter to Mirror Lake (7.18.26)

Dave and I have loved Mirror Lake and the Uintah Mountains for more than fifty years.  We now own a cabin in Oakley, near Mirror Lake, and we visit the lake often, in all seasons.  

On July 18, 2026, we spent an afternoon hiking around the lake and celebrating a sunny summer day in the mountains with a whole host of other people who love Mirror Lake.

Each time we hike around the Mirror Lake, we find new angles to capture its beauty--both the big vistas and the little things, like flowers and logs and a burbling stream feeding into the lake.

As we drove home through Oakley, we passed quaint homes festooned with American flags for the July patriotic holidays.  We committed to finding ways to show our own love of country.

Our Ancestors, the Smiths (England 7.12.26)

After Jonny and Jenny got married, they learned they were fifth cousins.  After they named their first son Sam, they learned that the marriage that connected them together was that of Sam and Mary Smith in 1809 in Eltham, England.  Jonny's family descended from Sam's daughter, Caroline, and Jenny's family descended from Sam's son, James. In July 2026, Jonny took his sons, Sam and Henry, to England.  They visited the 900-year-old church where their parents' ancestors, Sam and Mary Smith, were married.  

Jonny and his boys also visited the Royal Albert Dock, in Liverpool, from which many of our ancestors sailed for America.

They also saw the statue of LDS immigrants on the dock.  Between 1851 and 1900 85,000 LDS converts sailed from Liverpool to the United States.

The big event which Jonny and his boys attended in England was the Open Championship, a major gold tournament.  Jonny's whole family are becoming good golfers.

Henry and Sam visited such iconic London sights as Big Ben and the skyscrapers of the City--London's financial district.

Another highlight was visiting Stonehenge with a special ticket that allowed them to wander within the ruins, virtually alone.

Rouladen for All Those Germans (7.12.26)

Steve was a very proud and doting grandpa on July 12, 2026, as he held Emilie's baby, Luke Willardson, at our Sunday dinner.

Emilie and Camille were an equally proud and doting mother and grandma.

Other special guests included Michael Flindt with his look-alike son, Soren.

Michael's daughter, Lily, has a collection of princess dresses that she wears on special occasions, such as Sunday dinner.  Michael says Lily's collection is augmented at the after-Halloween sales!

And it is always a happy day when my brother Scott and his daughter, Liz, are in town, and when Kirsten Flindt has time to stop by, as well!

We had German food for dinner, which was a favorite with most of the guests, for many reasons.  Steve's Ebert grandparents  emigrated from Germany in the early 1900s, and he went on an LDS mission to German-speaking Austria.  Emilie especially treasures her German heritage, from both the Eberts and my Eyring ancestors.  Scott spent his LDS mission in German-speaking Switzerland, and Liz was a missionary in western Germany, as well as having that Eyring blood.  Even Michael and Kirsten have German heritage through their Flindt grandparents, as well as through the Eyrings.  We had lots of German favorites--rouladen, spaezle, rotkohl, sauerkraut, cucumber salad, homemade pretzels, and rutegruten (berry pudding with creme anglaise).  


 

Home, Sweet Home (7.5.26)

After a month away, our home looked wonderful to us!  There were lots of weeds, but everything else was just great.
 

Seattle with Lisa, Jonny, and Families (7.5.26)

When our ship docked in Seattle on the morning of July 5, 2026, Kyle picked us up at the pier and we took one of our favorite walks with Kye and Lisa--along an abandoned railroad track in Carnation, Washington, near Lisa's home.  The trail led through a forest, past a frisbee obstacle course, and over a bridge beneath which dogs and people relaxed near (and in) a stream.

Lisa and Dave have a quick phone call every morning, just as Dave used to have with his father.  They have become even closer friends.

We then drove to Kirkland, on Lake Washington, for a walk along the lake and dinner at Anthony's Home Front restaurant.

On the pier was a statue of a serviceman greeting his wife and little son.  It reminded me of the famous statue of the navy seaman and nurse in a big embrace, celebrating the end of World War II.  The reunion of any long-separated sweethearts or family members is cause for celebration and statues!  Luckily, the longest Dave and I have been separated in our 56 years of marriage was the summer of 1977, when I was a law clerk in Salt Lake City and Dave finished his last three months of a four-year Air Force commitment in Tucson, Arizona.  I missed him!

Everything about our Anthony's dinner was memorable--the view of Lake Washington out the window, the chance for a relaxed chat with Lisa and Kyle, and excellent food.

We all ordered the Northwest Seasonal Salad, with raspberries, blueberries, blue cheese, and toasted hazelnuts on a bed of field greens and spinach.  I loved the seafood fettucine with scallops, shrimp, and crab.  The cheesecake with berry sauce was also a show-stopper!

By chance, we learned that Jonny and his boys were also visiting Seattle on July 5.  They had tickets to a World Cup game between the U.S. and Belgium. 

We met Jonny and his boys at the Lake Washington beach, outside Anthony's, for pastries and catching up, after Dave's and my monthlong Alaskan cruise.  

Alaskan Cruise: Fireworks for the Fourth (At Sea, 7.4.2026)

Our ship did not set off fireworks from the deck on July 4, 2026, but the ship's energetic entertainment team did sponsor an evening of music and pageantry that was as bright and flamboyant as fireworks!

Dave is a veteran of the Viet Nam War.  He was honored, with other veterans, by being called to the front of the auditorium as the guests celebrated the veterans' service.

By now, many of those Viet Nam vets are pretty grizzled!  There were lots more military personnel during the days of the draft than there are now, with an all-volunteer military.

There was bunting and banners in the main dining room, and a flag cake at the buffet.

 

On this, our last day at sea, we remembered all the fun times we had on the ship, in addition to our shore excursions at Alaskan ports.  We wore bibs for the seafood fest, at which we received a large bucket of crab, scallops, salmon, and shrimp, as well as clam chowder and a berry crumble for dessert.

We tried out all the specialty restaurants and attended all the special food events, including this great offering of shrimp in three different forms.

We attended afternoon tea and listened to a classical trio play as we nibbled on scones and cookies.

Every night different entertainers performed--dancers, comedians, musicians.

We especially enjoyed the many speakers on "sea days."  This speaker was a young officer from the bridge who described the maps and technical devices the ship uses to plot its course and stay there, even in bad weather.

Another speaker gave us the history and culture of each port, as well as instructions on how to get around and find the prime attractions.

Lifeboats were attached to the sides of the ship.  Several of them were used as "tenders" each time we anchored in a bay rather than onto the town pier.  They ferried us back and forth to the ship.

And of course there was the jogging track, where Dave and I walked round and round the ship nearly every day.

On the last night onboard, the staff thanked us for coming along, and we thanked them for their service.  As return cruisers, Dave and I received bottles of wine in our cabin.  Those made great farewell gifts for our cabin stewards!

We had a great time!