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A ride through the mountains

Today I joined a few friends (members of the FZ1OA) on an all-day ride around Southern California mountains. We met at the Cajon Pass and rode to Big bear, down the mountain and up to Idyllwild, then headed home.

 

I didn’t take many pictures (sorry! I was busy riding), but I thought I’d post these:

 

A few of the guys met at my house in the morning.

 

It was a humid, somewhat foggy morning.

It was a humid, somewhat foggy morning.

 

Of course i had to take a couple pictures of my FZ1

 

2004 Yamaha FZ1
2004 Yamaha FZ1

 

2004 Yamaha FZ1

 

Jim, Murray, and Chad met me at my house  🙂

 

 

The Fellas

The Fellas

 

We left around 8:30 am and i didn’t get home until after 6:00 pm

What a wonderful day!!!

Happy 50th Anniversary

 

Mom and Dad Aanestad celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this summer.

We had a nice evening with friends and family honoring them.

(click the pictures to make them bigger. Use the back arrow to return)

 

 

This was thier wedding day, more than 50 years ago

This was thier wedding day, more than 50 years ago

 

 

 

50 years later...haven't changed a bit!

50 years later...haven't changed a bit!

 

 

 

 

It was meaningful to have Sam, Sue, and Steve there.

It was meaningful to have Sam, Sue, and Steve there.

 

 

 


Lots of familty and friends were there; these were among the prettiest!

 

 

Dad said a few words

Dad said a few words

 

...then I spoke
…Brian followed, then I spoke

 

 

Then Cam said a few words (with Whitney joining him)

Then Cam said a few words (with Whitney joining him)

 

 

followed by Graham, and Billy, and Brad's girls, and David and, well...you get the idea.

 

 

Faith was the Belle of the ball. She shares Great-Grandma's birthday!

 

 

Uncle Sam wanted to squeeze her until her head popped

 

 

 

And Faith told here Mama about all the people she met.

And Faith told her Mama, Michelle, about all the people she met.

 

 

Mom, Dad, and Keasa sang a song for Kaesa's girls

Mom, Dad, and Keasa sang a song for Kaesa and Darren's girls.

 

 

 

Everyone loved the story Brad & Erin's girls told

Everyone loved the story Brad & Erin's girls told

 

 

and the night was filled with love, laughter, family, and good friends.

 

 

 

If you know my parents, you already know this. Dad and Mom are a model of family love.

Their marriage has demonstrated faith, virtue, and commitment. They have practiced faith in God, and faith in each other, knowing that faithfulness to God and to each other facilitated a healthy marriage. They have been models of virtue and integrity for their family, and have instilled strong values that I proudly recognize in my siblings. And they have shown us how to remain committed to each other through a lifetime of, well…life, and they are an example of the rich, deep love that results from that type of commitment.

I pray that God will continue to bless them richly!

 

Following are some random pictures of family.

 

Graham, Michelle,& Faith

I just wanna hug 'em all!

 

 

They smell almost as good as they look!

They smell almost as good as they look!

 

 

Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad

We love you very much!

Billy Graduates UCR

 

I really need to spend more time updating my Blog.

 

Several months ago, Billy (our youngest son) graduated From the University of California, Riverside, with a degree in Political Science. Of course, we are very proud of him. Bill is a serious and grounded young man, with a keen intellect and strong values. I look forward to the times I get to spend with him, and lately, our discussions mostly seem to involve politics  🙂

I admire him for all the hard work he put into this accomplishment. That, and I just really like him as a person.

 

This is Bill, receiving his diploma

This is Bill, receiving his diploma

 

 

...enjoying the sense of accomplishment

 

 

the proud parents

 

 

Bill feels fortunate to have such loving grandparents

Bill feels fortunate to have such loving grandparents

 

 

Alise (Bill's sweetie) came down to celebrate the event!

Alise (Bill's sweetie) flew down from WA to celebrate the event!

 

 

We gave him a guitar

We gave him a guitar. He gave us the finger.

 

Cousin Matt dug it!

Cousin Matt dug it!

 

 

Billy graduated on Father’s Day 2008.
What a wonderful Father’s Day present (no more tuition payments!!!)

 

 

 

 

 


Whitney

This is Whitney; Cameron’s sweetie.

Whitney at Lake Gregory

 

 

Cam started a web site devoted to his relationship with her:
http://www.ilovewhit.com/

Whitney is intelligent, she is sweet, she is thoughtful, and she is good. She has a wonderful sense of humor, and she loves my son!

She’s the kind of daughter-in-law fathers want in the family.
Check-out Cam’s site, and tell ’em Pop sent ya  😉

 

 

 

Faith Thinks Her Grandpa Is Funny

this smile stole my heart

 Faith in Yosemite

25th Wedding Anniversary

Alana and I just returned home from a nice vacation, during which we celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary in Yosemite. This post will mostly be about the vacation, but I mention the anniversary for two reasons:
 1) In case you might want to pick up a small gift (or send money) to commemorate the event.
 2) To present evidence that another human being actually CAN live with me for 25 years.

Let’s get started. (That was for Cameron, who just received a perfect grade in his Public Speaking class.)
Click on the thumbnails to see bigger pictures  😉

We left on the FZ1 after church Sunday. It was HOT and dry, and we were in full gear. But we were excited to get away, and the heat wasn’t bad once we got moving.

1s-departure-100.jpg

We rode almost six hours Sunday afternoon (including a fuel stop, and a stop at Arby’s). We stayed in Three Rivers that night, at the Lazy-J Ranch. I LOVE that place. This was my second stay there, and if you ever need to stay near Sequoia National Park, i recommend staying at the Lazy J!

All of these pictures were taken just steps from our room!
Lazy J Ranch Motel Lazy-J stream  Lazy-J stream (two)  Lazy J stream (three)  Lazy J livestock

We got a good night’s sleep and sallied forth Monday morning into Sequoia National Park
There was still some snow on the ground in the shadows in the higher elevations.

Sequoia Park Entrance  1s-sequoia-102.jpg  Sequoia River  Sequoia Snow  Alana recording

We spent most of Monday, and Monday night at the Montecito Sequoia Lodge. We didn’t have a camera with us most of the time…sorry. We rowed a canoe on the pond, hiked, ate, napped under some really tall pine trees, and tried to decompress. The Sequoias sure are a pretty part of the world!

Montecito pond 1  Bill and Alana  
Montecito pond 2  1s-lodge-101.jpg 

 After a nice breakfast in the lodge Tuesday morning, we loaded up the bike and pointed her toward Yosemite.
Road repair caused the closure of a few roads in Yosemite, requiring detours that made my simple maps worthless. Somewhere along the way i made a wrong turn, and we stopped to regroup in Mariposa, which is about 40 miles south of where we wanted to be. But the roads from Maripose to Yosemite Lakes were awesome!!!

Yosemite lakes is a camp ground. We stayed in a “yurt”. A yurt is like a tent-style hotel room. It has fabric walls, but it also has plumbing, heating, air conditioning, electricity, TV, kitchen, and an alarm clock! Even the skylight had a nice view!!

Yurt 1  yurt 2 
yurt skylight  1s-yurt-105.jpg

 Graham and Michelle came up for a couple of days. We walked around Yosemite, enjoyed the falls, and BBQ’d some steaks for dinner. It was very meaningful to us that they drove all the way up to spend a little time with us. Faith thought her Grandpa was pretty funny.

1s-alana-114.jpg   1s-alana-116.jpg  Graham and Faith 
Graham and Michelle and Alana  Michelle   Faith in Yosemite

What a beautiful time of year to be in this little slice of heaven!
Alana especially enjoyed the Dogwood trees

 Yosemite hike  Yosemite Falls 1  Yosemite hike 2 
 Yosemite River 1  1s-yosemite-119.jpg  mist
rock tree  1s-dogwoods-103.jpg  dogwood flower 
1s-yosemite-128.jpg  Lower Yosemite Falls  Yosemite Falls 2

Graham took Michelle out to see the countryside on the bike, then we had another nice, albeit too large, meal. Then Graham and Michelle wished us a Happy Anniversary (did I mention that is was our 25th?), and headed home. About an hour after they left it started to rain–not hard, but steadily. So, we stayed inside the yurt for most of the next few days. We ate. We napped. We laughed. We did crossword puzzles, played solitaire, and watched a little TV. We ate a lot, actually. Between the light rain showers, we’d hike along the river, do some laundry, or explore the area a little.
We didn’t get back on the bike until Sunday, when we went to church  🙂

1s-gm-105.jpg  wet deck 
wet skulight  1s-church-100.jpg

We enjoyed relaxing in the yurt. I got fat, got rested, and once or twice got “the look” from Alana

Faith with Grandpa  Alana napping  the look

I can’t think of a better way to spend my 25th wedding anniversary (did I mention that is was our 25th?) than alone with my bride in that peaceful setting. I fell in love with her all over again!

Here are a few more random pictures. Thanks for letting me share!

1s-alana-111.jpg  1s-ba-101.jpg  1s-alana-115.jpg 
1s-sequoia-113.jpg  1s-yosemite-110.jpg  1s-gm-103.jpg
1s-lazy-j-104.jpg  1s-yosemite-137.jpg  1s-yosemite-121.jpg

Faith; Easter 2008

This is Faith…10 days old.

Easter Sunday; March 23, 2008

Faith Marie

Thanksgiving 2007

This is our family on Thanksgiving Day, 2007.

(click the pic to make it bigger)
2007-christmas.jpg

California Thanksgivings aren’t really crazy, they’re just funny that way

The Yamaha FZ1

1s-lside6.jpgI like motorcycles.

This is my daily commuter/sport tourer. I love this bike.

  • It’s a 2004 Yamaha FZ1
  • It’s black and grey
  • It has two wheels
  • Mercy!

1s-right2.jpg
(click the pic to make it bigger)

Sample Post Drei

This is a long post with no pictures. It will be tagged in the family category, however.

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