The Late Jerry Crew

He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; He guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints. Proverbs 2:7-8If he were still alive today this would be his 90th birthday. My husband learned so much from his father. He was a special man who loved the Lord, and served Him whole heartedly. He raised six children, logged in Northern CA, was a mechanic for United Airlines, and taught Child Evangelism. After retirement he and my mother-in-law motorhomed full time, but never one to rest - he invented the Crew Cut Baler (Christmas tree baler), built an Arizona Room in Surprise, AZ and was a wonderful grandfather to each grandchild who knew him. My first memory of my father-in-law is early morning Children's Church. I loved having my future in-laws as my teachers. They always had a wonderful missionary story to tell. So, when I saw a photo of my husband's parents on our first date - I knew I had scored big!

The above photo is of Jerry holding a Big Foot Cast he made of plaster. This is one of many footprints he discovered around his logging equipment. The photo was taken in 1958 and included in a newspaper article, titled "Big Foot". Jerry called it Big Foot because he never saw what made the print, just knew it had big feet. This was the first time Big Foot was ever used in print, and Jerry Crew has been credited with naming the creature that. Too bad he didn't patent the name! Oh, and yes this family goes on record as believers - sorry to disappoint any of you who think the whole thing is a crazy made up story!

Another marshmallow roast!

Welcome Home Bret

A certain unnamed sibling is responsible for this blow. No stitches needed, and he didn't miss swim practice.

One Kitty Left!

Now who can resist this? We're not even sure we can.

Wade and Bret's Weekend

Wade and Bret traveled 8 hours north to enjoy a weekend of doing what they like best.
Papa joined them one day.
Bret calling home to give us a weather update. Lot's of rain! That's ok - they had plenty of time to spend with Uncle Rog & Aunt Ellen. They were spoiled by all the good cooking (thank you!). They didn't eat the mac and cheese, or canned clam chowder I packed for them!
Here comes the sun, and a little more fun!

Swimming in the Rain!

The highlight of our Memorial Day weekend was attending an Invitational Swim Meet. It was cold and rainy, not your typical die in the heat, why are we doing this swim meet! Our friends made the day special - we enjoyed cheering for their daughter who received two heat winners, and they helped us cheer for Rachel, watched my kids while I worked and treated Rachel throughout the day! Rachel scored an improved time on her Butterfly stroke, taking off 1.64 seconds!

The rest of the weekend was spent at church or home. Rachel is working on a skit for next week's promotion Sunday at church. She will graduate to the Junior High group - where does the time go!

Cherries!

I have fond memories of picking and eating cherries off of our tree as a kid! We'd pick our cherries when they were black and oh so sweet! Sitting in the tree spitting out the pits all over the lawn was the best! (Yes, Melissa is writing this!)
As an adult, I think I should do something to preserve these beauties - jam, pie, dehydrate, I just can't settle on anything, probably because I just like eating them! Maybe, Mary can give me some ideas, and please come pick some too!

A STIHL Birthday

We ordered Wade a Stihl MS 390 chainsaw for his birthday. This was not a surprise since he had to pick it out. But it was surprising that it actually arrived on his birthday. It's hard to wrap a chainsaw, so the children made a scavenger hunt instead! Wade has no idea what he is hunting for, he's expecting his chainsaw to be ready for pickup tomorrow!
Trying to unscramble Rachel's next clue!

TISNEKT

(He did what every tecky would do: went to http://www.unscramble.net/ -Rachel was proud of stumping her dad!)

Here it is!

Here he is - with his new toy! What does Tim the Tool Man say? ARRRRR!!

Just for looks! This tree was not harmed in the making of our blog!

Kittens need a home

These 2 kittens, 1 a boy and the other a girl,

are the only ones in their litter who have not

found a future home. They are long haired like their mother.

Rachel

Happy Birthday Wade

for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Phil. 2:13

Happy Birthday Dad! Love, Rachel

Happy Birthday Dad, I can't wait until we go hunting! Love, Bret


Happy Birthday! I love you. Love, Garret

Dear Daddy, This is your birthday and I'm giving you a special card. Happy Birthday from Lilly. I love you. The End.

Happy Birthday Wade! I love you very much! - Melissa

Is is already Monday?

Our summer took a dramatic turn on Thursday when we rejoined the Sea Lions team. Originally, I said "no way, not this year." But it's been eating at me. I love to see my kids getting great exercise at a sport that I thoroughly enjoy. My out of practice kids pulled it off on Saturday at the time trials, after only one practice. Bret took several 3rd places and Rachel showed some improved times over last year's time trial. They have lots of room for improvement - so this summer between 9-10 you'll catch us at the city pool. Not a lot of time for competition this summer, but we'll be gearing up for next year. Bret is on the left. We don't take pictures out here because it's so hard to get a good one. Thankfully, the Sea Lions have a great photographer. Maybe next time he'll get a picture of Rachel.

After spending a morning/afternoon in the incredible heat I rushed home and made lemonade! I drank 3 glasses. A little too much sugar for me (massive headache)! Then we welcomed my Aunt and Uncle for a visit. It was nice to see them. They brought many, many gifts for our children, and some for me too! Then Wade and I caught up for a few moments until our next guests arrived, surprise visit, etc. I'm getting tired. But wait, we had to make dinner (BBQ) and clean the house for tomorrow. My kind husband mopped the floor after I spilled hummingbird food all over it (yuck, sticky - I was going to cry!) My hero rescued me! Finally, bedtime.

Sunday - happy faces, going to church. Walking out the door, unhappy and grumpy faces. Good message from Pastor Matt on contentment. Philippians 4:10-20. Much to think and pray about. After church, happy faces again. I'm tired from the emotional morning, and my 4/5 year old Sunday School class (sweet kids, but I'm getting old!). Swim and lunch at Grandma & Papas - (short visit with sis and some of the cousins)! Afternoon- meeting with an old friend, kids veg out on a movie from Uncle and Aunt!! Evening - small groups - thankfully, not our house (although it was clean enough)! Wade led, he did a good job encouraging us to forgive others. Luke 6:27-38. More to think and pray about. We arrived home, exhausted but contented! I did my lunch fairy duty while Wade took care of children's teeth and getting the garbage can on the road (thank you)! Prayer and bed. Is the weekend over - phew!

This week in pictures

Here are some snaps from Rachel and Wade, my resident photographers.
Garret and mom review math facts.
Bret made a homemade bow and several arrows!
Where does the ingenuity come from? The clean country air, or is it the Crew blood flowing through his veins?
The kittens are growing! The one out of bed is Callie. She's always the first to greet us, and our pick of the litter! Here are our three kittys together - Nancy (mama), Callie and Eoyre.
Bret is still making arrows. Frisbee wishes he would play ball instead!

Here's Frisbee's ball! I bought him some new ones, but he uses whatever he can find.
Lilly is looking through a new coloring book I found while going through Grandma Crew's things. Like the flippers?
Today we read, "The Crow and the Pitcher" by Aesop. Here we are reenacting the story.
The crow was unable to get a drink of water from a pitcher because the level was low, and his beak would not reach. After some careful thought, he added pebbles to the water until the level was high enough for him to get a drink. Moral: Many hard things can be accomplished with patience and perseverance.
Science observation: Displacement

A Trip to Yosemite

I will lift up my eyes to the hills- From whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. Psalm 21:1-2M This was my Mother's Day present! A trip to Yosemite with my family and new friends.
The first stop is always - Bridal Veil Falls.
Our new friends! Aparna and Girish.
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable.

One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts.
I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wondrous works. Psalm 145:3-5

A big part of our day was spent watching our three youngest children balance on every wall, retainer, curb, etc.
Half Dome
I had a lovely time with Aparna. (Yosemite meadow)
Yosemite Indian Village (Native American that is)
A closer view of Half Dome.
Seat 2B asked me to take this picture of him. He is teaching our children the benefits of public transportation. Parking was impossible, and this relieved greatly our stress!

It was a lovely Mother's Day. Thank you to my family and friends! I received some lovely homemade gifts and flowers when we returned home. Lilly is continuing to shower me with crafts this morning!