PETERSEN FAMILY REUNION

"Shall we gather at the river....the beautiful, beautiful river......"

The Cowlitz River, full of glacier melt from the hot weather, runs along the front of David and Shannon's cabin at Packwood.  The kids rented extra cabins on either side and we had a splendid time.

At The Grove of the Patriarchs.  Missing in the picture are Kemp's family, Jacob's family and Ross.

On the front porch of the Gala Cabin with the flag that the kids made.



L to R: Phil & Joleen Harlan, Brooke, Ross, Ben, Joel, JoLin, Quinn, Bob, Judy, Shannon, David Kemp, Sonja, (coming down the stair on R) Benjamin, Kerry, Jay (on the left) Elissa, Libby, Natalie, and Grace Gala.

 

Jacob and Lisa had a prior engagement in Rexburg as they brought our first great grandchild into the world......Iris Rae, born July 3.

Judy and Bob Petersen come to Utah

Visit to Olympia 1974

This photo was taken with a little bitty camera which I did not know would not make pictures you could save and do anything with.  But it did seem like a nice slice of family history, so here it is.

Touring China

The Gages took us to Seattle to the big traveling China exhibit. We had such a memorable time together. 

Judy and the Newspaper

It pays to organize your life - new gems keep appearing. This one is a quote from The Daily Olympian - "Judith Petersen, our Olympian carrier, retired June 30. She was faithful, conscientious and dependable in delivering our paper, every day, for almost 20 years. We thank her for the excellent service and wish her well in her retirement." Mrs. Vern Th.........., Olympia
How nice to be appreciated for the service that you give others - Judy always elevated everything to more than a job. (I went with her on her route one afternoon in summer - it wasn't very many miles before she had to stop, and let me lie out by the side of the road for a spell. I don't know if it was the smell of burning brakes and rubber, or the zig-zag motion of the car, or.....) I decided that my younger sister is tougher than "whang leather", which I should have already known! What year was it that you finally retired, Judy?

Happy 50th Anniversary

Ok, so I am a little late, but there has to be some acknowledgment of Bob and Judy's 50th Anniversary on Penrose Mornings. Steve asked me to look and see if I had any other photos of Bob and Judy that might work, but I think this is worth posting once more. May the years ahead hold good things, peaceful times, flowers to grow, projects to do, and lots of calm moments. It is definitely a time for celebration, or a train ride or -------. Love you both.

Ross Leaves For Afghanistan

On Tues, August 18, Ross reports to Everett, WA and thus begins his one year recall assignment. Afghanistan will be his home where he will be directing a medical team. As the Petersen clan gathered to bid Ross a safe return, he reminded us that he is a very good shot.

A more somber moment with his much loved beagle.

Our families have indeed gone north, south, east and west.........they leave one shore with the sure knowledge that another shore awaits them.

Grace and Shannon

Poppies

Mother had these orange poppies planted in her garden by the raspberries and gladiolus. I had a terrible time growing them, so last year I finally gave up and RIPPED them out. I guess they liked it because this year they have grown and bloomed as never before.

Happy Birthday to Judy, Part II

This garden decoration, a gift of one of Judy's grandchildren, well epitomizes the more colorful side of our sister - she is truly creative in all of her undertakings - and a little zany at times, too.

These pictures were taken a couple of years ago - if only all of us could age as gracefully as Judy has.

I have to explain why I have two postings for Judy's birthday greetings - I had a wrangle with blogspot and retrieveing my pictures - but that got resolved, and I could continue. Judy is five years younger than I am (telling secrets), but she has been a wonderful and loyal friend through all of the years. I can never forget "Come back, Shane", and "I know a dark secluded place..." or her "I hate you, I l-o-a-t-h-e (made to sound like love) you." Sounds stupid, but we used to laugh so much - and still have over the years. When we lived in Washington and Judy was working, she sometimes showed up on my doorstep because she had to make a run to Costco for office supplies, so we would go shopping together. And Judy's influence on me has been profound - like the year we visited her friend, Ruth Wick, and ended up with 450 rhodie and azaela cuttings, which I ended up potting up and raising to maturity. Our yards did not want for beautiful plants. Or we would go fabric shopping and I would be at the counter checking out and Judy would be putting her bolts back on the shelf. It always amazed me when Judy, Ann, and I lived so far apart, and we would get together and compare notes about dress patterns and fabric, and find we had the same thing. Something in the genes, I guess. Anyway, Judy has been a wonderful friend, sympathetic (empathic) listener, amazing example for me through the years. I loved it that when I was at her house and answered the phone, that people couldn't tell our voices apart. And people used to take my parenting class and watch me with a puzzled look on their faces because I reminded them of someone they knew - and it always turned out to be Judy. May your day be heaped with love and good wishes, and may you overcome the slugs in the garden. Much love to you!

A Few Fun Judy Pictures

The big dance! This picture was taken the night Bob asked Judy to marry him. She loaned this dress to me for the Senior Prom. Note the "glass" slippers.

This picture is fun - it shows a little corner of the Penrose house kitchen, and Judy, very carefully studying something. I believe this picture was taken the summer of 1959.

Summer of 1959. Judy and I had made these "cute" outfits - shorts and a nifty top. These were made with Mother's permission. The shorts were true shorts, as opposed to knee length shorts. Judy led the way in this project and I was a willing follower. This is another fun picture of Judy, as well as the Penrose kitchen, modernized (i.e. electric stove and running water).
I always loved this picture of Dad with Judy and me. Judy set such a great example for me - she has always been a neat dresser and worked really hard to help me understand how to follow her lead. Her dress is one she had made, my gorgeous blue suit is one that Velna passed on to me. I felt very grown up in it.

Whew! It was so good to have a "Judy" sighting last night. Even though she sounded tired and seemed to be looking forward to getting some good sleep, it was reassuring to hear her voice. I couldn't find any appropriate flower pictures to send to her, but I had a few minutes this morning and went on a hunt for a couple of Judy pictures that would be fun to share. Welcome home Judy!

Shannon and Joleen

When we were Younger

Petersen kids

Not being allowed to post on the more prestigious Amsbaugh Gardens blog, I'll throw this photo in the mix for Kemp's birthday.

Jay and family come to visit

Since I can't put this on the prestigious Ambsbaugh Gardens blog, I'll add our birthday greetings here.

Jacob and Kemp Petersen Stop in Riverton on the Way to Provo and the MTC

Jacob Petersen is on his way to spend three months in the MTC, on his way to Japan for his mission.  Fortunately, he told us he had four years of Japanese in high school. Imagine, in Powell High School, we were lucky to have Spanish and French.

Now The Day Is Over

This brief, but beautiful sunset blessed our western sky as seen from our front porch.
Take just a minute and enlarge the photo.

See what I stole from Judy's new blog!

More on Climbing Mount Ellinor

I asked Robert Petersen to elaborate on his mountain climbing exploit and he kindly furnished the following information, which I thought others would be interested in.

Mt. Ellinor is located at the southeast corner of the Olympic Mountains. This is the Mountain range between Puget Sound and the Pacific Ocean. The peak at 5,944 feet high is moderately steep but makes a great winter climb. It has a fairly steep chute over 1/4 mile long that makes a great slide coming down. (Over an hour to climb it and 5+ min to slide down.) Overall it takes about 4 hours from the car to the summit. I think I first made the assent in 1951. I’ve probably climbed it at least 20 times. Dumb me, I should have taken you up a few years ago when you were in the northwest. Being in the “tops of the mountains”, you need to know how to use an ice ax. Anyway, this old man did make it this time. Probably won’t be able to much longer. Robert P.

Judy in the Latest Fashion, in Penrose, eons ago