HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SISTER JILL!

SHE IS SUCH AN AMAZING LADY! SHE IS ALWAYS FUN, POSITIVE AND FULL OF LIFE.
SHE IS SO BUSY BUT ALWAYS HAS TIME FOR ALL HER FRIENDS AND FAMILY. SHE WALKS AT LEAST 3 MILES A DAY, IS AN ADVISOR FOR THE CANCER SOCIETY, ( HELPING THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN JUST DIAGNOSED), HELPED WITH TEAM RELAY A FEW WEEKS AGO, HELPED A COUPLE FRIENDS THIS YEAR WITH MEMORIALS FOR SPECIAL FRIENDS, BRINGS MEALS, LEAD A BIBLE STUDY LAST YEAR, IS REMODELING HER HOME, HELPED ME WITH OUR WEDDING IN JUNE AND WAS A WONDERFUL ASSISTANT TO ME, AND THE LIST GOES ON AND ON. WE ARE ALL AMAZED AT HER ENERGY LEVEL AND I WISH I HAD HALF OF IT. IN THE MIDST OF CANCER TREATMENTS, DOCTOR VISITS, AND ALL THAT THIS ENTAILS ALSO. JILL I AM SO BLESSED BY YOU AND WHAT A SPECIAL SISTER YOU ARE TO ME AND NICKY, AND LOUIE. YOU INSPIRE ALL OF US!

Hello Blogger Buddies. This has been a fun morning. Ryan participated in his second SB triathlon with some other friends. You have to be an early riser to see this. 900 guys and gals lined up on the beach to take off into the ocean for a 1 mile swim at 7AM. Ryan went with the "second" wave and was ahead of the pack right way. Jr. Guards relived again. The second part of the race is the 34 mile bike ride through Montecito and Carpenteria and back. Then the 10 mile run along the shoreline streets of Santa Barbara and back. Ryan came in just under 4 hours. He came in 10th in his Clydesdale division. He improved about 20 minutes from his times last year. Congratulations Ryan on a job well done. It was great to hang out with Katie, Tina and Kelly for the 4 hours as we were Ryan's cheering section. Thanks girls. It was fun.
Fritz is hanging out in OC today with his Mom. Grandma, you gotta watch this next year. You would love it.

Happy Birthday Ryan! Today he is 30 years old! It's hard to believe that this milestone has happened. Last Saturday night Jason and Tiffany organized a surprise party for Ryan. With all their creative ideas, a great event called the "HarnZ-A-Thon" was the happening place. Phil and Jason planned a Guys night out with Ryan. On the way up to town, an emergency call from Tiffany came in about an emergency plumbing "I need help now" type of problem. When Ryan showed up, about 35-40 people were hiding and jumped out and surprised him. AND he truly was surprised.... We got him good! Thank you to Tiffany and Jason for organizing the fun party. Thank you to Jess from SB Crumbs who created an amazing Birthday cake with pictures of Ryan through the years. Thank you Landon for the many great pictures for the slide show. And Thank you to everyone who was able to join us for the fun evening, It was great to be able to share this day with so many friends of Ryan through the years.

And today Ryan is at Hume lake Junior High Camp hanging out with the kids from Youth Group. Scott Dupar the leader was his leader back in Junior high and recruited Ryan to come along side in leadership this past year. Have a great time Ryan. Photo slide show of the party. I am sorry for anyone I missed.

Hello Blogger family.
Did you know that Kansas city is the Paris of the Plains!. Really!! it has a river running through it, beautiful bronze statues everywhere with fountains, an absolutely darling Plaza, Music on the streets in the summer, Art everywhere and a beautiful Art Museum called the Nelson. There is so much more also. Anyway, my best friend from college days--Marilyn settled here about 30 years ago. And she is the best part of Kansas City for me. We have been friends for 40 years this September-- Wow. That is a long time. She is a very treasured friend, as anyone can imagine. She is beautiful inside and out. And now she is very happily married to Dave Geisler. Dave and Marilyn spoiled me with wine and cheese and several dinners out to marvelous places like an old school house called the Webster School House, and Bravo an Italian delight.
The World War One National Museum was a wonderful treat also. Everyone should see this. Its a whole history lesson in a few hours. It was very very interesting. I hope to go back to review it again next year.
Fritz enjoyed his annual men's sailing trip to the islands with John Coleman and group of friends. They floated, paddle boarded, hiked and and went swimming with the sharks ( just kidding). They are out there but mostly they leave you alone.
Anyway, we both enjoyed this once a year weekend. When we were back we were off and running-- We were part of a surprise party plan for Ryan. And He was surprised. More coming up ...... tomorrow.....

CONGRATULATIONS MR. & MRS. VAN GORP
Happy Wedding Day from Santa Barbara! Yes, it did finally happen. Rachel and Johan's day was June 5, 2009. Rachel and Johan are now Mr. and Mrs. Van Gorp. As the dust and the whirlwind days begin to settle I am left with a quiet home ( Yes:) and an orange flower garden all over my house. So now I am reflecting and thinking about all I have had this week, the many wonderful people that we met, and how I am so thankful to have had so much family help. So as I reflect, thank you for visiting with me and if you like to share with me............ read on.


As you can see from my previous blog, the month of May was busy with the fire " San Jesuita Fire". Packing up, evacuating, coming back home and trying to get everything back into order. Before I was able to even clean up,.... I was off to Napa to spend some time with my Dad who was in the hospital. I made it back to finish up what I could to be ready for the wedding week,... take off for Grandma's 80th Birthday party. Then back to pick up Johan and Rachel from the airport in Lax on May 27. Oh, yes, and my birthday on the 28th..... From there we had 10 days to be ready for the wedding. I thought I was ready, but Rachel had a bunch more small tasks for us to work on, and away we went. organizational important busy work, ribbons and flowers, decorations, curtains, flowers, bouquets, sewing, baking, cooking, planning, etc. On the 29th our family welcomed Johan's Dad Anton and his family. On Monday Johan's Mom's family arrived, and more friends arrived from all over the world each day. Sadly, Our weather was not cooperating and we were having definitely gloomy June days. On Wednesday began the floral decorations preparation. On Wednesday night my family began to arrive also. Jill, Bonnie, Marilyn, Brigitte were all there to help with the flowers on Thursday morning. Petra joined us, as did Jessica.


On Thursday the day of the rehearsal, the sun broke through and we had a beautiful time at the rehearsal as the sun was setting. We had an incredible Santa Barbara evening-- our rehearsal dinner was at our family homestead in Santa Barbara-- Uncle Clem and Aunt Sheila's garden in San Roque. Fred, Dorian's special friend cooked an amazing dinner for all to enjoy. It was so delicious, my mouth waters to think about that steak that I had that night--the best ever. And I have the recipe now-- In dutch though. Thank you Fred and Dorian, Hannie and Oma Jo for all your work to put that beautiful meal together. Thank you Anton and Petra for the sponsorship of the dinner also.

On Friday we woke up to a downpour of rain. Now ... we really need rain in Santa Barbara. Its is a good thing... But on Rachel's wedding day??? pray pray pray..... We had moments of panic....... but the sun broke through in the middle of day. Dreams do come true. They were married with our beautiful coast in the background. The wedding was beautiful, but most importantly is the new couple and the special people that they are. The wedding was so much fun. I think everyone had a great time, but mostly Rachel and Johan.

I am so thankful for all the friends and family who were able to come and join us on this day. We had many family members of Johan from Holland and China. Dorian and Fred, Anton, and Petra, Pepino, Martina, Anne Marie and Hanneke, Oma Jo, Hanney, Titi and Peggy, and I hope I didn't miss anyone. For all the friends of Johan and Rachel who came from out of state, thank you so much for being with us. It was so amazing to bring together the different people from literally around the world. Rachel was so radiantly happy, Johan stood strong and handsome as a prince. ( Were you ever a frog?? Just kidding) ....

As I begin to look back on the whole week of events I am amazed and exhausted . So allow me to recap our week and share my deeply felt thanks you to all our friends, family and new found friends and family.

I think one of my best memories of the night --- Fritz and Rachel danced to "Butterfly Kisses" which was truly special. But remember Johan -- our first choice song was " I loved her first"! Not wanting to shed any tears, we opted for "Butterfly kisses" which is also very special. . Another special memory was after Johan and his mother danced to a delightful Dutch song, we all joined in dancing. It was so wonderful to hear and sing the dutch songs and blend the two families together and we enjoyed the dancing and singing through the evening together. Tyler my nephew wrote a sweet song and performed this during dinner for Rachel and Johan. Thank you Tyler.

In order to have an event take place and run smoothly, a lot of friends and family were involved. I so appreciated each one for their extra help for me. As Mother of the bride.... I needed. HELP! Each of these people came forward and became a very special part of our day. I would be remiss not to say thank you for all the extra touches each of you included to help our day be extra special. So If this seems like some advertising,... well some of it is. But its the personal friendship and extra touches that have made this day special.

Thank you to Raya for all her care and work for the whole day creating beautiful pictures of the day.Her Engagement photos are adorable. For family, you will see them on Pictage. Follow the link. Raya you truly are the most creative young lady I know. Your Photography shows only a portion of all your amazing talents. Rachel and Johan's Engagement pictures

Robyn from Impressive Weddings was a huge help to us and I was able to truly relax and enjoy the Wedding day. Robyn came on board back in April and I am so thankful to have had you to work with. Thank you Robyn.

Jennifer Harnsberger was our ever present photographer for the "Picture Booth" creation. Rachel loved the picture booth at our cousin Laurie and Justin's wedding last year. So ever the do-it- yourselfer she had to make it. With help of course. Thank you Ryan for building the booth and to Jennifer and Link for your expertise with the camera set up of the booth. It was a very popular part of the evening as over 800 pictures were taken. Please take advantage of these pictures and purchase your favorites at Jennifer's site on Shutterfly. http://www.shutterfly.com/progal/gallery.jsp?gid=768a5498ce7e50496808

My awesome family was such a help. Jill my sister runs circles around me with all her help with food, flowers, set up and tear downs at the rehearsal dinner, candy table, flowers, deliveries, clean up, and on and on. Bonnie and Brigitte were quiet the team with the flower arrangement assembly on our deck and the set up at the reception. Jessica, Carrie and Rachel worked hard on the wedding bouquets, Laurie and Justin with the spray roses display. We were also joined by Petra on Thursday morning as we put the arrangements together. Nicky my sister every the camera queen has some great video footage of the wedding and reception.

My friend Nicole was an awesome babysitter -- thank you for volunteering. Tucker is in LOVE with you. And Retha filled in later -- Always a wonderful Grandma. It was good to see you also dear friend. Jacob the minister has been a friend of Phil for almost 20 years now? Thank you Jacob and Kim for being a special part of this day.

My dear friend Nancy baked part of the wedding cake--the delicious strawberry cream sections of the wedding cake. And she provided help and fruit for our Sunday brunch. Thank you Nancy. Karen thank you for the fruit platter. It was gobbled up very quickly.

If anyone in Santa Barbara needs flowers, I love Padaro Floral. Michel the owner was more than gracious to us with ordering ORANGE tulips all the way from Holland for our event. What is a dutch theme without tulips?
Jessica, you were amazing in so many ways with Rachel and helping her in so many details.-- the shower, decorations, program..... and so much more. And to the bridesmaids... to her girls, Andrea, Carrie, Christine, Jamie and Lynn, you all helped make this day special. Jamie and Annie, thank you for the Bachlorette party that you gave Rachel. That was so special also.

And then Annie decorated a cute bike, Liza handled the quilt squares, Phil took care of the bike, Ryan built and set up the Photo Booth and the hoopa. So many helping hands.Hairdressers Nancy, Nada and long time friend Gunilla were wonderful with their talents of making each of us feel beautiful.

Last but not least, my dear friend from Kansas City Missouri was here to be my special "gopher" girl. Since I have been the official gopher so many times in my life, I especially appreciated all her extra help in so many little things like ..... dishes, food, cooking, last minute shopping. you name it. Thank you Marilyn, and thank you Dave for sharing her with me.

Thank you so all the friends of Johan and Rachel who came from so far-- Boston, Washington DC. Virginia, Pennsylvania, Colorado, ..... To all these new friends welcome to the United States, to California and to Santa Barbara. i hope you enjoyed your time here that it was pleasurable. And you are welcome to come again.

We have many new friends from Holland now to visit someday. Dorian and Fred, Anna Marie, Hanneka, Oma Jo, Hanney, Lowie and Yvonne. From Shanhai was Bart and from Bejing was Pepino, Martina, Petra Johan's Dad Anton, and his friend Titi and Peggy. What an international time we have had. I look forward to meeting each of you again someday. Thank you so much for making such a big trip to be with us on this special Day. I know Rachel and Johan were touched to have you there with us.
Thank you Fred for so many pictures that are on my computer. More Pictures from Fred Hoebink More pictures from other friends and family will come soon.

A couple months ago, my Dad said he hoped to be with us at the wedding. It was his birthday wish to be with us and make it to the next wedding. It was touch and go there for a while. A big thank you to Nicky my sister and Dr. Tom who brought Dad down from Napa. DAD, you made it. Thank you Dad for making such a super human effort to be with us. He is 89 folks, and a 7 hour drive is not easy at that age. To Dr. Tom the best doctor in the world, and my sister Nicky, thank you for your patience in bringing my Dad down and making this wedding extra special for all of us by having his presence. Thank you cousin Lynn for driving Uncle mike and Kathy up for the wedding and for a special visit with Dad also.

Last but not least, my dear husband Fritz who through all this hustle and bustle has truly been on a marathon. The constant company, early morning phone calls, interruptions, and all in the midst of an incredibly busy week. WE are excited to have him featured in Forbes magazine this week. Actually Marathon Investment programs has a little featured ad under California Weatlh managers. Marathon Investment Programs is in the top ten! .

This last week has been very stressful, and I was awake many many nights with "things" running around in my head. So this is the prayer I would say over and over each morning the past week... " Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit says the Lord" . and "We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us." I believe that and I know I wasn't alone. The Lord was with me and he brought me so many angels to come along side of us.

So now we can continue on with our life. BC / AD. or BW or AW... Before the wedding and after the wedding.... Life goes on. The wedding day was wonderful, but now we have a marriage. Welcome to my new son-in-law Johan and welcome to our new dutch family in China and Holland. We look forward to a time when we can all meet again. Rachel and Johan--- enjoy yourselves this week and we shall talk soon.

Happy Birthday Grandma Dottie! Grandma turned 80 on the 21st. Her birthday wish is for a time to have all her kids together and here they are. Her four boys-- Fritz, Steve, Dave and Mike. A very special day indeed. Thank you to Tina for helping make this happen. It was really good to see everyone and hear all the funny antics of the boys as they were growing up.

In two weeks from now is our big Wedding day for Rachel and Johan. We are looking forward to the Dutch family members who will be joining us beginning next weekend. We pray they will enjoy their time in California and our family time together. IF you haven't seen this yet, our friend Raya is a fantastic photographer. She created this web site of their engagement pictures.
Rachel and Johan

Happy Memorial Day! Today is a day that is special to remember those soldiers who have given their lives for us in our previous and current wars. As a child growing up, every Memorial day I remember going with my two grandfathers ( WWI vets ) my Dad, and my brother in scout uniform to ceremonies to honor those who gave their lives for our freedoms. I am thankful for the impact that this has had on my life. I see it more now than I did then. In 2004 Rachel and I with two girlfriends visited the Normandy beaches. It was a very sobering experience. To see the crosses, and know that some many of our best young men died in one single day. I have also been to the Arlington National Cemetery and someday I hope to see the new WW2 memorial in DC. Maybe next year! Freedom is not Free, and today we realize that more than ever. If you haven't read Tom Brokaw's book "the Greatest Generation", do read it. As June 6th approaches and DDay 65th anniversary is remembered, it is a very good read.

Hello Dear Friends and Family,
I am up in Napa again right now. I have made many trips up here this last year. My Dad has been having health issues and I have used the extra time I have had to spend with him. I have been telling some friends that Dad is visiting the Queen! Well he is actually. He was at the Queens of Napa Valley. On Tuesday morning he asked to go the hospital because he was so swollen with fluids, that he could barely walk. Dad has a failing heart and kidneys, so together they are slowing him down. At the Queens they have been able to make him more comfortable, but this really is only temporary for now. His health has been like a YoYO-- Up and down-- Dr. Tom says. He has been able through excellent doctors help ( especially Dr. Tom) to have a lot of extra time with us. He is feeling rested and comfortable for now. On Friday we went home. Rachel was able to come from Boston for a visit. My brother Louie came up Friday night, Don and Leslie came by on Thursday, and Carrie on Saturday. Jill has been back and forth once or twice a week also. We are all very concerned about Dad and his comfort at this time.
I want to thank all my SB family and friends far and wide for their concerns. Thank you for your prayers for our family, as so many of you have walked this journey with your parents already. We need to make decisions about his care for the following weeks, to help him be comfortable and continue on with his last days or weeks ?
Dad has given us a solid family who loves each other. We have many cherished stories of his life growing up in San Diego, meeting my Mom in Ghent Belgium, and our days in Burbank growing up. Our Dad has been a man of faith all his life and that has been his stronghold. Our strength is in the Lord-- " Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit".

Hello family and Friends.

THANK YOU FOR SO MANY CALLS AND CONCERNS. HERE IS a Santa Barbara Fire update.

We had two sleepless nights, especially last night. It was very very windy around our home, and we are in a protected area believe it or not. The fire of Santa Barbara started in one area in the San roque area, and spread in many directions, but now mainly two areas. With the dry air and wind potential, over 30,00 people are evacuated from their homes.

The total burned so far is 8600 acres and about 80 homes. The last fire was much smaller area but 240 homes were lost. At this time of the evening, no homes are threatened. The fire is very high on the ridge, and we have evacuations as precautions only. We have lived in Santa Barbara over 20 years, and experienced a fire in 1990, similar to this fire. Now we have had 3 large fires in less than 9 months. The winds are beginning to gust up again, but the fires are at the top of the mountain range. I have stayed close to home these last few days.

With all this activity, we are also anticipating the wedding of Johan and Rachel in just 4 weeks. We are looking forward to the big event and all the visitors we will have in Santa Barbara.

Pictures from cousin Joe: http://picasaweb.google.com/bohnetts/May2009Fire#

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2009. May the new year bring Peace in our hearts and homes. We were truelly blessed to have Rachel's fiance Johan join us this year with his mother Dorian and special friend Fred. They brought Dutch traditions to share with our family. The most special treat were the poems that they wrote to go along with their presents. This is a dutch tradition and they began with Rachel, then Fritz and all the rest of the family. It truelly was delightful. The creativity and thoughtfulness was beyond my wildest imagination. When I get a chance, I will share some of these. ....For now here are some pictures from our Christmas day. For New years they are all in Mammoth at our cabin and we off to friends....

Merry Christmas All!  We will be celebrating Christmas with Johan's family in Santa Barbara this year.  Then on December 27th, we will have an engagement party.  So if you are around, please stop by and say hello and chat awhile.  Saturday 5- 10 in the evening.  

Greetings and Happy Thanksgiving to all. This morning in the quite of my first and only day home this week, I have a little time for quite reflections.  Fritz and I  have so much to be thankful for each day of our lives. Our kids, our family, our extended family and friends.  God Bless you everyone and to all, a very very Happy Thanksgiving.    

 My Mom, after coming to the United States, said we lived in the best country!. and she taught us to feel that way also.   She appreciated so much what America meant to her especially after WW2.   Even with the elections, and the changes going on in our country, the market and the nose dives, we are still so fortunate.  AND we are thankful to have our home intact, our family together.  Thank you Lord for these many blessings.  

Last week, with the fire, Fritz and I evacuated with the help of Ryan.  We had had a chance to pack up things in our cars.  Then when we were settling down for the night, the bullhorns  and evacuation notice came and we had to leave immediately.  As I drove at 1 in the morning along the beach, I witnessed this view.    I did not take this picture, but it came from the Tea Fire blogger site.  Of all times to loose my camera, this was one of those times.   A camera is like a visual of journal of what we see and experience.  This picture represents our experience that night.  The Rider family gave us a comfy bed to sleep in and the next day we were at the Bohnett homestead for another good night of sleep.  Thank you to all the Bohnett's for the offer of a home to stay in, if we had returned to no home at all.  

After the fire, and moving back into the home, etc, I took off for Kansas city and a long planned visit with my friend of 39 years -- Marilyn.  Marilyn married a wonderful man Dave Geisler.   It was special to be a part of their day.  Then the marathon continued with Mary Beth's baby shower, lots of visiting, cooking and then flying home to LAX.   Next year Marilyn and I will plan a special girl's weekend of 40 years of friendship.  

 Life is an adventure: I took off from Kansas city on Sunday for LAX.   After a nice flight,  I an interesting experience to say the least.  I don't quite know why but my plane was coming in for a landing and then took off again.  I was watching out the window, saw the cars on the freeway, and about 30 seconds before  touchdown the plane changed its course!!!!   The pilot said there was poor visibility at the control tower and the runway wasn't cleared.    We managed to get airborn again ... circled around by Santa Monica and came in again.  Wow!  The pilot was very calm  but I assure you I wasn't inside.   But I was very Thankful  !!!    and it certainly calmed me down when we landed safely the 2nd time.  

After landing, I was able to go on to my next adventure -- the ACSI teacher's convention in Orange County.  It was very special as always. This year I was a presenter.  This was my 5th time doing so.  It went well  AND  I was able to see friends, teachers and people I have known over many years of Christian School education, including Julie and Dan Kotov.  Julie was Phillip's 3rd grade teacher 25 years ago at Maranatha Christian academy.  Phillip is excellent in Math as many of you know, and Julie was the excellent teacher who taught Phil especially in Math and  mentored me -- a future teacher.  

So this morning, before Thanksgiving,  I am reflecting back on my last 2 weeks.  So much has happened.  Today, weather allowing, or tomorrow morning early, Phillip Ryan and I will take off for Pleasanton.  Fritz will be driving from Mammoth to meet us there.  ( He has enjoyed skiing and fishing in Mammoth, working on the cabin  -- which is available to rent by the way!) We will be with Jill and Nicky, My Dad and most of the family for Thanksgiving.  Rachel will celebrate Thanksgiving with Johan in Boston, near the area where it all began.  We hope to have a family Turkey trot Football game like 2 years ago.  

Last but not least ---this week, I remember my sister Micheline, who 30 years ago left us for HIGHER GROUND.  I am most thankful for Michy, because her relationship with the Lord and her prayers, brought so many of us to a relationship with the Lord ourselves.   

So,  excuse the spelling errors that can happen.  I am convinced, especially after one seminar from yesterday, that as an art teacher, I see certain things over and over again that I miss the common mistakes, even when I do spell check.  So Happy Thanksgiving to All!  "   O Taste and See that the Lord is Good... and His mercy is everlasting.."   MRS. Harnzblogger

Hello Friends and Family,  As I write this note,  Southern California is experiencing so much fires now also.  Here is the map of evacuation and warnings for today.  We are just outside the yellow perimeter now.  Westmont College has been hit very hard.  PHOTOS HERE.  My heart goes out to many friends who have lost their homes.  

This fire did bring back memories for me. In 1963 in Jr HIgh, a big wild fire burned right up to our backyard edge in Burbank.  many homes were catching on fire on the roofs.  Many in our neighborhood, including my Dad, my brother Louie, and Fred Hagen from across the street stayed on the roofs to put out the fires as they started.  The  neighborhood kids were all in my Mom's station wagon with us 4 girls, all the dogs, cats, pets etc. As the wind and fire was coming down the mountain behind us, the fireman was  telling my Mom to " get of there!"   Our street was saved by all the Dads and sons who stayed watering the roofs., along with the firefighters of course.  They are heros to all of us.  And they would never let us stay now and fight a fire like we did then. 

Yesterday Fred  wrote to me checking to see if we are okay -- Thank you Fred.  Thank you Lord for dear friends.  Fred is  my oldest friend-- 55 years now-- Can you believe it?  And his sister  Mary is my sister Jill'sl oldest friend also. Bless you both!  

The community has been so helpful here, all over Santa Barbara -- feeding the fire fighters, giving lodging, and any and all help as needed.  Thank you to my cousins who said I could live at 3201 if we lost our house.  Thank you to the Riders for taking us into their home at 1:00 in the morning after our manditory evacuation.  And thank to Ryan and his roommate Chris for helping us to evacuate our stuff, move cars, etc etc.  We love you all.  

Hello Friends.  IN Case you are checking about the Santa Barbara Fire, Here are some pictures. I did not take these pictures.  I lost my camera in the midst of evacuating our home.  If I find map, I could show you the area where the fire is and where we are.  We are safe, at least for now. 

These pictures came from the sbcfire.com web site link to the "tea fire".  There is a tea house on the hiking trails above Westmont area.  The fire is named for this.  Though we are very close and evacuated right now, we are not threatened at this time.  I think we will be fine.  The winds would have to completely change directions.  We have a sundowner effect at times in Santa Barbara area, and the winds blow the opposite direction than the usual.  That is why we are safe for now.  We have a lot of friends who have lost homes, including 1 of the teachers from my school and 15 faculty houses have burned.  The Westmont community has been hit very hard.  The fire is still burning along the ridge behind the Riviera section moving towards the Mission Canyon near the Santa Barbara Mission.  

Thanks to all our family and friends who have called and shared their concern or volunteered their home for us.  We are at  Mike and Susan Rider's home for now.  We should be able to go back tonight or tomorrow.  

Map of fire

  

sbcfire.com

Hello Blogger buddies, Just a little family update. We have enjoyed being home the last few weeks. Its been good to do some reorganizing in my classroom and at home. This weekend was a treat. Ryan has been working out all summer for the Triathalon and he did. Compete and complete! That's what we say for especially the first time. He completed a 1 mile swim, 34 mile bike ride and a 10 mile run all in 4 hours and 20 minutes??-+ He did especially amazing in the swim, coming in at #4 for his division. One mile in 25 minutes. Pretty amazing really! He placed 16th overall for the Clydesdale division. "Big Guys"
We are very proud of Ryan and what he was able to accomplish.
Rachel and Johan continue to make plans for a wedding next summer. It will be Friday June 5th, 2009. Phil is working away in Dana Point. He moved to a new place and has lots of friends and activities there. Oh-- and also surf every morning! He has opened an office as he continues to grow the business of Marathon Investment Programs. Fritz and I had a short trip to Mammoth 2 weeks ago, including a great hike to Rainbow falls and Devils Postpile. It is so beautiful in the Sierra's in the summer. Blessings to everyone.

Hello Blogger Family,
Fritz and I returned from a wonderful Family get-together in San Diego. We were in Mission Beach enjoying the sun, riding bikes, surfing, visiting family and cooking lots of meals. We had anywhere from 17 to 35 each night. We were near the Bahlia hotel which helped a lot with the overflow room. Dad teaches us that we are never too old to try something new. In the picture, we had fun helping Dad try out the standup paddle board. The first night we had a nice family gathering with Rene 's family. ( We are missing Louie's family in this one though).

THE BIG NEWS FOR US! Johan proposed to Rachel on Thursday night and we had a family style engagement party and cruise on Friday night. Johan will be a wonderful addition to our family. We like him very much. Rachel met him in her Ethics class while she was at Boston University for her masters degree. Johan is in the Doctoral program at BU. He plans to teach European History and Politics in his future. They plan to have a wedding next summer in Santa Barbara.

Happy Birthday to our dear girl Rachel all the way from Mammoth Lakes. Ca. Fritz and I are hiking, fishing and riding bikes in the beautiful Sierras. Fritz caught his biggest trout ever--4 pounds 4 oz.and 20 inches long. It was a beautiful rainbow trout. He was quite proud of this catch for sure. Today we hiked the valley below Mammoth. We hiked Soda Springs all the way to Devil's postpile. It a pretty trail with lots of water. I saw so many flowers too. I usually don't get to see these. We saw shooting starts, columbine, lupin and indian paint brush just to name a few. I even saw a blue butterfly. I have never seen one of those in the wild. OUr hike was peaceful and quiet; we didn't run into any bears. Our favorite camping spot in Minaret Falls was empty. It brought back many memories of family times and fishing in this area. We made it to the Postpile just to take a picture. We rested on a rock at the old swimming hole, and no one was there!

Happy Father's Day to my Dad -- Lou Schirm and To Fritz my husband, a wonderful husband and father to our kids. Thank you for all your smiles and love and care! Thanks DAD for the extra special Father's day surprise! this Father's day was very memorable.
Fritz hung out with the boys this weekend, while I took a trip up North to The Sacramento Delta and Snug Harbor. My Brother Louie and Linda and Kelly, Jill and Casey and their kids, Nicky and Tom, Carrie and myself were with my Dad for Father's day. Its a long drive, but it was worth it just to be together when we can. On Sunday we hung out at theCrawdad Festival in Isleton. Too hot for me! Then I was in Napa with Dad and on Monday in Pleasanton with Jill. My sister is amazing. We walked the dogs and she can out walk anyone AND she is on Chemo! and she still moves at a 100 miles a minute it seems. she runs circles around anyone.

Fritz had a nice weekend with the boys paddlesurfing, and riding gocarts. Ryan cooked dinner and the boys gave lots of love. Rachel sent hugs and kisses from the 3000 mile distance. We are thankful for family and all the love we have between us.
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO ALL THOSE DAD'S OUT THERE. _- Papa Bear-- Louie 4, Fritz, Don, Tom, Casey, Evan, YOU ARE ALL VERY SPECIAL. WE love you all!

Hello to my Blogger Family, We are here in Boston-- the whole Family. Rachel graduated on Sunday from Boston University International Relations school with a Master's in International Relations. We are very proud of her. She actually finished her thesis in December. Graduation day Yesterday was the big day to walk with her friends and enjoy the moment!
She is actively looking for a permanent position to be able to stay for the next 2 years in Boston. The man on the right is Johan, Rachel's boyfriend. He is in the doctorial program at BU and will finish next year.
Anyway, I wanted to post these pictures. Here is a slide show of our pictures



http://lorettespalette.com/showitboston/Boston2008/index.html

Fritz and I are in Mammoth this weekend and it is freezing. The weather called for 40 to 50 degrees spring skiing. So I thought. Well I never checked the wind factor, and boy is it windy. Not the spring skiing I thought we would have. So instead Fritz is out fishing at Hot Creek and the clouds and all are really pretty. Spring In Mammoth is very unpredictable. We have our first flowers in the front of the cabin with daffodils and crocus. The Tulips are coming up. And now they predict snow fall for tomight or later this week. Who would have thought.