It's not really goodbye. . . . .

How do I post an appropriate blog about my sweetheart? Impossible. Let's just say. . .he was/is the most incredible husband, father and Papa anyone can imagine. He said goodbye on July 11th. He fought ALS with faith, dignity, grace, patience and kindness. I will try to follow his example as I go forward, one step at a time.

"Rise and Shout, the Cougar is out". . . . . .

He was loving this part. Be patient, it's a 4 min. video and gets going at 1.20. Enjoy!

Parks Family Gathering Part Two (don't forget to see part one)

It all started with these beauties arriving for "Eclipse" (Jespy's taking the picture). Soooo fun to see Tiffers and Kimmerz. Love them. We HAD to have our visors on when they arrived--required.

Hanging out at the Hotel pool. A bevvy of beauties.

These two cousins spent a lot of time on my bed watching Dora. After everyone left and I got in to bed---I found popcorn under the sheets. Sigh. . . .so much fun.

THIS is summer fun.

Memzy hosted dinner one night with Mexican delicacies. John, Cody and Tracey.

Can you believe this? The BEST idea ever. Rent a bouncy house water slide for a day and watch the fun. I honestly can't remember EVER watching so much fun. Cris was able to watch from the living room window and kept saying, "Best idea ever"!!!

We spent one afternoon out at Sherod's parents home enjoying their pool. We extend our thanks for your hospitality.

Mr America circa 1968.

Charlie and Seth taking a break from the water.

Lining up for the pinata.

And then we must mention the Grahammy Bear and his groupies. EVERYONE wants to hold him.

This blog is not the place to mention all the priceless things that happened last week but I will say this: Cris and I felt the loving arms of our children and grandchildren wrapped around us. Lifting us up, giving us courage and comfort. It was the perfect time. Perfect. We will always remember this gathering as one of the best we ever had.

Parks Family Gathering Part One

This is part one of our Family Gathering last week. It was something special for many reasons. My computer is not behaving well tonight so I will just give you a taste of the fun we had.

Christine taking care of her Papa. They have this Love/Love thing going between them. She loves him--he thinks she is the sun and moon.

We made pancakes and eggs with these little beauties. . . . .

We decorated flip flops. . . . .

And head bands. . . .

Aaaaaannnnddd. . .then we had the famous Trivial Pursuit game. Three teams--the brothers, the in laws, the uncle/cousin. Those hanging their heads lost--those smiling with thumbs up won--except for Nick--the brother team did not win yet again.

And then there was the geek version of the running man. . . .



Much more to come. . . . . . .

DARE TO REPAIR

Yessiree Bob--Dare to Repair. Gotta say I love this book, inherited from Cris' mother when she moved out of her home in Vallejo. I've used it several times to look up simple home repairs-----and then called "Earl"--our go-to-guy. However, two days ago the garbage disposal jammed. Sounded like a jet engine dying a terrible death. I was bummed--too much else going on to even care about it. Then it starts to smell funny in the kitchen sink area. Ahhhhh. Time to do something about it. I was going to call Earl and then remembered this book. Three easy steps to try BEFORE buying a new disposal. And TADA--I fixed it myself.

Aren't you just so proud of me? Cris was :)

June 20th---a very fun day!

My photo skills were intermittent,at best, the last week or so. We've had several fun visitors and I neglected to get the camera/cell phone out quick enough. Cousins Clyda and Fred Brackburn were here--love them. And we were THRILLED that nephew Cody Parks came from Phoenix. It was so good to see him. I'm hoping Memzy got a shot of him and will post.

I did, however, take some pretty good shots yesterday. Cris had a really great Father's Day thanks to his very special kids and grand kids. We Skyped, we sang, we heard special piano compositions (thanks Riley).

We heard poetry--CharChar and all kinds of gifts.


Special thanks to Nick for driving from Vegas to spend 1/2 a day with his dad for Father's Day and them driving right back. After all the dust had settled last night he smiled and said, "Such a good day".


Every five or six years Father's Day falls on June 20th. It depends on if it is a leap year whether it's five or six years (according to Google). And June 20th is Memzy's birthday which means that this phenomenon has happened 6 or 7 times in Memzy's lifetime. You do the math. That torch on top of her cake just means she's super loved.
It's time for a "Graham report". Let the photos begin. Riley is a prime candidate to begin babysitting and I have a feeling that Graham would love it. Six week old--15-16 lbs.


Memzy has the magic touch. Him is very happy.

I like to call this one "Full to the brim".

His mommy loves him. . . .and he's pretty much the center of everyone's universe these days.

Can you smell his little baby head? There's nothing like it . . . .sigh.

Look Who Came to Visit!!!!

My oldest brother Bil and His wife Leah Jane came to visit on Wednesday. It was so much fun catching up and learning new information about "China". They will be leaving the end of August for a one year mission to teach English in Beijing. Should be a super adventure.
The Larkin Family. When did Owen and Liesl get to tall?

The Waite Family. Who's that huge kid on the right?

And of course there must me a Little Miss Clara video. You know you want it.

The Ultimate Cheesecake

I was inspired to try this recipe from Barefoot Contessa (I have all her cookbooks)because one of our son-in-laws (Jason) LOVES cheesecake. He's such a super good guy and we love him. . . .and he deserves it.
This puppy is reeeeeaaalllyy good. I'm talking crazy good. It's much lighter than most cheesecakes and just simply yummy.

Enjoy!!!

Barefoot Contessa Raspberry Cheesecake

Ingredients
For the crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (10 crackers)
1 tablespoon sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:
2 1/2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
5 whole extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For the topping:
nocoupons
1 cup red jelly (not jam), such as currant, raspberry, or strawberry
3 half-pints fresh raspberries
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To make the crust, combine the graham crackers, sugar, and melted butter until moistened. Pour into a 9-inch springform pan. With your hands, press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan and about 1-inch up the sides. Bake for 8 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

Raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees F.

To make the filling, cream the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce the speed of the mixer to medium and add the eggs and egg yolks, 2 at a time, mixing well. Scrape down the bowl and beater, as necessary. With the mixer on low, add the sour cream, lemon zest, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly and pour into the cooled crust.

Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the oven temperature down to 225 degrees F and bake for another 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn the oven off and open the door wide. The cake will not be completely set in the center. Allow the cake to sit in the oven with the door open for 30 minutes. Take the cake out of the oven and allow it to sit at room temperature for another 2 to 3 hours, until completely cooled. Wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Remove the cake from the springform pan by carefully running a hot knife around the outside of the cake. Leave the cake on the bottom of the springform pan for serving.

To make the topping, melt the jelly in a small pan over low heat. In a bowl, toss the raspberries and the warm jelly gently until well mixed. Arrange the berries on top of the cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Note: Measure your springform pan. The bottom of mine measures 9 inches, but it says 9 1/2. I put the springform pan on a sheet pan before putting it in the oven to catch any leaks.