First-Time Grandparents On November 14, 2013!!!

Sonrie Bee (Sonnie for short, pronounced 'sunny') was born to son Matt and wife, Heather, on November 14, 2013. We let our relatives and friends know the old-fashioned way (phone mostly but email too) but life was so crazy for us the last several months of 2013 I'm only now getting around to letting 'the world' know.

Our kids (Matt, Chris and Heather) all bless our socks off so add another to the mix. We look forward to the joy and enjoyment this new addition brings to the entire family.

God Bless You Matt, Heather and Sonnie and your family's future. Much love from here! - Dad and Mom

In Celebration Of Family: First-Time Grandparents!!!

With Great Joy 

my wife Karen and I join our son, Matt, and his wonderful wife, Heather, 

in celebrating the impending birth of their first child!!!

In about two weeks we'll be grandparents for the first time. What a joyful, fun time for our entire family.

My 'kids', including daughter-in-law Heather bless us in so many ways; our cup overflows! We couldn't be happier for Matt and Heather at this sweet time in their lives.

You now become that unique and precious thing, a family. We pray God's Blessings on it always.

Much love, Dad and Mom   XO! XO! xo! XO! XO! xo!

Matt's and Heather's Baby Girl At 26 Weeks!

Congratulations To Matt And Heather

On The 26-Week Milestone!

Beautiful Baby Daughter, Eh?

Karen and I are so happy for our son Matt and wife Heather and we celebrate the 26-week milestone with them! They're going to be great parents and I can't wait to greet my first grandchild! :-)

TWO daughters in the family now. How cool is that?

Chris' Senior Recital Is Coming Saturday ... YAY Chris!

Chris' Mom and I are heading down to San Jose State University to be there for his recital. It'll be great fun! We're so proud of you Chris!

Bust a chop son! (Isn't that the wind instrument equivalent of 'break a leg' to actors?)  :-)

Son Matt Has Been Busy Professionally With His Music

As I've blogged before, both of my sons have hearts and skills for music. I just blogged below about Chris' accomplishments at San Jose State University and I have to brag how fortunate I am that my younger son, Matt, has been professionally engaged with his musical gifts as well. Here's a link to samples of that:  http://mattoldsmusic.wordpress.com/music/

Matt's talents in writing and playing music blesses us so much. We really enjoy hearing him express himself in the variety of ways he's found to do that. Go Matt!!!

Son Chris Has His Senior Recital Scheduled For Nov 12th! Yay!!!

Son Chris is a student at San Jose State University, majoring in Music Ed. He's nearing the end of that journey and has his senior recital scheduled for November 12th. His Mom and I are very proud of his accomplishment and are looking forward to attending it and celebrating this important milestone.

Go Chris!!!

I'm Blessed

No words are adequate to express how blessed I feel by my family! I love my wife dearly! I love my three 'kids' dearly and I'm so proud of them! Regardless the bumps in life, nothing can take that away from me. Frankly, other than my faith, nothing else matters much by comparison.

I'm Blessed By Family

(Left to right: myself, Chris, Matt, Heather, and Karen)

Karen and I drove to Coeur d' Alene ID last week to spend July 4th and my birthday (the 5th) with our youngest son, Matt, and his wife, Heather. I always enjoy time with my family and was looking forward to a little 'pampering' along with some fun time.

As good as I thought it would be, I got more than I bargained for! A couple days after we arrived I was chilling in their livingroom and answered a knock at their door (they were supposedly off shopping) and there stood oldest son Chris! He flew in from San Jose to join the festivities. There are surprises that really aren't surprises but this one was a winner for sure. Never been more surprised. SCORE! Way to go guys!

Matt and Heather made us so comfortable in their new home of one year ... wonderful hosts indeed! Heather made some of my favorite food. On my bday Matt made french toast for breakfast and Chris bbq'd our steak dinner. They gave me a dinosaur(!) bday cake! Love their sense of humor. All Karen and I were allowed to do our whole stay there was enjoy ourselves. Sweet kids those!

And as for my wife of 38 years, thanks for arranging this. The bday was, indeed, special but the best gift to me was having the family together cause I love you all so much. Thank you for your love and support, Hon!

Game On!

DUCKS 'N BUCKS

- 2010 ROSE BOWL -

GO DUCKS! BEAT THE BUCKS!

A Christmas Apart But Near In Our Hearts

Merry Christmas from the Olds family!

Christmas Blessings To You All!

Christmas will be different for our family this year because, for the first time since the birth of our first child, none of us will be together. (The picture is from last year.) That makes it a good time to appreciate all the good times we did have together over the past 30 years and to appreciate that distance doesn't diminish our deep love for one another.

Most of all we celebrate God's gift to us, His son and the joy that brings to our lives. We celebrate our family and the joy. love and enrichment it's brought to our lives. We celebrate our friends near and far and how they've enriched and blessed our lives. We count our blessings of a home and good health, appreciating constantly that they could be gone in an instant but the other things that bless our lives are dependably lasting.

Count your blessings this Christmas season and don't let troubles steal your joy. Know that, whatever challenges exist in your life, our Father loves you and offers you peace and joy. It's there for the asking. God Bless You and Merry Christmas from the Olds family!

We're Back!

Well, we're back and we 'escaped' Montana just before freezing and snow hit the Lincoln area. I had a great time with Karen. Camping with my sweetheart in such beautiful country is fun and relaxing, not that we have anything all that stressful to relax 'from' now that we're retired in Roseburg OR! We enjoy nature and we saw a lot of it ... some a little too close for comfort!

We got to spend time with Son Matt and his wife, Heather, both at our first campground (Trout Creek near Superior MT) and for a couple of days at their house in Coeur d'Alene ID. It was our first opportunity to check out their new (first!) home, a beautiful house and property short blocks from beautiful Coeur d'Alene Lake! (I admit to being a bit jealous!)

Trout Creek campground is where we had a close encounter with a brown bear in our campsite. I was about 14 feet from him when I first noticed him and a few minutes later I got a close-up look at him from about a foot (through the trailer window). Don't care to be closer to a bear than that! FYI, according to a forest service expert, if you want to scare off a black or brown bear carry a soda can with coins in it to rattle at the bear.

Karen and I spent one week in the Trout Creek campground followed by three weeks in the Aspen Grove campground near Lincoln MT. We arrived at Aspen Grove the day they stopped collecting camping fees so our accommodations cost zero there. They turned off the main water faucets but that campground has a well (hand) pump that stays available and they kept the garbage and vault toilets open. Therefore we didn't have to 'dry camp' ... had all the amenities available that we needed to have a wonderful time. And the weather cooperated ... too well in fact for fishing. I had a really sweet time with Karen and we were sad to leave Aspen Grove a couple days early but snow was imminent so we didn't have much choice.

We saw lots of beautiful MT scenery on various 'scenic tours' and had lots of fun just spending time together playing cards ... even took in two Lincoln High School football games. Karen and I enjoy scenic tours so much ... we're so fortunate to live in this country and have such natural beauty to appreciate up close. Saw lots of wildlife which is always fun. Then we left MT just as Fall colors were setting in. While we didn't get to see the colors at their peak it was still a good display to appreciate.

For most of our time there the temps were well above normal (92 degrees on the Missouri River one day ... very warm for mid-September!) which made for lazy trout not too interested in taking the flies I tossed their way. I got to add six(!) new rivers to my list of MT rivers fished: Clark Fork, Fish Creek, Blackfoot, North Fork Blackfoot, Dearborne, and Sun River. Fished the Missouri previously.

Got Matt out on two fly fishing float trips alone with me for the first time. We had such a good time together ... soooo sweet! I love my sons and value every opportunity to spend time with them and get to know them better as adults. The fishing trip was fun for both of us but, for me, it was 'just' an excuse to spend time with Matt. I had a great time with Heather too while Karen and I stayed at their house. What a cool young lady she is! Smart, responsible, compassionate, and beautiful inside and out. She certainly blesses us. Can't close without mentioning fun time with their pup, Johnny Cash, a cute and energetic Boston Terrier.

It was a terrific trip. We're already looking forward to our next adventure in God's great outdoors!

Trippin' W/Karen

I'm planning to do some camping with my wife, Karen. I'm getting excited about spending time with her in God's great outdoors! We always have such a good time together wherever we go so it'll be fun. What a blessing it is that we share a love of the outdoors and that we still have good enough health to enjoy camping. Now if only we could get a break in the price of gas!

We're planning to spend a little time in Montana in areas where we haven't spent much time yet. Our usual routine is fanning out around the area where we camp and see whatever sights there are. We'll just hang out a lot too. We'll play a lot of games, especially rummy. Maybe I'll win a few games ... for a change! Whadda ya think, Hon?

I hope to have opportunities to get in some fly fishing, one of my favorite activities. Not many places one can go and have such an abundance of good fishing rivers available as in Western Montana.

Son Matt and his wife, Heather, with their Boston Terrier pup, Johnny Cash, are planning to join us for some camping together. We enjoy all the time we're able to have with them but we haven't done this together yet. We're really looking forward to it. In addition, Matt and I are planning a guided fly fishing trip on one of Montana's many good streams. It'll be sweet just to have one-on-one time with him regardless how the fishing goes.

By God's grace we're able to enjoy retirement this way. Time away together. Time with family. Sweet!

San Jose CA: Ridiculous Crime Rate

My wife and I raised our boys in San Jose CA. I say that with significant regret. I think I should have picked somewhere else due to the incessant property crime there.

We were immediately attracted to a middle-class neighborhood in North Valley when my wife and I started looking for our first home in 1977. After we moved into a smallish 3 bed 2 bath home the San Jose version of Welcome Wagon greeted us in less than a month ... while we were sleeping a man broke into our home via the garage, apparently with burglary on his mind. Thankfully the police showed up quickly and he left through the back yard over the fence. It could have ended badly because he dropped an axe by the back fence that I had used to chop wood in the garage the previous evening. We should have taken a lesson from that but we hoped it was an anomalous event in an otherwise peaceful and reasonably crime-free neighborhood. We were wrong. Man, were we wrong!

Over the years living in two different houses in that area of town we experienced a property crime about every two years which included: the aforementioned attempted home invasion burglary, another attempted burglary, three car break-ins (various stereos and musical equipment stolen), bike stolen from the garage, motorcycle stolen from driveway, the grill removed from one of our cars, stolen camera, two stolen wallets, and a hit and run car accident. I think I've missed a couple of crimes but you get the idea.

We bade good riddance to San Jose when we retired and moved to Oregon two years ago. We were happy to leave the crime behind us. However, one of our sons still lives there and we just heard his motorcycle was stolen (2nd time!) from his carport yesterday (in a complex that claims to have good security). So, our family's record of experiencing a property crime about every two years in San Jose continues unabated.

Why anyone would want to live in San Jose CA is a mystery to me.

Wife's Back From Her Trip!

Life is 'right' again ... Karen's back home from her trip visiting family. I'm glad she went but it's good having her back home. Was getting pretty lonesome around this ol house.

I Miss My Wife!!!!

I miss Karen a lot. She's visiting family in Wisconsin for about 11 days so, in the meantime, I'm home alone. :-(

It's cool she's doing this because family is important but I'm counting the days til her return!

I'm Baaaaaccckk!

Chris and I had a good time together last week camping in the McCloud CA area (@ Fowler Campground). He arrived late Sunday and left late Thursday. I had been worried about the weather but it was perfect while he was there. Stiffling hot the week before and rained each day after he left (until I got fed up with it and returned home Saturday, 2 days early). Fishing wasn't the best but it wasn't too bad. Chris caught quite a few more than I did and caught the biggest (pic above). I claimed one record ... catching the smallest. (That's all good with me!)

We also played rummy (he's the champ this time around, handily winning 2 of 3 games), took in some sights, BBQ'd steaks one night (with baked beans & potato baked in foil on the coals), cooked hot sausages over the fire pit another night, and Chris roasted marshmallows for smores. Saw some wildlife, including mule deer all over the place and even a bear. We made some new memories and had a good time together.

Next 'adventures' for me will be a camping trip or two with my sweetheart and one with my other son, Matt, in mid-September. Looking forward to it all!

Ready For My Fishing Trip With Son Chris

Plans are firm now and the date is fast approaching when Chris and I will do some fly fishing together. I'm leaving with the trailer Monday (May 25th) and will be looking for a good campground in the Shasta CA area. It'll be about a 4.5 hour trip for me I think.

Chris plans to join me on Sunday, May 31st, and return home on June 4th. The only thing certain about our fishing plans is guided fly fishing on the Upper Sacramento River May 2nd. The rest of our time together will be spent hanging out and fishing whenever/wherever we feel like at the time.

By arriving several days before Chris I'll be able to find a good campground and get a campsite set up for us. Then I'll spend several days getting familiar with where and how to fish the many good rivers in the Shasta area, hopefully getting in some quality fishing time by myself.

According to current reports, Shasta area rivers are beginning to clear up now and will be getting low enough to fish well around the time I arrive but may not be their best until about the time Chris arrives. I may stick around a few days after Chris leaves, especially if the rivers haven't lowered enough and bug hatches haven't developed well enough to provide me with some good fishing the days I'm there before Chris arrives.

Chris' last day of school work was today. It's been a challenging semester for him in the Music Ed Program at San Jose State so I know he's more than ready for some fun time throwing some flies at trout. I'm certainly ready ... it's been a long, cold winter and I'm hankerin' for some decent fishing. Whether we catch many fish (although I expect we will!) it'll be a good time together.

Yay Chris! Yay Matt!

My sons are always surprising and blessing me. Both are living life with a lot of maturity and responsibility. That's not unusual but there are times like now that bring more clarity to how far they've come in their (nearly) 30 years. I'm happy to see it ... more so for them than for personal satisfaction.

Chris just concluded one of the toughest semesters one can have in one of the toughest programs (Music Ed) for a person who also has to put himself through school. He did it with much sacrifice and hard work. Also with very impressive commitment and persistence. Proud of him? You bet! But more than anything it's further evidence (and proof ... to him) he'll do well in life long after I'm gone.

Matt has proven and well established himself in his chosen profession ... a ministry (much more than a 'job') actually. He's a valued and productive contributor to the mission at His Place Church in Post Falls, ID. He just keeps growing in those responsibilities and there seems to be no limit to ways in which he can make a contribution and demonstrate leadership. Cool! Now he and his wife, Heather, are beginning a new chapter in their lives with the confluence of two major accomplishments ... Heather's Master's Degree and the purchase of their first home (closing on 5/29).

My sons have always blessed me.

Heather Graduates!

Heather, our youngest son's wife, received her Master of Social Work degree Saturday in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. We were able to attend the ceremony and it was fun to see her and Matt reap the rewards of their commitment to this. Heather has a generous spirit and a good heart for this kind of work and is committed to making a positive difference in people's lives. God Bless her in this work and bless those whose lives she touches.

Matt and Heather News 04/30/09

Our son, Matt, and his wonderful wife, Heather, are having one of those periods in a marriage that becomes extraordinarily memorable. Karen and I are having fun watching them having fun with it.

Last week their home purchase offer was accepted. It's their first home so it's quite exciting. Closing happens in about three weeks but the inspection is done and didn't uncover anything they're worried about. One's first home is a pretty big deal and they're certainly enjoying this.

Then three days ago Heather completed the last class required for her Master's degree. Graduation is May 9th. We're so proud of her.

Lots to celebrate in the NorIda Olds household. Not wanting to be left out of the fun, Johnny Cash, their Boston Terrier, celebrated with a hearty meal of energy & protein powder mix that he discovered. (That was probably interesting because he's an energetic fellow without getting 'juiced'.)

God Bless Them in this and all their future adventures together!