Rowan Tidbits

 

Okay, time to report on all the fun little things Rowan is doing now. Let's see, I guess he is 22 months old, actually today he is 22months. There ya go! I really stop counting months after 18. Anyway! He has really started some of the big 'twos' things. I think that I am really in for it with him….

He is a climber. He can climb anything, he tries to climb everything and has had a few decent spills in the process. He made it out of his crib once and when we went in his room to check on him, (we heard the thud), he was just lying there on his tummy looking up with this look on his face like what the Hell did I just do? We lowered his mattress and now he can't climb out. He will move things around to use as a step to get things he wants. This can be the laundry baskets, toy baskets, chairs, boxes, an ottoman (he moved that across the house to get one of Russell's toys). A couple of days before Thanksgiving he fell off a chair and hit his eyelid on a shelf. So, he had a little cut and black eye for Thanksgiving.

He has mastered saying the word No. He can say just like you'd expect a bratty 2 yr old to say. It is a little scary that he already has picked that up. On the flip side, maybe he'll stop it earlier than the other kids did??? I can hope right? Sometimes he'll say "No, mom" just like a little guy. That one is pretty cute.

His talking is really coming along. He is talking in some full sentences already. "Mom, I want my bink" "Mom, I want to get out. Out!" In the car sometimes he'll just say over and over "mommy" like he's calling to me. It is so cute. Oh, Russ and Rach are in to knock knock jokes right now. Rowan tries to get in on it too. All of sudden he'll start up with "knock knock" and wait for you to answer. That's as far as he gets. But Rachel will sometimes answer with a silly "No one's home go away!" kind of thing and Rowan will just crack up. Then they start all over again. While we are shopping, he'll point out things he sees and names them or tries to name them. He tries to count.

He is singing now too. He would sing Beyonce's "All the Single Ladies" the oh oh part. Now he is trying to sing Twinkle Little Star, The ABCs, Itsy Bitsy Spider, it is really sweet. He'll just start it up on his own too. You just wonder what is going through their minds.

He tries to train the dog. He will get a treat and tell the dog to sit, stay, stay, stay and good boy! Then gives him his treat. Or if Jagger is getting in his face, he'll tell him to get down!

He gets his jammies after bath time. He always gets two pieces, they aren't always a top and a bottom, but he is so pleased with himself.

Rowan really thinks he is entitled to everything everyone else has. This makes ice cream and pizza difficult, as he is lactose intolerant. If he feels like he is being denied his fair share, (which isn't always his 'fair' share), he will let you know. Have I said he can get REALLY loud??

Hitting – not a proud moment, but he has started this phase. We are working on it. Time out is still a challenge, actually getting him to stay in it.

He can jump up with two feet off the ground. He gallops around the house and the yard.

When we go to the gym, you walk in the big doors and there is a huge entry area and music is playing. He always goes in through the doors, stops on the mat, looks up at all the stuff and then gets his groove going to the music playing. The people working at the front desk love to watch him come in. He used to not like going to the gym, but now that he is old enough to play on the big kid side, he is a happy camper. When he was on the baby side, he would stand against the wall and give the girls the stink eye. Now, on the big kid side, he gets right into it.

He likes to play phone. He'll pick up anything that looks like a phone and say "Helwo" and then nod his head and say Yea a lot. But if yo get him on the actual phone, he clams up and wants to press buttons on the receiver.

His understanding of directions is really incredible. He can almost do simple 2 step directions. He is so proud of himself.

And, I'll end with that….

Bring It

Well, Adam has been gone almost a month and let me review some of the fun I've had. The dog, (we got a dog in August), got into a 5lb chocolate bar that was a donation for Russell's school, the wind blew the storage container in the backyard completely apart, we had to decide whether or not to move to South Korea summer of 2010, the shower in the master bathroom had a slow leak that finally showed itself in the downstairs guest closet, and Rachel was jumping on the bed and had to have her front tooth pulled out by the dentist.

I'll start with the dog and end with Korea. We got a Morkie in August, he's a year old, Jagger, and he's as cute as can be. He's a little undisciplined as he came from a home that spoiled him. Well, he got into the chocolate and my wallet. He ate some money. I hardly ever have cash, but apparently he likes to eat $12 and chocolate. I was worried about him getting sick from the chocolate and then after the money thing, I thought, damn, if you are going to get sick and die, just die already, I don't need the stress of worrying. That sounds terrible and I didn't really want him to die, I was just fed UP. He didn't die and he's still just as naughty and cute as ever!

The wind blew apart a Rubbermaid storage container that houses our lawnmower and other backyard tools. I had to put that back together and hurt my back in the process. That was not a fun Saturday afternoon.

About 2 weeks ago, I walked into the guest closet to get out my wrapping paper. That closet is my total junk/storage closet. I opened the door and thought "Hmm, it is kinda humid and musty in here, that's weird." Then I felt something drip onto my head. That's not good. So, long, make that very long, story short; slow drip from the master shower finally shows up downstairs and involves a week of repair, restore and replace. I will say my landlord was awesome, came over the next day and dealt with the company fixing it and made sure that the kids and I were treated well by the crews coming in and out. I appreciated that.

Rachel. I went to a PTSO meeting to help plan out a fundraiser that I think is going to be a flop, but I am being supportive and helping. We were at a gal's house, where her kids rule the roost. Her boys convinced my daughter to jump on the bed, a "no-no" that never happens at my house. She bumped her head on the back of one of the boy's heads and knocked her front tooth loose and the one next to it loose. Mama calls the dentist and the dentist says get over here asap. It results in the dentist pulling the tooth out. It wasn't pleasant, Rachel screamed, we had to hold her down, even though she was numbed up and the whole thing. The result is that she still has a tiny piece of root still left up there. It could either absorb into the gum or become infected. The other loose tooth was not broken at the root like the front tooth, so it will either tighten back up or become loose and it will have to come out too. So, YOU KNOW since Adam is gone that a: the root piece will become infected and b: the other tooth will not tighten up. She will probably not have that front tooth grow in for at least year or two. The thing that makes me the most mad about the whole thing is that once we got over to the house and I saw how the kids just ruled the house, I had a bad feeling. I should have been more proactive with my own children. But the gal whose home we are at is so together, she really is smart, organized, helpful, etc. I just assumed it would be fine. I was more worried about Rowan than anything else. Never ignore the mom vibe. And, Christine, you are absolutely right, at least it wasn't a head injury. I cringe to think how bad that could have been.

South Korea. This could be a whole other blog entry. Basically the deal is this: Adam was promised a certain job when we moved to Vegas and it is not the job he is doing. It started out great; his Commander was terrific and gave Adam a lot to do and a lot of responsibility. Then that Commander left and new one came in. I won't sugar coat this, I think the new guy is a total douche and I thought this a long time ago. All of sudden, visions for the squadron change and Adam has nothing to do. And if you don't know Adam, you should know that Adam takes a lot of pride in his career and work ethic. He works hard and he likes it. An idle Adam is an unhappy Adam and therefore the unhappy Adam gets on Aim's nerves. Ha! When Adam was supposed to go to Afghanistan, the douche could have got Adam out of it if he really wanted to, but he didn't. It got cancelled and we lucked out. Adam really started looking down the line and realized that his career was starting to swirl down the toilet b/c the douche was hooking up his pilot guys. This meant that the nonpliots were getting squat. Adam is not the only person getting the short end of the stick. So, Adam just started working his contacts and a friend hooked him up.

South Korea is considered a remote tour, which is good to get people back on track, but not easy to get when you have a family that needs to move with you. At first, Ryan had nothing for Adam in Korea, but he kept working it an got Adam a 'command sponsored 2 yr remote' which means the AF will pay for us all to move to South Korea and ultimately means we would get the on base housing and the kids would have a secure spot at the school on base AND the services that Russell requires would be provided. (Would you believe that people move their families without it being paid for or guaranteed that their children could attend school??? I can't) The job offer came right before Adam left for Germany. Amazingly, the douche is going to let Adam leave Vegas early, (we are supposed to live here another school year). It takes a lot of paperwork and it doesn't look good on the douche if one of his guys goes early. But, he's going to do it. As we hunted details about South Korea, the school, the job, the lifestyle, we decided to go for it. So, yes, we are moving to South Korea in July/August 2010. I think I'll write more on the move and my feelings about it later. I am a 'glass is half full' kinda gal, so we'll make the best of it.

So, here I am at one month into this deployment and I think it has been a full month, relatively speaking. I have survived a tooth pulling, a plumbing leak, sleep deprivation (my only major complaint), dog poisoning, researched and decided upon a global move. What else can this deployment have on me? My answer is BRING IT.

 

Day One

Okay, so Adam is officially in Stuttgart, Germany. I posted his time zone in my gadgets on the blogger site. It seems he is 8 hours ahead of PST. I am missing him today - the little things the kids did, the report on his family after he left, you know all those things you talk about! The pillow talk.

He officially left Friday night if you are in the PST. Nothing is ever simple here, Friday, was the date of Russell's school's Fall Festival. This is the PTSO's biggest fundraiser of the year. And I am on the board and it is the ONE day I am fully committed to. Which just figures, since these things can never be simple!!! One thing that made life much easier was Adam's mom, stepdad and 1/2 bro, Morgan came for the weekend. They left Sunday morning.

Let me say that my new friends on the Board of the PTSIO have been incredibly supportive. Women I don't really know all that well being generous with their offers of babysitting, thoughts and prayers, and helpfulness. All this time I have dedicated thus far to PTSO has earned me some points!! Ha! Seriously, most of these gals, whom I didn't know until August, have been so good to me; it warms my heart and makes Vegas more fun.

At Fall Festival, I intro'ed the Co-Pres of the PTSO to Adam and she was so sweet. She just basically told him how honored she was to meet him and thanked him for his service and then told him she was keeping her eye on me and told him to email her via the school website if he felt like I needed a break b/c she knows our kids and is happy to babysit anytime. Her husband told Adam the same thing separately. How nice is that? I am really flattered. When I first met her, Faith, I really misjudged her. It just goes to show you can't judge a book by the cover - that is a good lesson for me.

So, Fall Festival... I sort of put myself in charge of the Silent Auction and Raffle. I won't go into details, but I have experience with silent auctions when I lived in OK and worked with Big Brothers Big Sisters. Those were BIG auctions, like $60k auctions. I feel like when we are in a duty station and I can help community, it is my duty to help in areas in which I can help. So, I took over the the auction and raffe and we made over $3k, which is great when you think we had a total of 58 items. That's like $55 per item. In this economy, that's decent. I worked my tail off on it and told people to help or get lost if they were going to try to tell me what to do!!! Ha! I do feel like it is my responsibilty to pass on knowledge to groups before we move on to a new duty station and when I leave, I hope that I left making them better. And I think that I will make Russell's school's PTSO a better fundraising organization than before I was on the Board.

Okay, so Day One without Adam. His fam left about 10:30am. After they left we had a good day. I made Russ a list of all of the things he needed to do today and then at the end of the list wrote his reward for his accomplishments. He got it all done with pride. Note to self, make Russell a list every Sunday!! We actually have had a good day today. The kids were helpful, Rachel wanted to go to bed early, Row went right to bed, so far, so good. I am sure it won't be this good every weekend!!

I do want to note that Morgan, Adam's bipolar 16 yr old brother, was so much better this weekend than I have experienced in a long time. He helped with the kids, he took out he trash when I asked him to, he played with the kids too; all of which are improvements and I am sure added to the ease of the transition of Adam leaving.

Sooooooooooooooooo.... Day one of Adam being deployed has been a good one. Day two may not be so great, but Day One was good.

Oh, don't worry, I won't report every day!!!

Weekend with Daniel

I really need to blog about San Diego, but this is a quickie about Daniel. Daniel is Rachel's class pet and he is stuffed animal lion. You get him for a weekend, take pictures, make a scrapbook page about your weekend and off he goes to the next student. Well, Daniel got lucky last weekend b/c we had ALL kinds of activities planned.

First up, I took Rachel and Daniel to Disney Live. We are sitting in our 2^nd row seats and hear this little voice say "There's Daniel and Rachel". We were sitting directly in front of one of Rachel's classmates, Christopher. Well, that deserved a photo right there – what are the odds of that? The show was fine, not as good as Sesame Street shows or as good as Disney shows in the parks, but Rachel and Daniel enjoyed it and that is what matters, right? I have to say the Buzz Lightyear and Woody were a little creepy looking.

Daniel's Saturday consisted of Russell's soccer game; he was a great cheerleader with Rachel. Then Rachel's class was performing at the Sat. evening church service. She goes to Lamb of God Lutheran School, which is of course attached to Lamb of God Lutheran Church. She had to wear a chapel uniform, (OMG, what is a chapel uniform? Luckily a jumper and peter pan blouse that we already have!) and we had to attend the church service. So, I left the boys (Adam and Rowan were under the weather) at home and took Rachel to church. We sat with Rachel's friend, Talulah and her dad, Lino. (Great family, lots of fun and they are from New Jersey.) Rach and Lulah were so cute in church, whispering, coloring, giggling; it was so much fun to sit next to them. Amidst the giggling and shooshing, I am trying to be a good visitor and pay attention. And what does the good Reverend start to talk about? Marriage. Uh oh, I am thinking…. Oh My God, I mean Gosh, here it is, I am at church and he is going to start talking about the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman. Fantastic. I think most of you know, I support gay marriage because to me it is plainly and simply discrimination. Don't get me wrong, I think churches have every right to not support it in their private institution, but the government should not discriminate. Like I said, plain and simple.

Okay, back to church. What can I do? I can't walk out b/c Rachel and Daniel still have to sing and I would totally walk out otherwise with the whole anti gay marriage sermon. How would it look in Daniel's scrapbook: Rachel's mom stormed out of church b/c she won't listen to anti gay marriage talk! Ha! Lucky for me, I was wrong!!! It was children he focused on and how they are little sponges and we should always bring them to church. Phew! So, then he invites up the uniform clad sponges and they sing. Everyone is taking pictures, the whole congregation is happy and the little sponges are adorable!!!

Sunday was football day, so Daniel got to witness us teaching Rowan how to signal and say touchdown. Not too much there. Then we made his scrapbook page, (Rachel put a paper cutter in her mouth, but no blood. Really, isn't she too old for that?), turned him in on Monday and Daniel will go on to the next house!

Back to School

So, a few of you have asked about school and how the kids are doing. Okay, okay, I get the point. Let me start by saying, I feel good about Russell and Rachel this year.

We'll start with Rachel… I enrolled her at a private Lutheran school, I blogged about it before. I am thrilled that I enrolled her there. She loves it and I think her teacher is good. She's firm, but nice. I really feel like at this point of Pre-K it is time to start getting a little more serious about classroom procedures and curriculum and Rachel's teacher is right there with my expectations. Some moms I have talked to have been a little put off with the routine and firmness, but I appreciate it. It's not like the teacher is a hard ass; I think she seriously takes her responsibility to have these kids ready for Kindergarten and quite frankly, that's what I am paying her to do, you know? Russ went to Pre-K at a public school in FL because he was an ESE student, but he got moved up to the ESE Kindergarten class b/c of numbers and in some ways got to do Kindergarten twice, which was huge for him. He was reading and doing a lot of things his Kindergarten peers weren't doing and he was in Pre-K. So, I feel really strongly about Rachel being in a good Pre-K program. Plus, she's getting all the fun extras. They are making a huge scrapbook of the year, (I sneaked a peek), lots of field trips, and going to have the full on graduation. She deserves that. I can't even complain about how much the tuition is, although I marvel at the fact that it costs more than our first or second car payment that Adam and I have ever shared!! At least it isn't more than the mortgage!!! Seriously, it is worth every penny and I have even made a couple of friends out of the deal.

Also, she has to wear a uniform, which isn't high on my list, but I can I say Rachel just ROCKS her lil' jumper and pleated skirts!! Ha! Russ had a strict dress code in FL and I do miss it. I try hard to find things for Russ that are cool and he'll wear. Poor kid has enough going against him, I won't have him dressing too cheap or dorky!! I know, that sounds horribly superficial, but at least I am honest to say it. I miss the strict dress code though.

I am really pleased with Russell's teacher this year, Mrs. Justice. I don't think I could have asked for better. I think I blogged about writing the principal to just place him in a good class and she did. Mrs. J taught 4^th grade last year, I wouldn't have even known to request her, so I feel lucky to have gotten him with such a great teacher. He thinks that Mrs. J is a little bit nicer than his 2^nd grade teacher, but "it's close". I find it easy to communicate with her and we are meeting next week to get a head start on Russ's IEP accommodations AND his SLP wants in on the meeting too, so I am thrilled about the proactive effort. Mrs. J has already sent home an extra reading textbook that we can keep all year to work on at home; as Russ does has some challenges with reading comprehension testing.

Russ has made a few new friends right off the bat. He doesn't seem to have any issues with anyone in class. I think he had a few 'mean girls' in 2^nd grade, so his 3^rd grade class seems better. He's more comfortable at school, which is good. He does still play at recess alone sometimes, but not always. His new friends like to play kickball and he doesn't, so he either watches or plays on the playground. I am keeping an eye out on that, but not too worried. He still loves the librarian, a buxom blonde that dresses a teensy bit inappropriately, but she is awesome. Russ told me he wished he could go to the library with Mrs. Yates every day. I do think it is b/c they both share a love of books, but the fact that she is easy on the eyes doesn't hurt either!!!!!!

I think I'll report on myself since I am on the PTSO Board this year. Wow, I am busy, but I don't mind. I have such a strong commitment to volunteering, especially since I have the luxury to stay home with my kids. I sometimes wonder about those moms who stay home, have all their kids in school and don't do anything. I do really feel the need to contribute to my community and am privileged to do so. I think I have contributed to the fundraising end of things in the PTSO where it was needed, silent auctions, where I have a lot of professional experience. I have met some great gals and new friends, so that is rewarding too. I have also had the great experience of getting to know the principal and office manager better. Both are extremely smart, driven women. I certainly have learned from them both already. The principal, Mrs. Douglass, is an amazing woman, hands down. I could blog about her alone. It is truly a privilege to know her.

Let's see, other than that…. Rachel is taking a couple of extras – "Cheer for Tots" and gymnastics – she loves both. Row and I are taking gymnastics while Rachel is in gym too. That is more work for me and my back, so not sure how long we'll do that. Russ is doing Scouts and soccer. Soccer surprised me, as last season's coach was such a douche. But, we have a new coach who is much closer to our philosophy of having fun and winning is secondary. Scouts will be interesting. Russ is interested and the social aspects are good for him. Russ is down to private speech once per week, which is a HUGE relief. That extra free night does my soul good. Once soccer is over, we'll revisit tennis.

So, all in all the back to school month has been good to us. I don't think that I mentioned that Adam is deploying at the end of October. He is going to Germany for 4 months. It was the deployment we both teased about… "Wouldn't it be cool if you get some weird deployment to Europe or in the States for less than 6 months…." And strangely enough we got it. Someone is looking out up there, thank you.

OH!! No back to school blog entry would be complete without NFL. I am playing fantasy ball this year. Just one team this year, which is unusual. But my team is in my league, I am THE Comish and we've been playing with most of these guys since 2004. I enjoy it and LOVE NFL ball. I am stating for the record, I probably won't win this year, but am hoping to make the playoffs. Wish me luck!

Big Martha Passes the Torch

I have so much I want to say about Don Garland, but putting it into words will really require an emotional session, that I just haven't wanted to face. I guess you could say I am not quite ready for that, but I know I will be in the future. I haven't even really found the 'oomph' to sit and write 'sympathy' cards for Linda, Dawn & TJ. I'd say I am more ready to write those and perhaps that will give me the energy to write my blog about Don.

Anyway, what I thought I'd write about is the passing of the "Martha Torch". Anyone who knows my mom, knows what a Martha fan she is. And you can't help but be drawn into it. There are many of us that call each other Martha when we do something especially fantastic in the homemaking, entertaining realm of our lives. It is a loving term, but it is also a bit of a joke too. My mom can make fun of Martha with the best of them, but she has this element of seriousness, detail orientation, and perfection, (much like Martha), that really makes my mom more Martha than anyone.

For Don's funeral reception, my mom and I were asked to be in charge. And of course, we were honored to do so. I was able to get to Napa on the Wednesday prior to the funeral, which was on a Friday. Before that my mom and I had been planning via email and phone, so I was ready to get business taken care of. From Wednesday until Friday night, it was nonstop. I guess this is the point where I should I say that Adam decided to stay in Las Vegas with the children. R&R had both started school that week, each with terrific starts, Adam had taken off work, but was working from home too. It was a hard decision to make. No, it was a gut wrenching decision to make. Adam and I both loved Don and wanted to honor his life and memory, but had to make the heart wrenching decision that it was ultimately better for our kids to stay home. In retrospect, I still think it was the best decision. I was able to really concentrate on the Garlands and the day and just be there for any little or need. If my kids were there, I wouldn't have been as capable.

Okay, so back to Martha… pretty much Wednesday and Thursday were all about prepping for Friday. Not only were we in charge of the reception, we were also hosting the 'after party' at my mom's house. We thought it would be nice to host family and friends that lingered or were from out of town at my mom's house for late lunch/early dinner and just relax after an emotional morning. I won't go into all the little details that happen prepping for such an event, but it was clear that Martha is getting older and not so good with her details. (I won't go into the details besides age on why I think Martha is losing her memory!!) Anyway, it came down to Thursday night, Martha wanted a family meeting. Andy arrived from Portland and she wanted to go over the plan for the next day. I am rattling off details when she finally looked at me and said, "Aimee, you are in charge". Big Martha passed the torch and I TOOK it!

It is kind of a poignant moment for me. Some of you know my mom and how she LOVES to be in charge, so for her to say it really meant a lot to me. I also know it was probably a little hard for her to say it too. Of course, in true Aimee fashion, I took and ran with it. All those years of my mom bossing me around - payback! Just kidding. Hmm… maybe not….

I have to say that Don's funeral, reception and 'after party' all went as smoothly as any of those things can go. I really felt like I was anticipating needs, taking care of little details that came up, tying loose ends, and anything else that would help family and friends be able to grieve and be comfortable.

What I learned is that it is hard work being Big Martha. Not only is the task itself exhausting, but you have to put your emotions on hold so everyone else doesn't have to. My mom had talked about that: when you are in charge of events like that, you don't get to grieve, celebrate, whatever the occasion is. (Now we know the REAL reason why she put me in charge…) While I believed her, it didn't really hit me until I was on the plane flying home on Saturday, the day after. It just took everything I had not to lose it on the plane and on the shuttle back to my car. It was such a relief to get in my car and bawl.

Gosh, I have sat here for 5+ minutes trying to write something else and just can't….. got to get back on 'mom' time – Russ will be home soon, have HW, think about dinner, sigh.

I do really miss him.

Don Garland

This is Don Garland's Obituary. I didn't write it and have much more to add from my personal relationship with him. But, he is on my mind and my life pretty much revolves around getting to Napa and helping Linda, Dawn and Tonja, so I wanted to copy this into my blog.

Donald Ray "Don" Garland passed away August 21, 2009 with the love of his family embracing him. He fought bravely against non Hodgkins Lymphoma, losing his battle with very sudden complications.
Don was born in Akron, Ohio to Lewis and Irene Garland on January 13, 1944, the youngest of two children. His sister Deanna (Stan) Ginther of Florida survives him. He grew up in Ohio, moving to New York in his late years of high school. He enlisted in the Air Force as soon as he met the age requirements, proud to serve his country for eight years. During his military tour he was stationed at air bases in Japan, as well as in the US. His first military career position was Aircraft Mechanic (C-130, C-135), then Missile Mechanic (GAM 'Hound Dog'), and Television Equipment Technician (closed circuit security TV used at/in missile silos). Upon his honorable discharge January 1969, he was employed at Singer General Precision Link Group at NASA. He worked on the CCTV lunar surface mock up that trained the astronauts for subsequent lunar landings. How proud he was to be part of the Space Program when the LEM landed and man first walked on the moon.
Don felt at home in the communications field. Returning to California, he worked for Delta Communications as a radio technician in Concord and So. Lake Tahoe, and as manager/technician in the Emeryville shop. He was a partner in Atcomm Inc, Vallejo at its inception. He owned and operated Napa Valley Communications for thirty years. His most recent employment was with the IT Department with the City of Napa. He loved his job, the people he came in contact with, and throughout his illness desperately wanted to return to work.
His wife of 44 years, Linda, and two daughters, Dawn (Evin) McKinney of Auburn, and Tonja (Mark) Mehelis of Napa, along with his precious granddaughters, Ena McKinney, Wyntress Mehelis, and Elizabeth Mehelis survive him. His teasing, smiles, sense of humor, big bear hugs, and love of family will be missed by many.
Throughout his life Don has been an amazing man. He was able to survive a traumatic brain injury in November 1996 resulting from a fall from a two story roof during a communications antenna installation, and to return to a line of work his doctors and therapists predicted he never would. Once diagnosed with cancer, he faced his chemo and radiation treatments with humor and dedication. When healthy, Don enjoyed woodworking projects, always creating something in his shop. He has helped both daughters with home renovations, and could always think of a creative way to fix things. Family camping trips brought much joy to Don, as well as nights spent under the stars with his telescope, always anxious to share his love of astronomy with others.
The family respectfully requests in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to the Lymphoma Research Foundation (www.lymphoma.org) or the charity of your choice.
The funeral service will be held Friday, August 28, at 10:00AM, in the chapel of Tulocay Funeral Home. Following burial at Tulocay, a reception will follow in the Tulocay Reception Room. 411 Coombsville Rd., Napa, CA 94558-3957