We are fairly confident that Dad had no clue what we were planning.  The surprise shows on his face.

The banner was made by four of Dad’s grandchildren just for the party!

Dad opening his birthday presents.  If you read his hat it says, “At my age….Getting lucky is finding my car in the parking lot!”

Being the smarty pants daughter that I am…I added 60 candles to Dad’s birthday cake.  We proceeded to light them, but when it was time to blow out the candles Dad was no where to be found.  He finally showed up to blow out the candles…!  Whew!

We hope that you had fun at your surprise birthday party!!!

It was so nice to celebrate Dad’s Birthday with him!

After eating our yummy sandwiches we checked out the dessert case….

The lemon bars were wonderful, but my favorite was the Peanut Butter Brownie!  Absolutely a must have!!!

Lizzi playing on one of the bar stools.

Nikki eating her ice cream cone…

One more look at the Main Street Deli and Bakery in Hughson, California!  Home of the world famous Kozy Sandwiches….

It was really pretty there too!  We spent the day looking at these beautiful cliffs.

We had a good time playing in the river.  It was nice and cool too!

Aunt Say talked Lizzi into going cliff jumping.  She was the first of the kids to jump and she jumped the most times.  She loved it, except the one time that she belly flopped.

Lizzi right after her belly flop….

It took Lizzi a while, but she finally went and jumped off again.  She was happy again.

We all had a fun time playing at the river and keeping cool in the hot summer sun!!!

They arranged to have one of the remaining “Navajo Code Talkers” come and tell of his experiences during World War 2.  He told of his time at Iwo Jima and how each “talker” was assigned a Marine who if anything should happen they were to shoot the “talker” and then himself.  The “talkers” could never be captured.

He told us of his 12 children and 100+ grandchildren and how he is 88 years old.  He explained how the code worked they would give a Navajo word, translate it into English, and then take the first letter of the English word to make it complete.  He said, “We could do in minutes, what it would take hours to do with the technology of that time period.”  He emphasized how young he was when he was over there just 19 years old.

For his service during WWII as a “Navajo Code Talker” he was awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor.  His name is Sgt. Major Dan Akee.  Quite an amazingly humble man.  It was a pleasure and an honor to meet this fine gentleman.  Even when he was getting a picture with our girls he was very grandfatherly with our girls.  Lizzi was going to stand next to Nikki and he moved her to his other side.  If you look closely he has his hand on Lizzi’s shoulder.

I was very impressed with his family too.  Many of his children and grandchildren were there.  The ones I had an opportunity to talk with had many kind words to say about their father/grandfather.  The young man holding the umbrella is one of his grandchildren and he held it for over an hour without complaining.

Another incredible adventure on our journey through life.  Meeting a “Navajo Code Talker” and listening to his stories is a day I won’t soon forget!  Another day spent with my wonderful family….

The kids played water games and toward the end Lizzi’s teacher and I decided it was time for us to join the fun!  So we went down the waterslide….

As I’m going down the slide I’m thinking, “This is fun.”  Then the water from the hose hit me and I’m thinking, “Wow, that’s cold.”  Next, I look down at the water and I’m thinking, “Ewwwww, that’s dirty.”  I think, “Alright I will put my feet down and I won’t get too wet.”  Nice theory, until my feet hit the slippery bottom and I went down.  I didn’t get my head wet, but I had wet clothes!

Lizzi and I thought it would be fun to go down together.  It was and we got even more wet!

It was a fun, wet Field Day at school!

On this Mother’s Day I would like to thank my Mom for showing me love!  Over the years she has shown me how to love my family, friends, and neighbors.  She has been an example of love in her jobs;  as Teacher, Realtor, Secretary, Librarian, and most especially MOM.  She has taught me how to love even when it’s difficult or painful.  She has shown that loving someone doesn’t mean you have to love what they do (Love the person, not the action).  She is a wonderful example of love even when things get overwhelming.  I Love You Mom and always will!!!  Happy Mother’s Day to you!

I’m so glad that he has a headstone for his final resting place.  I look forward to one day going and seeing it myself in person.  My grandpa felt very strongly about visiting your loved ones grave sites.  I want to honor him in this way.  I love you Grandpa!!!

Here is a photo of our new home….