Our good friend, Mike Lee, just turned 40.  Saturday was the big celebration welcoming him to the big 4-0.  His adorable wife put together a golf themed party, with everything perfectly coordinated.  The boys started out the day golfing, but since it was so hot in the PNW, they had to call it quits after 9 holes!  Humidity + heat is not a great mix when you're out on the course.  

Tom & I were in charge of the cigars for the party, so I left the purchasing up to Tom, but I made all the signs.  Crafting has always been a hobby of mine, but I've never really done anything for anyone else, unless it was a gift.  Lately, I've been doing a lot more invitation/signage for people, and it's so much fun!  For the party, we made signage for each type of cigar.  Tom purposely picked a mild, medium, and bold flavor & came up with a great description of each cigar.  We set it up outside for all of the aficionados that wanted to partake.  

A close up of the signs for the food table & the bold cigars.

Couple more pics of the decorations.

Mike, Tom, & Griffin @ the party.

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Sunday we volunteered at Seafair for an organization called Sports in Schools.  We worked for 5 hours at the beer garden, which was a lot of fun.  I'd never served beer in my life, so I was a little stressed at first, but it didn't take long to get the hang of it.  It was fun to know we were there for a good cause, and we were still able to enjoy the Seafair festivities....especially the Blue Angels!!  Here's a pic of us all together.  Tom, Bolt & myself.  

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Friday night, for no reason at all, I did a google search for my grandmother.  She passed away a few years ago, and I miss her like crazy.  The search brought me to tears, anything does these days!  I found  the videographers website of the company who filmed my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary.  It was a 30 minute video that I watched in full, bawling on and off through the whole thing.  It was so surreal.  I remember being at the party, but it seems like a different life time.  I guess that's how I coped with her death.  It's like I have separated my memories pre death, and post death.  (Not sure if I'm explaining it right...)  After I moved to Boise, I started calling her at least once a week.  My grandma was my confidant.  Things I didn't want to bring up with anyone else, or stuff I needed advice on (from cooking to relationships), or just to chat, she was there.  Sometimes our convos were really serious, other times really light and fun, but I had gotten used to that as my norm.  So after she passed away, I really struggled.  All I wanted to do was make that phone call, but I knew it wasn't possible.  I miss her a ton, and I feel her with me all the time.  Unfortunately, as time passes, I forget a lot of things.  Her infectious smile is one of those that I will never forget.  As I was watching the video, I snapped a couple pictures of the typical Gma smile.  For those of you who knew her, this will brighten your day....

She was an amazing woman, and I miss her every single day.  Love you V. Arlene Andersen.