Becky: Through the ages, pt. 1

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You can call her Bex, Reebock, Piranha or just plain Becky. Whatever you choose, she will answer with a smile on her face and love in her heart. Let's take a close look at our middle daughter.

Swing, swing. What could be more fun than that?

If you are going to wear a big hat and a bright sash, you might as well finish off the ensemble with a machete.

Sparks Nevada is known for its heat. The water park is amazing, and popular.

Hey, wait a minute. That's Laura's towel!

That's better.

This is one of the earliest photos that I have of Becky.

Who says that you need to keep your eye on the ball? Swing, swing. What could be more fun than that?

Those are authentic Oakland A's autographs on the ball. It was Firefighter appreciation day at the Oakland Coliseum. We got to go down on the field during warm-ups.

There is no better place to work through an issue than in your mother's arms.

That's better.

I have absolutely no idea as to what is going on here.

Note to Ben and Thomas: One pair of glasses per person.

Our front yard swing is tied to a limb that is 35' up. The ground slopes away. It is possible to get 10' off the ground at the far end of the arc.

Becky could practically hide behind her certificate.

Sometimes we play with water that is frozen.

What big eyes you have!!

The edge of Mom and Dad's bed is a great place to hang out.

You don't necessarily get big hands when you become Reformed.

Becky started driving at an early age.


Becky is a bright and beautiful young lady. She has filled our home with joy; we are blessed to have her in our midst. I sit between her and her mother at the dinner table; it's the best seat in the house.

be safe,
Hec @ 19

Wrap up

Please start reading at Bonfire update #1
This is a final collection of images from what has proven to be a very successful bonfire. They are more or less in chronological order, and mostly without comment.


I'll let you draw your own conclusions about the following image.














This is the start of Saturday morning.







The event is still in progress; people are hiking, riding dirt bikes, playing board games or Nerts or simply enjoying good fellowship. I'm going to take a cue from Mr. Bisbee and say goodbye. Blame it on exhaustion, I need to sit still for a while. If you like what you have seen, plan on attending next year.

be safe,

Hec @ 19

The moment you've been waiting for

Please read Bonfire update #1 first.
Well folks, here you have it, the main event. People were done with their food, and were mentioning that it was getting a little chilly. Thomas lit off the BIG bonfire. Nobody is feeling chilly now.

#5

#4

Please read #1 first.
The first and second fires have been lit. These are the little ones.

Update #3

Please read #1 first.
The first hike has been completed.

Update #2

Please read #1 first.
The rain quit. Thomas is awake. Lunch is served.

Bonfire update #1

Friends,

Here is your first briefing of the day's activities. The bad news is; it's raining. The good news is; it's safe to light the fire. This leaves only one question. If a brush pile is ignited and no one is there to see it, will it burn?

Ben isn't really scowling, he just doesn't understand why I am taking a picture of raindrops on the car.

I'll keep you posted...

Hec @ 19

He is risen!

Mrs. H is real big on tradition. One thing that she and I had in common as children was a family Easter egg hunt. It is only natural that she would want to carry on that tradition nowadays, much like the annual production of Christmas cookies that you read about a few months ago. We moved the yearly hunt to Saturday for a variety of reasons. Here is an abridged chronicle of what occurred yesterday.

An obvious first step is to decorate the eggs.

Everyone except Thomas got involved. Thomas is spending the graveyard shift at the hospital in Sonora as he pursues his Paramedic certification. Thomas slept through this part of the fun.

A game of Speed Scrabble helped to pass the time while we waited for Thomas to wake up.

This year I decided to hide the eggs in the back pasture, which is a departure from past practice. Mrs. H is a traditionalist, but she retains a certain degree of flexibility. Each one of us has an egg with our name on it. If you find an egg with someone else's name, you leave it alone while you continue to search for your own (along with the forty-some other eggs). I hid my own egg in my pocket. Mrs. H was not amused.

Did Thomas find his egg floating in mid-air?

Here's one for the basket.

When searching for eggs it pays to look at all levels for the elusive prizes. One of the last eggs found was hiding in plain sight atop a fence post.

The basket grows heavy as the pasture yields its treasure. I gave a few hints to help our hunters find the last few. Ginger's passing took a certain amount of the pressure off; she was very good at finding eggs.

Ben had more fun watching his siblings once his own egg was secure.

The house is in the background.

The Hector family recommends that you bring a football along when hunting for Easter eggs. I offer the following series of photos to help explain why Ben never tried out for the NFL.






If you want to get a reaction out of Mrs. H, just slip something into her Easter basket that doesn't belong there. If you can't tell what that strange object is, just remember that we are in a pasture that is occupied by a horse. I can assure you, it wasn't one of the girls that committed this despicable act.

The hunt is completed, all fifty two eggs are accounted for. It is time to head back to the house.

Before going in I posed everyone (except myself, we did not bring the tripod) for a family portrait.

Ben offered to carve the turkey at our traditional Easter meal. He attended the Norman Bates School of Culinary Arts.

This last photo is included to:

#1. Prove that I was there.
#2. Prove to Mrs. H that I have the effrontery to publish unflattering photos of myself.
#3. Provide a possible explanation as to where my family got their tendency to wear improvised headgear.

If you think that Christmas is the biggest Christian holiday of the year, I beg you to reconsider. Christ is risen! Easter marks the culmination of the greatest plan there ever was.

be safe,
Hec @ 19