Shannen's Visit

In the middle of April (or so, I don't remember just when it was!!) Shannen came down for a (almost) two week vacation. This was the longest she has been able to stay with us since she went off to BYU so we were thrilled!!
We did lots of things but mainly we were just together. Shannen did a lot of reading and relaxing which I'm sure seemed very good to her after a busy school year.
One of the main things that she wanted to do while she was here was to go to Disneyland. It think it had been around 15 years since Paul had been there and I figured out it had been around 26 years since I braved it.
I will have to say I was very pleasantly surprised with how the day went. The weather was perfect, it had been hot the few days before, the crowds were few and the rides were fun.

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(Okay, just a side note to really gross out Shannen and all you others that hate spiders. As I was just writing the last line a tiny little spider started waking across my glasses!! I'm writing about Shannen and the spiders show up!! They just love her!!)

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Okay, back to Disneyland. We went there on a weekday and before school got out for the summer. Perfect timing! We didn't have to wait in any line for any of the rides!!! We didn't use the fast pass once as there we never a reason for it. How perfect is that!! That is the way to go and really enjoy the park!!

Shannen and her Dad

Maggie and Paul


Happy Campers!!

Calling to see where Jack Sparrow was. That was one of the main things that Shannen wanted to see and we looked and looked but he never came out while we were there! Sad, Sad Shannen.

My "StrongMan"

This is a picture taken from the TV screen after Space Mountain. I wanted this picture to prove that I really did go on the ride!! I can't say it is something I want to do all the time but I did have fun on it. That really surprised me. It surprised both Paul and Shannen that I went on all the rides as I had told them I wasn't going on any!! I figured I would be brave!!!

I did a little bird watching while we were there.

I was very impressed with all the displays in the park. Everything was well done and beautiful. I would love to do a walking Garden Tour before hours when no one is there. Some of the plantings were fantastic.

I loved this old truck.

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Another day was spent at the beach.

This is about as far in as they got into the water. The water was COLD!!

The last time we went to the beach with Shannen it was cold and so windy we were getting sandblasted. It wasn't as cold or windy this time thank goodness. I can't say it was warm though!! I didn't take off my jacket the whole time. Think this is how I spent most of the day we were there!!!

We drove up to the Ventura Pier afterwards for lunch at Eric Ericsons on the Pier. Had a good meal and fun time.

Walked the Pier.

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Shannen wanted to play baseball.

They played some in the backyard but of course that is hard to do in a small yard. They then made a date for the next day and went down to the park to play. I don't know why she wanted to play. I think I missed that conversation.

Shannen never does things half way. She made up this shirt with the name of a favorite person in one of the books she was reading. I think it was the Twilight set but I'm not sure. I haven't read them so don't know for sure. It might have been from the Uglies set.

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We had so much fun with Shannen here!! Thanks Shannen for coming down and spending time with the Old Folks!! We love you.

Jim's Graduation

On June 15, 2008 Jim received his

Master of Environmental Science and Management (MESM)

from the

Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of Santa Barbara.

http://www.bren.ucsb.edu/

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Whoo Hoo!!!!!!

Here he is as he was walking down to the stage at the beginning of the ceremony. Jessy stood up on the chair and took a bunch of pictures. We had just yelled at him to get him to turn our way.

I love this picture!! He looks so happy. Shaking hands with Chancellor Henry T. Yang right after his name was read. Jessy let out a very loud yell when his name was read. He said he heard it from the stage!
Coming off the stage.
Jim said it was always his dream to graduate from UCSB and now he has done it!
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A little about the school. Follow the link above to get all the information on it.

"In its relatively brief history, the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at UCSB has earned a reputation as one of the top schools of its kind in the nation. It is among a handful of schools in the United States and the only one in the West that integrate science, management, law, economics, and policy as part of an interdisciplinary approach to environmental problem-solving.
Located on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean and led by Dean Ernst von Weizsäcker, the School is a leading center of research and teaching, where every student, whether pursuing a Master’s or a Ph.D in Environmental Science and Management, receives a rigorous, varied, and highly personalized academic experience. The Bren School attracts the brightest and most dedicated students, who benefit from being taught and mentored by a faculty of distinguished leaders in their respective fields.
The School pursues its research- and education-based mission at Bren Hall, a cutting-edge structure that has been recognized as the "greenest" laboratory facility in the United States. It is home to a collection of superbly equipped laboratories, computer centers, lecture halls, and other teaching and meeting places that support instruction, research, and the development of tomorrow's most capable scientists and environmental managers. "
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One thing for sure, when they say "rigorous" they aren't kidding. I couldn't believe the amount of work Jim had to do in the two years he spent there. Grandpa was always saying he is studing all the time!! Paper after paper had to be done. Class after class to study for.

Showing the hood. Gold was for Science.

James Alan Anderson

The Group that made the trip up to Santa Barbara . Grandpa, Jessy, Jim, Tammy and Paul.

With his very, very proud Mom!!


Tammy and Jim

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Well done Jim!!!!

The Next Few Posts

In the next week I will try very hard to catch up with everything that has been going on since the middle of April. It has been a very busy and wonderful couple of months that has left me smiling often!!
I don't know if I will keep everything in order or just post willy-nilly but I will try and get everything down.

I just want to say how very lucky I feel to have the family and friends that I have in my life. I feel truly blessed. I'm the lucky one!! Thank you one and all!!!

Poem: Of The Terrible Doubt of Apperances by Walt Whitman

Of The Terrible Doubt Of Appearances
by Walt Whitman

Of the terrible doubt of appearances,
Of the uncertainty after all, that we may be deluded,
That may-be reliance and hope are but speculations after all,
That may-be identity beyond the grave is a beautiful fable only,
May-be the things I perceive, the animals, plants, men, hills, shining and flowing waters,
The skies of day and night, colors, densities, forms, may-be these are (as doubtless they are) only apparitions, and the real something has yet to be known,
(How often they dart out of themselves as if to confound me and mock me!
How often I think neither I know, nor any man knows, aught of them,)
May-be seeming to me what they are (as doubtless they indeed but seem) as from my present point of view, and might prove (as of course they would) nought of what they appear, or nought anyhow, from entirely changed points of view;
To me these and the like of these are curiously answer'd by my lovers, my dear friends,
When he whom I love travels with me or sits a long while holding me by the hand,
When the subtle air, the impalpable, the sense that words and reason hold not, surround us and pervade us,
Then I am charged with untold and untellable wisdom, I am silent, I require nothing further,
I cannot answer the question of appearances or that of identity beyond the grave,
But I walk or sit indifferent, I am satisfied,
He ahold of my hand has completely satisfied me.