Rick and I spent the 4th of July in Home, Washington with my in-laws Geoff and Jan Clark and a party of 40!  Here are some photos from yesterday….

My TWIN sisters-in-law Karen and Ingrid,  celebrated their 50th birthday yesterday!

Geoff and Jan’s cabin and waterfront property overlooking Puget Sound and Mt. Rainier, nestled in the forest ….pretty magical!

History tidbit:  Home, WA  was settled by anarchists after the assassination of President McKinley in 1901.  The anarchist community was also a nudist colony (who in God’s name would want a nudist colony in this cold branch of the world??? , but never mind!) and a community that espoused free love!  Someone from the Tacoma News Tribune came along in the early 1900’s and took scandalous photos of men and women frolicking in the nude in Puget Sound. The photos were enough to shut the commune down!  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home,_Washington

Silhouette of Kiliian and Michael, best friends recently graduated from high school. I kept thinking of the song, “I’m 18 and I don’t know what I want!! I’m 18, I’ve got to get away!!” This generation doesn’t seem to have that strong drive to “get away!” as I did and as Alice Cooper sings.

Maybe 18 is different today! I couldn’t wait to “get away” and make my own life, strike my independence, figure out what I was meant to do with this one precious life!

View of Puget Sound from Geoff and Jan’s cabin (sliver of Mt. Rainier in the background).

Geoff and Jan’s 4th of July Fruit and Cheese dish!

And the boats en route to being fully  completed: Rick, neighbor Vosky, and sister-in-law Ruth admiring the boat!

Beach art on Geoff and Jan’s cabin walls

Geoff as boy-fisherman! Father-in-law Bob was a photo journalist and took many great photos of the kids growing up! This is one of them.  My photo of Bob’s framed photo is slightly blurred… Original photo is PERFECT ( this is a photo of a photo)

Grown man Geoff still in love with Fishing! (my photo of a photo)

getting ready for a bonfire and fireworks

photo from today July 5th…Rick taking photo of the Eagle (see previous blog)…about 30 feet away from the eagle!

Photo of the Day:  Jeanie’s “boys” Vince and John!  I LOVE these guys!  They are two very extraordinary men!  And bless their hearts, they both got my dad’s balding gene.  You know, the balding gene pattern is passed on matrilineally  from maternal grandfather (my dad) to daughter (Jeanie) to her sons (Vince and John!!)

Just so you know what I’m talking about…my dad’s beautiful baldness (Well, happy to say, I got his skin tone, his hands, and his smile-not his hair balding patterns-…if only I had some sun to soak up to go deep brown).  I also think I look a lot like my mom in this photo!