Mr. DeLeon

Look what arrived in the mail yesterday:

Yep, my man is now a "certified" teacher!

Congrats Monico. You deserve it.

40 years

Next week is my parents' 40th anniversary. To try to make it special, we ("the kids") coordinated a special anniversary gift for them. Because of our various schedules and obligations, we didn't have a lot we COULD do together, but when the idea came up to get a photo taken, things came together relatively easily.

So, the plan was this:

my oldest brother, Damon, was going to visit Washington for the first two weeks of July, so we arranged he would make a Seattle trip part of his schedule, where my other brothers Joe and Matt are living as well, with my sisters, Katy and Alissa, to drive up and meet us from Vancouver, Washington, where they live. Damon's wife, Heather, (with her nice new camera) was to serve as our photographer, so prior to everyone getting together, Monico and I scouted outdoor locations to use as backdrops. Ultimately, our best location option was University of Washington campus, which has various flowers, foliage, brick buildings, fountains, and benches to stage our photo(s).

After Heather digitally formatted the photo on her home computer, she ordered development online and delivery to Alissa, then Alissa located a frame and mat to finish it, and Katy took it to my parents this weekend to present them with their gift.

So, next time you visit my parents' house, you will see this photo added to their hallway "wall of pride"...

Haha, just kidding... The real photo is this one.