"Ocean in View, Oh the Joy!"

Dear family and dear friends,                                                          June/July 2026, (posted early August)

June’s letter was penned on the way to the ocean. 

(Happy June birthday, Dad!) 

 Two graduations with grandsons were celebrated.

 

.  A visit with a brother, 

 and a collection of Florida girls—from the airport,

 

 (a daughter who had traveled nearly 15 hours alone with three children, ages eight and under) followed by a drive through Tacoma traffic, not something we navigate often.

When nearly a quorum of our children were united, we found time to walk to the beach,

 

explore a cheese factory,

and visit a tower celebrating Lewis and Clark. 

When the power went out our first Sunday there. Neighbors were kind, church members were generous with their prayers, and we witnessed what felt like a small miracle — the power returned just in time to save a refrigerator full of perishables. Our daughter, a food science graduate, had warned us not to leave things unrefrigerated for more than four hours, so she, her husband, and our daughter-in-law were already out securing ice and prepping to barbecue everything when the lights came back on.

The first night, our eight-year-old twin granddaughters worked a simple eagle-and-flag puzzle — their way of honoring the country's 250th birthday. 

What are you doing to commemorate such a year?

 Everyone found something special with cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. 

The families worked out an elaborate bathroom and laundry schedule, and meals and cleanup were handled with real care. One morning at breakfast, I shared a story about a Japanese World Cup team cleaning their stadium, to teach the grandchildren about leaving a place better than they found it — something their scouting uncle reinforced with his "360-degree look" before leaving any campsite.  Most of all, our focus during these wonderful ten days was making memories: 

* Reading From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler at bedtime, 

(A favorite part:  page 38-39:  Two siblings on an unusual adventure, after acknowledging each other's weaknesses, announce to one another "You're not too bad!"  "Something happened at precisely that moment...they became a team...a family..."  

[emphasis added.]

What kind of  an adventure might awaken such an acknowledgement in YOUR summer?)

Playing Rook and Bananagrams, 

Cards, board games, badminton (with the first group, with boys later),

pouring and decorating garden cement blocks outside, perfecting a granola recipe with the help of a talented 14-year-old granddaughter, and meeting a kind neighbor in a baseball cap with his dog, Rupert. Truly unforgettable.

Before the second week was over, were joined by all of the rest of our eight children, a miracle! 

 Three drove down from Renton with a few granddaughters in tow.  

  
Grandsons followed close behind, teasing moms with texted pictures of police flashing lights of a speeding ticket (however, the police car was in front and had little to do with their journey.)

More than a handful of puzzles. 

Four on a Couch (memory human chess game, featuring teams with socks and no socks.)

 Rook, Ticket to Ride, Hand ‘N Foot.

 Kites, sand castle digging,

 fire pit cooking,

birthday and graduation cheers, 

A thoughtful Father’s Day gift wrapped and presented to Grandpa to replace a (once stolen) nylon string guitar that will help him accompany “El Arroyito Da”  (a beloved Spanish version of “Give Said the Little Stream”) cherished family melody. And tips from a few experienced players.  

 At Cape Disappointment we reflected on Lewis and Clark's joyful cry, "Ocian in view! O the joy!"  

, —Words of relief echoing from travelers with Lewis and Merryweather Clark on their journey to where the mouth of the Columbia River met the Pacific Ocean.  They called it the “vast ocean” because it did not seem very pacific (or peaceful) to them. It reminded us that sometimes our life's journey includes beauty AND challenges.

Upon arrival to our home (15 hour straight through drive),

we celebrated the summer and Independence Day with grandchildren and neighbors

and pioneers, welcoming teens back from a wilderness trek.  Who are pioneers in your family?  

We as learning from our trekkers there can be NO lazy dancers!

Grateful for answered prayers after a month of waiting, to find a missing check returned in the mail— reason to test a theory from a book from Seaview's thrift store:  “If Satan Can’t Steal Your Joy, He Can’t Keep Your Goods”: Joy can act as spiritual armor,  a thought to offer young adults discovering we can be architect of our own happiness.

  

Another “aha!” about oceans.  In Spanish, “to love” is “amar”.  “A mar” can also mean “to the ocean,” pointing to words of a beloved hymn: 

“Oh, the deep, deep love of Jesus—

Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free—

Rolling as a mighty ocean

In its fullness over me!

Underneath me, all around me

Is the current of His love—

Leading onward, leading homeward

To His glorious rest above.”

 

As we each march an individual “trek,”  may your oceans be peace-filled and your happiness architected with care. 

As a good month has raced by in the interim of loving grandchildren and climbing back on life's hamster wheel, tell us:  What has your summer looked like?  How are you celebrating our country's 250th?  Have you had any family get-togethers? Joyful gatherings?   Pleasant outings?  

We love you!

  Laurene and Val