I can't believe my Dad is seventy! He is in amazing shape and still as ornery and opinionated and funny as ever. We love him so! He wouldn't let us throw him a party, although in retrospect, I wish we would have just done it anyway, because he would have enjoyed it. But he's nothing if not hard-headed, and with weddings and broken legs and high blood pressure (not mine!) in the mix, we let him have his way... Dang it! But! When The 4 B's headed over a few weekends ago, we had an impromptu surprise mini celebration, decorated Veteran style. And it was fun! And he enjoyed it, just like we knew he would. I don't care who you are - everyone needs to feel special on their birthday! I couldn't think of anything to get him for his birthday, though, so I did some research and came up with a different kind of present. With the help of my mother, I sent out seventy letters with seventy pre-stamped postcards I special ordered, and asked people to write their favorite memory him on there and to pop it in the mail to him. So far, he has really loved getting the postcards! Some people have still not sent theirs, yet, but I am hoping they will pull through. If they do, he will have 70 memories to commemorate his 70 years!
While we were there, he brought out some old walkie talkies he had, with super long antennas, and the little B's tested them out. They work GREAT! They took them camping that week, and they worked great up in the forest, too. Super clear! We had some great laughs watching them try them out.
Dad's elk was finally brought to Harney County, and then displayed for a couple of days on the highway at the Taxidermist's station. It looked magnificent! I talked Dad into going down and posing by it. The next morning, we brought it back to his house, which was quite the ordeal, because it is so HUGE! And with Brady's leg being out of commission, I helped Dad carry it in, and holy smokes! Let's just say it is not light, and on top of that, it is an awkward shape and did I mention it is quite large? Anyway, we got it in, and he and Mom just finished making a beautiful custom stand for it to be displayed on, and although I don't have a picture of it to put on the blog, trust me - it looks amazing! I'm so happy for my parents to have this to enjoy. They deserve it!