Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Grandpa Hopper Turned 75

Last Saturday, all the kids in Keith's family surprised their dad with a birthday party! All but four of the grandkids were there too. Missing were: Heather and James, Emmalee, Brad and Kristen and Cory.
Here are some highlights:

Surprise!

Cards from everyone

Jay, Annie and Lainey

Rick, JD, Alex and Shaulana

Patty, Wayne and Nicole

Lynn and Myla

Lacey, Alyssa and Myla

Drew

Jamie and Terry

Adam

Terry, Lynn, Keith, Wayne, Grandpa and Grandma
The only one missing is David

Uncle Wayne fighting with the canopy

Bella, waiting for her chance to get out of the car

The next generation: Total Cuteness!

Monday, July 27, 2009

Another Last...



I just need to mention that Lainey got her braces off last week...and she looks lovely! Thus ends a 13 year era of orthodontia in the Hopper House. I think the Doctor probably sent his kids to college on the money paid. A small fortune!

For Joe's Benefit


Friday night was very heartwarming. Joe VanDomelen was able to know how much a lot of people care about him. Adam was able to accomplish his Eagle Scout Project. It was definitely a "win, win" night.
For a few months now Adam has been planning a Benefit Concert in honor of Joe. He has osteosarcoma. Bone Cancer. He was diagnosed last November after feeling an unusual pain in his hip for a while.
He has been receiving chemo treatments since then. It looks like he is going to need further treatment, including chemo as well as radiation to try and arrest the growth of further sites of cancer.
Joe will be in Texas for treatment for the next two months.
I admire Joe and his family. They have been so strong through all of this. They continue to be optimistic and postitive. I don't know that I would be as strong. It is an amazing thing to watch.
I'm proud of Adam for taking on this adventure and I am so excited that the concert went so well.


Adam was MC-something he is definitely not comfortable with. He did a great job!



He also conducted one of the numbers. The first group was made up of about 42 musicians, mostly Century High Students, but also about 13 alumni and 4 members of the community who wanted to help.



The groups from the Hillsboro Arts Summer played too. First a trombone ensemble and then a jazz group. These groups were made up of Century Band students and alumni.


Joe came up and played one of the numbers too! It was wonderful to see him join in.

There has definitely been someone missing this last year from the band.


Thanks Mr. McKelvey for your conducting help. We appreciate you!

A big thanks to Mr. Dunlop for being Joe and Adam's mentor through this process. They can always count on you.




Friday, July 24, 2009

Making Progress...!





Some progress in the garden! Here's an update. You can probably tell, it's been a while since I've gardened in earnest, so I'm a little over excited!


Here's the first of the zuccini harvest!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Brad's Birthday

Happy Birthday Brad! Brad turned 23 today! Happy Birthday Brad! We celebrated a couple of weeks ago while he was here.

We had some yummy strawberry shortcake...