We were fortunate enough to receive a visit from Sam's Navy buddy, Tronner, for a few days! I hadn't seem him since I first met Sam....back in early 2005! Crazy.
Originally, Tronner was coming out to accompany Sam to a John Prine concert. Unfortunately, that concert was canceled, but Tronner still came out for a visit anyway!
We really enjoyed the few days he was with us. Sam and Tronner opened up the last bottle of strawberry wine they bottled together back in 2005. We had it hiding in our pantry just for a visit like this. It was perfect.
We took Tronner on a drive out to Papa's work to get up close to a wind turbine, stopping along the way to pick blackberries which I eventually made blackberry cobbler with. Yum! We also explored the old house out that way that we sometimes like to stop in at and check out. After berry picking, old homestead exploring, and visiting Papa's work, we went out to lunch at The Bluebird in Bickelton.
We wanted to take Tronner on a hike, so we decided on one of our favorites, the Pipeline Trail in Hood River. We love this one because it's fun walking on the metal walk way, and you can get off the trail and head down to the water to cool off and play in the sand! After our hike, we headed to Horsthief in The Dalles for a snack and some swim time! I didn't get any pictures of that because we were all too busy swimming and relaxing.
On Tronner's last day, on the way back to the airport, we took him to Solstice in Hood River for lunch, the Bonneville Fish Hatchery for a walk around, and Multnomah Falls for the view.
We are very thankful for the time we got to spend with our friend. Hopefully it won't be quite so long until our next visit!
With love,
Mama Hauck
Over the past few months, Sammy and I have both been able to get in to our tattoo artist, Jacob Hanks, for some work!
I had this vision for a "camping" arm....Mt. Hood, Timothy Lake, a tent, a campfire, etc. I was really excited for Jacob to start this piece for me! We got halfway done during the first round, and also added in an arm band to represent Sam and I.
We completed my camping arm during the second round! I also added in an arm band to represent each of the kids. Anthony is the different sized dots, Molly the arrows, Timothy the open diamond. I still have some ideas to elaborate on the arm bands, but all in due time.
For my birthday I went in and got a special piece done that I've been wanting. This is a drawing of our family Timothy did when he was 4! I love it so much I have it framed on my wall. Knowing there are no more babies in our future, I thought this was a fitting piece to have on my arm where another baby's foot print would have gone. Family complete.
As for Sam, he got one of his arms completely retouched, and has started on a chest piece. First the birds, then the line work of the ship. He will of course add color to the ship, and I think he's thinking of some mermaids and tortoises in the future.
With love,
Mama Hauck
