Marine Memorial

I woke up early on the morning of July 4 and walked from our hotel over to the Marine Corps War Memorial (also called the Iwo Jima Memorial), which is dedicated to all personnel of the United States Marine Corps who have died in defense of our country since 1775. The design of the massive structure was based on the famous photo taken during the World War II battle of Iwo Jima by photographer Joe Rosenthal. Three of those depicted raising the flag were killed on Iwo Jima during later stages of the battle.

U..S. Capitol

On July 3 Beverly and I visited The Mall in Washington, D.C., and I was able to take some photos of the U.S. Capitol.

Mount Vernon

During the July 4 holiday weekend Beverly and I traveled to Virginia for the July 2 wedding of Spencer Holleman, who is the son of our friends John and Beverly Holleman. On the day of the wedding Beverly and I toured George Washington's home at Mount Vernon.

Lon Morris College Graduation

On May 7 Cody graduated from Lon Morris College. The gold tassel indicates that he is a member of Phi Theta Kappa, the honor society for two-year colleges. The white cord indicates that he is a Service Learning graduate. It's not indicated as part of his academic regalia, but he was named to "Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities." Beverly's sisters Cindy (left) and Janis (right) attended the ceremony. Following the ceremony, Cody's brother Stephen and his wife Meghan hosted a party at their home in nearby Tyler. The bottom picture shows Cody's brother Hardy visiting with Beverly at the party.

Cody's next stop is The University of Mary-Hardin Baylor, where he will continue his studies in Religion.

Late Christmas at Trails West

Baylor v. A&M

Hardy, Stephen, Cody and I have a tradition of attending the Baylor v. A&M football game every year. Here we are at the Ninfa's in Waco following this year's game. I am wearing Baylor green, Hardy is wearing Baylor gold, Stephen is wearing Aggie maroon, and Cody is wearing neutral black. If I look a little grumpy it's because Baylor lost. But I got over it. That's one good thing about being a Baylor fan, it teaches you resiliency after a loss.

Lake City

These pictures were taken on June 12 during a trip that Cody and I took to Lake City, Colorado. Mother tells me that my first trip to Lake City was during the summer of 1950 when she was pregnant with me. She also tells of staying in the Matterhorn Motel when I was five or six, and she and Dad looked out and saw me on top of the hill behind the motel. The Matterhorn and Lake City haven't changed much since the 1950s.