Let Him Eat Cake!

Happy Birthday Today, to Kevin!

Kevin is on the road doing his job so I am left home alone to my own devices.
Since he's not here to enjoy some birthday cake, I thought I'd show you a little bit of my
Beefcake Boyfriend.

1975-ish on the glacier at Logan Pass, Glacier Park, Montana. We hiked to the top and then skied down to the lodge. How cool and groovy is that???

Can I just say, hubba hubba. Sorry, that's a bit cheesey. 

Oooooooh! Cheesecake!

Forester's Ball, Missoula, Montana

We are the cute couple in the middle.

Leslie, Greg, Kevin & Me hiking in Montana

This was our Christmas card one year. (1984?) 

Kevin likes pigs - ever since he saw Arnold the Pig on the TV show Green Acres. One of our first dates was to the Missoula County Fair. Kevin specifically sought out the livestock barn to see his favorite pigs. He was in hog heaven.  and yes, I really did say that.

Kevin is a Taurus, the bull. He is honest, trustworthy, true-blue, sweet, stubborn, tender-hearted, kind, generous and today's Birthday Boy. He also plays a mean bucket-drum.

Flathead Lake (working on the famous Burham Burn)

. . . 

Happy Birthday, Kevvie. 

Love you.

xoxoxoxoxo

        

Rustlemania

Kevin was devastated when JoJo died.  Seven had passed away in June 2008. Jo stayed to make sure we would be OK. Then, she slipped away in February 2009. The house was so darn quiet. Sometimes, I would see seven out of the corner of my eye or feel Joey at the foot of the bed. Kevin didn't walk as much as he had before with his doggy companions. We were depressed. Kevin shaved off his mustache after having it for most of his adult life. Time for a change.

Shano called to tell us that one of her Collies needed a good home. He had been returned to her because the family couldn't bond with him. The poor dog seemed to have issues with men and was very shy.
We stopped by to meet this Collie. I suspected we wouldn't be going home empty-handed. Shannon brought the Collie out and he practically leapt into Kevin's lap. Done. Case closed.

They are both big Montana Grizzly fans.

It's just like the old days around here. When the boyz were little, there was tons of fighting, farting and wrestling going on. Loud. Obnoxious. Funny. Same thing.

hide 'n' seek

gotcha!

The past couple of years have been good for shirt retailers...

Creature's Comfort

We had a box turtle in the family for a while. Micah found Fast Freddy in a pet shop in Kalispell, Montana when he was about 5 years old. Freddy lived comfortably with us for about 17 years. He wandered in the backyard and hibernated in the kitchen in his terrarium under leaves. We fed him delicious Washington slugs. Once, Freddy disappeared and was found by Mr. Finn's dog next door in the bushes. When Fred was in the yard, I stuck a ball of clay on his back with a straw holding a small paper flag so I could see where he was. No sneaking under the fence, Mr Fred!  Micah insisted I take it off because it was so humiliating for Freddy.

Then Spud came along...

Sweet Potato (aka Spud) was an African Spurred Tortoise. He was about the size of a saucer when I brought him home. Another pet that Kevin needed to warm up to.
Spuddie loved to be outside grazing on clover, new, tender grass and dandelions. He took care of the weeding for us.
Spud was an escape artist like his cousin, Freddy. He didn't go under fences—he walked right through them.

Thank you, Kevin for rescuing our Tortoise.

Spud could move chairs, along with the people sitting in them. He would wander all over the house looking for a warm corner or a spot of sunshine to nap in. Needless to say, he sometimes had to really hunt for sunshine in wet, gray Washington State. He liked the wood stove. He also enjoyed the bathroom where we kept a baseboard heater going for him. 

Kevin shaving. Spud 'helping'.

Finally, Spud outgrew the house. He had gotten as big around as a dinner plate/platter. Plus, it just wasn't tortoise weather here. He packed his bags and moved to Arizona. He has his own yard now where he naps in the hot, dry sun and torments the family's little dogs. We are glad he's doing so well, but we really miss him. 

All Creatures Great and Small

It took me a while to convince Kevin that we NEEDED a dog. I began my search by window shopping at the local shelter. Bad idea. I could have rescued about a dozen sweet dogs, but Kevin was the voice of logic. Finally, my fever caught up to him.

While seeing customers, Kevin went to the shelter in Tacoma to see a little dog described in an ad as a young Golden Retriever mix. He walked down the aisles, past several anxious dogs and maybe a goat...
and there she was. This skinny, blond, energetic pup with big brown eyes and a smile. It's ME she said! He was smitten on the spot. But the shelter wouldn't let him just scoop her up and take her home. He needed to bring me in for approval. Kev drove the 60-some miles back to the house, picked me up and off we went to the shelter.

We filled out the forms and as the doors were closing for the day, JoJo Starbuck* dragged us to the car and we were headed home with our new dog. (*named after the Olympic figure skater, JoJo Starbuck, not the coffee company)

Then, we brought seven home. He was the Cutest Puppy in the Whole World!

These dogs! They were cherished members of our family. Kevin took them for several walks a day. Joey was the boys' dog. Seven was mine (he thought I was his real Mom).

One of Kevin's favorite things to do was to go for a run every Sunday morning. Joey was his jogging partner. After his run, Kevin would go to the local donut shop and pick up a dozen fresh "donies". The shop was owned and operated by a nice Chinese family. Kevin is the sweetest guy and always greeted them with a smile.  Nine times out of ten, the dozen donuts amounted to about 15. 

For a while, Kev didn't wear his wedding ring. A rash or something.  On those Sunday mornings, Grandmother at the shop made sure that Granddaughter waited on Kevin. I think one time he came home with at least 18 donuts!!! He denies this because he is totally oblivious. The boys were thrilled and insisted he go to the same shop every Sunday.

Kevin with pals, Enzo & Zeta Trimarco-Strazzanti

The Grandkids, Eddie & Moose

The new guy, Rusty (Russell Joe Burham) 

Yep. He's gonna like it here.

Not just Reading the Paper

Uh-oh. Looks like Kevin does a lot of sitting and reading the newspaper. So, here's a picture of him doing something else!

The Birthday Boy

Kevin and his big brother, Greg (1955-ish)

Kevin and Greg at Elger Bay Grocery store. We go there for breakfast when Greg's in town.

When Kevin was younger, he and his pal, John Heinecke had a go-cart. It was exactly the same as the one in this photo—only different. 

. . . 

Kevin and his big brother, Greg (2011). Really nice guys just relaxing after a giant breakfast at Elger Bay Café...

Kevin's Birthday Month this Week

Hey! It's Kevin's Birthday Week! He's feeling fine and sassy. (Still not eating popcorn. Just ice cream for a snack. Soft foods.   heh. heh. heh.)

We are seeing the SUN finally and thinking about getting out the kayaks. We paddled across Saratoga Passage a couple of times in the summer, all the way from our Camano Island beach to Whidbey Island. We think we are very adventurous.

Best Friends

I am participating in a photo-a-day creative using Instagram. It's a great project through  Fat Mum Slim. The prompt a couple of days ago was to photograph "someone who makes you happy".   Since Kevin makes me happy and we've been married forever, I took his picture while he was having lunch and feeding Rusty from the table. (OK, that part doesn't make me so happy.)

I like how Rusty is looking my way with his sweet, innocent expression, like 

"What? I'm just sitting here minding my own business. Is it my fault that food flies off his plate? I don't think so."

Kevin is a big popcorn eater. He has popcorn about 5 times a week. And he shares it with the dogs! JoJo and seven would sit next to him as he scooped popcorn out of the big bowl onto the floor for them. (OK, that didn't make me so happy, either.) So then, he started to serve them popcorn on their OWN PLATES! Of course, the dogs were in 7th Heaven. What a deeelicious, buttery, salty snack that's not dog food. People food on our very own plates! 

Every time I took Jo and sevi to the vet, I got the lecture: dogs are fat. And every time I would tell the vet that she was preaching to the choir. The only way the dogs were going to get back into shape was if I filed for divorce and got custody of their meals. I forced him to stop giving popcorn to Rusty when the poor Collie ended up with bloody diarrhea! (UN-happy!) At least that got Kevin's attention. 

Finally! The Popcorn Problem is solved. Yesterday, while eating popcorn and not sharing, Kevin bit down on a very strong kernel and cracked a tooth! Today, the molar was extracted!!!!! HolyOhMuckyEye! That's IT. I am tempted to toss the Turbo-blaster popper off the deck.*  The tooth was cracked all the way down to the roots and was not repairable. 

Kevin is feeling fine. He shared his soft dinner of mashed potatoes with Rusty. Actually just let him lick the plate. Change takes time around here. But, I don't think we'll be hearing the pop-pop-popping of corn for a very very long time. Not too happy that Kevin was injured by a snack item. Very happy that he'll be OK.

*This is a whole other story. We (the boys) throw broken appliances off the deck and bash them with bats & golf clubs...

Kevin's Birthday Month

It's Kevin's Birthday Month. He doesn't make a big deal out of his Birthday, but since it's his 60th, allow me to make a big deal out of it.  I'm doing it whether he wants me to or not. Probably not.

Kevin Jon Burham was born in Des Moines, Iowa on April 25th, 1952; the second son to Arlo Durmont Burham and Cecelia Juliette Jacobson Burham. He has an older brother, Gregory Ryan (named after Gregory Peck. Kevin doesn't know what inspired his name.)

Then...

 1952

Now...

 April 1, 2012

Same cheerful disposition, handsome smile and a big dimple in his cleft chin (affectionately called a "butt chin").  Kev's hair is still curly, even if it is cut short and gray these days. 

I've known Kevin pretty much all my life. Our first encounter was the summer of 1966 when he and Jim Carlson, Gary Cordial, Mike Mitchell and Dan Hughes threw eggs at Christine Husby, Linda Kaudy and me on our way to the Dairy Queen.  Chris, Linda and I ran home and gathered a few eggs of our own, but the boys had disappeared. Weenies.

Kevin was the new kid in town and we both were starting high school at Missoula Sentinel in the Fall. He would go on to be one of the jocks. I was a cheerleader. We didn't date or anything in high school, but we certainly participated in the mutual admiration society. He was so cute!  

Happy Birthday Month, Kevvie Babe. Sorry, I have an entire month of stories.