My folks celebrate their 50th.

Yep. Who'd a thought such a thing was possible?  Fifty years! That's like five seasons of Six Feet Under and four Seasons of True Blood.

As a payback of sorts for my sister's getting to be the benefactor of the "2nd Feeding of the 5,000" when she got married, sis hosted the shin dig at her place.

For close to seventy people.

So, yeah if blame is to be had, you can thank the happy couple you see below for why I'm here. Their union is the stuff of Vegas wagers and because neither of these two came from the easiest childhoods, the odds might not have been so good that their marriage would have survived.  But my dad's been stalking my mom since she was a baby. And mom, well she's got her own addiction issues and has followed him to Alaska, Iowa, Oregon, and any number of vacation spots. She's gotten into small aircraft he's piloted, and he's gotten onto horse she claimed were trained and idiot proof.  There's more to the story on both accounts but I've been sworn to secrecy.

"Tim, this is not a roast" my mom warned prior to the big party.

It's pretty hard to find one without the other, and they do take this whole for richer for poorer, for better for worse drill seriously. They've done countless horse shows, painting seminars, pastor's conferences, and road trips together. Mom's survived cancer, horse accidents, and three sometimes ungrateful kids.  Dad's survived countless Lutheran Parishes, a lifetime speeding acheivement award from various northwest law enforcement agencies and all the politics that accompany these sorts of allergies.

Plus they're kind of cute, don't ya think?

If you want to send em congrats, prayers, or urge them on to their 60th, you can reach 'em at alacaa@msn.com.  Just tell Arnie and Cheri their best kid sent ya--you know the one who functions on Tim Time.

Above is a picture of Laurel.  She's taken lots of photo's of me over the years, has hung out at various parties, rodeos, semi trucks and truckstops with me and even braved a few weekends at my place.  She's also one of the funnest gals on the planet. I'd not seen here in ages, so my folks shin dig was a great opportunity to catch up and swap "well what do ya' knows"...

And this picture below is of (r to l) Laurel, Marie and I.  I'd been sorta instructed to bond with that tall flower thing and I was just doing what I'd been told, so that's why I sorta look like a dork and maybe a bit too happy to see everyone.  For the record, if ya happen to be in the market for a new or used semi truck, Marie can hook ya up!  Seriously.