The Account of June + July

A most lovely summer month or two has come and gone, and I wonder where the time goes. The months continue to fly by. We have been here a year now.

In early June we did our overnight route to South Lake Tahoe and Carson City. It is one of our favorite routes for obvious reasons, the lake. We were there just before the Bay Area let out their schools, so it was still low-key around Tahoe. By the middle of June, they say that place is crawling with people. So, we found a very decently priced motel that boasted a pool, two hot tubs, and only a 700-foot walk to the lakeshore. It was not a fancy place, but it was nice enough for us. We got our South Lake Tahoe route done on the first day we got there, so we relaxed at the pool for the rest of the day. Our motel room had a little kitchen in it, so we brought our breakfasts and coffee with us. After Brent had whipped up a delicious breakfast, we headed out for Carson City. Really pretty scenery along the way as we followed the lake. I will never ever tire of the beauty of Lake Tahoe. It is so pristine, so clear, so blue, and the mountains surrounding the lake still had a delicate sprinkling of snow on their peaks. The waterfalls and creeks were rushing and full of fresh snowmelt, wildflowers were bursting forth in bloom, and the black bears were bumbling about looking for berries. Locals told us they see bears every day. An uneventful tract route ensued in Carson City. Brent was able to add quite a few stops to our route there. We ate a picnic lunch in a park that was bustling with Hispanics who were setting up a massive Carnival, before heading back to Tahoe. Brent is sorely tempted to pull out his personal money and rent a boat every time we visit Tahoe. He caved this time, and we went out on the lake in our own private little boat. It was worth every penny. The boys loved it. We cruised out to Emerald Bay and just relaxed there for a while. You could see Eagle Falls crashing down the mountainside to the lake. Emerald Bay is calm. Paddle-boarders, kayakers, and swimmers love this cove. All too soon, our time was running out and we had to speed for the harbor. We found supper at a Greek restaurant with lakeshore sunset views. We also managed to hike to Eagle Falls this time. We tried last time and never could find a place to park. This time, even though it was still the slow season, we had to park way down the road from the trailhead. Just as Brent and I were both strapping a toddler onto us and fixing to head out, we heard a loud crashing and tumbling noise across the road. Here comes a very chubby black bear bumbling down the steep mountainside. He crossed the road and came right in front of us. Paying us no mind, he trundled off through the wood toward the lake. Ezra asked the entire hike, “Where bear?” “Mama, Mama, where bear?” I think I was slightly delusional thinking I was going to hike to the top of Eagle Falls with a 30-pound child in a carrier on the front of me, but I did it. Brent had Elliot in a carrier on his back and let us just say we did not have a lot of extra breath for speaking to fellow hikers.Emerald Bay above.Lower Eagle Falls.Upper Eagle FallsTrail to Eagle Falls.

In the rolling hills of Contra Costa County, Brentwood, California, is a charming agricultural town east of the San Francisco Bay Area. Known as the "U-pick capital" for its more than 50 U-pick fresh fruit and vegetable farms. Brentwood borders Oakley, and this is where we go to all the U-Pick farms. Peach season is here. We have been frolicking out amongst the peach trees picking more peaches than we know what to do with. Easily the best peaches I have ever had in my twenty-eight years of life. I know, I know, it sounds cliché. The Farmer’s Daughter is our favorite place to go for peaches. They have such a neat setup. We throw the boys and our buckets in a wagon and head out to the orchard. After picking peaches the boys love to play on the playground area or eat fruit popsicles in the shade. They have handpicked flower bouquets for sale as well as veggies and fruit.

All the vineyards are hung once again with the most delightful and delicious clusters of purple, pink, and red grapes. I have been eating my fill every time I get to Curt and Lois’s place. It is such a pretty picture to see the vineyard’s display of bounty. We drive through a lot of wine country around here. I just love seeing the vineyards rolling away over the hilltops and back down in the valleys. Tomato harvest is also in full swing. A lot of ketchup tomatoes are grown around here.

Troy and Kayla invited us down to West Valley for July 4. We went on Thursday afternoon and enjoyed a most delicious Wagyu steak dinner. Friday the guys left early to hunt squirrels and we girls and the kids hung around the house enjoying lovely spring-like weather. Kayla and I weeded flower beds and solved the world’s problems while the kids played in the backyard. The guys came back after lunch and picked us up to take us to the river. We spent a while at the river before heading to school to prepare for the evening party. Troy’s had invited a large group of their friends to join us for hamburgers, watermelon, and corn on the cob. It was neat to get to know some more West Valley people. Troy had a huge blow-up slide/bounce house for the kids. It is always sure to be an enjoyable time if Troy is involved. We headed home to Oakley yet that evening as we had weekend plans in Ballico. We enjoyed one fireworks show after the next on the way home as we went through different cities. (And side note here… Troy and Brent were very thrilled to tell us that they had killed 158 squirrels in about an hour and a half. They averaged one squirrel every forty seconds. The squirrels are a nuisance here, as they run off with the farmer’s walnuts.)

We spent the rest of the weekend with Brian and Deb Dyck. Bryce and Savannah, Titus and Kayla were there as well. Deb has a flower garden dream going on in her backyard. You can go pick a few flowers and throw together a $150 worthy bouquet in no time. The dahlias are simply stunning. We were at Jo and Kelli Reager's place for supper Saturday evening, and at Michael and Valerie’s place for Sunday lunch with the entire Dyck family. Good times.

We took supper over to Curt and Lois’s one evening. It was a beautiful evening, and we spent a lot of it outside. We picked fresh raspberries and blackberries from the vine to eat over our ice cream, ate plums, pluots, and mulberries straight from the tree, and visited the chickens. Curt hooked the four-wheeler to a little trailer which he filled with pillows and blankets, and we took the boys on a little ride around the property. They also got a tractor ride, and it was the highlight of their lives for quite a few days afterwards. (Curt kindly looked after my houseplants while we were gone on furlough and I appreciated it so very much.)

One Sunday we randomly showed up at Ballico for church and were invited to Barry Friesen’s for lunch. Another Sunday we showed up at West Valley and Justin and Jolene kindly invited us to join them for lunch. I always enjoy just showing up somewhere. You never know where you will end up, but it is sure to always be a pleasurable time.

On July 10, we headed home on our furlough. It was great to be home again and hang out with some of our friends and family. I was only slightly appalled at my house and yard. The house has been sitting empty, so I am not sure what I expected. Brent and I worked frantically every chance we got to get the trees trimmed, dead trees pulled out, flower beds knocked back, etc. A couple of my friends came to help me clean the house one day, so that really helped brighten my spirits. We made it to Florida for a few days too, and oh there is just nothing like being home at Mama’s house. It is just so familiar, comfortable, and altogether wonderfully nostalgic.

Back home in Oakley, to blue skies and 74°. It felt good to be back on the West Coast. Our summer here has been very mild so far. Lows in the 50s at night and highs in the 70s during the day. A few 80 or 90-degree days thrown in here and there in which we pack a picnic lunch and head to the river.

A John B. Koehn reunion was planned in the Winton area at the end of July. My folks, Ben’s, Uncle Eric’s, Uncle Chad’s, and Aunt Jenn showed up over here for the occasion. Brian and Deb invited my folks, Ben’s, and us to stay with them, so that was really special to all be in one place. Our last Koehn reunion was 14 years ago, so it was really neat to see all the family and cousins again. The reunion was so very full of sentiment. From the food we ate, to the songs we sang, to the dishes we served the food in. Grandpa Maynard and Grama Brooxene were missed very much but we are so thankful they chose to take the Lord’s way and gave us this wonderful opportunity to be a part of God’s church.

I am writing this as we creep home from Monterey and Carmel by the Sea. It should have been two hours home, but the traffic is so bad that it will be more like four hours home. Brent throws up his hands in despair now and then and I try to take comfort in the scenery. The evening sunlight shrouds the hills in the most enchanting light, the mountains fall in layers from the far horizon, Eucalyptus trees hang over the guard rail, wineries sit medieval-like amongst the great rolling hills blanketed in vineyards, and a motorcycle flies by us splitting lanes at great rates of speed. One of the wineries we went by.

We pass great fields of leafy green lettuce, cabbages, and artichokes. Have you ever looked upon a field of artichokes? It is quite a sight. We passed right through the “Artichoke Center of the World.” The fresh produce this state produces is rather amazing.

We now have around forty tract routes, and Brent has serviced most of them twice. We have a couple more routes to finish, including a couple of overnight routes. I think our second year will be a little more low-key as we will not be so busy setting up new routes, setting up house, etc.

The work here is so new, I suppose we will have to be patient with it. Some days it does not seem like we are getting much response, but I guess our duty is to put the Word out there and let the Lord do the rest. We must remind ourselves that contacts, church attendees, and such take time.

Brent was walking into a store the other day and he handed a guy standing by the door a tract. The guy turned away and proceeded to dump his whole beer out. He said he could not talk to Brent about God while drinking a beer.

Another guy Brent got to talking to, was smoking weed outside of a laundromat and all of a sudden had to run and hide because he saw a police officer driving by.

There have been quite a few people who pour out their life’s story to Brent and ask him to pray for them or a family member or a certain situation going on in their lives. All we can do is pray for them and hope their lives improve somehow.

A lot of times when Brent returns from a place of business he placed tracts in, Elliot asks, “Dad, do people love Jesus in there?” And we hope they do.