Joshua Redux

Grandma loves reading with her grandchildren and Joshua is no exception. I think this was the first time she and Joshua had a chance to read together.

Did you or Grandpa recommend it? If it was you I'll read it.

How many pages are there in this book?

Gandma, do you want me to read this page to you?
See Grandma, the little engine is going up the hill!

Say Grandpa, this was a pretty good book. You should read it.

Rediscovering The Beauty of the Brownie Box Camera

I’ve been taking photographs for a lot of years. I remember my grandfather using his 35 mm Kodak, which I previously wrote about, and my own parents taking lots of photos. (My mother’s photos of Wake Island in 1957 is one of my most popular photos posted to flickr.) While I was in college I took a photography class and was introduced to the Graflex Speed press camera. You can still see them in the movies. Over the years I had a Mamiya-Sekor 35 mm camera, then a Pentax, and finally a Nikon, which is also my first SLR (single lens reflex) digital camera. I have had other cameras in between and there were years when we had too many children, graduate school, and other expectations to be able to take a lot of photos, much less process them.

I’m can’t remember owning a Brownie Box Camera, but I know we had them around and I do remember taking black and white photos. At that time I was quite young and not aware of photographic techniques. There was a simplicity about the camera that I never really appreciated until recently. You had to be good to compose a good photo, knowing you were only going to get one shot and unless you used the whole role up it might be days, weeks, or months before you actually saw. Of course in those days there were far far fewer professional photographers. One of my favorite books that I read time and again was “Eye of Eisenstaedt” a professional photographer who was frequently featured in Life magazine. His seemingly whimsical photos of people in everyday activities. Of course Ansel Adams and his nature photography had an influence on my perception of photographer should produce. That’s not to suggest I’m anywhere near their league. I’m a journeyman photographer, which means I shoot a lot and once in a while I get lucky. I don’t have what I would call a photographer’s eye, but I have never given up trying. I do enjoy photography.

One of the challenge is trying to carry a camera with me all the time. I just can’t carry a camera everywhere. That means I can and do miss some shots, but my job isn’t one that encourages me walking around with a camera. The second challenge has to do with making sure what ever camera I carry can do what I want. The advent of computer imaging using Photoshop, Aperture, and other software has changed the nature of photography. I can remember spending hours in a darkroom trying to take a poor negative and get something out of it. However, I’m thankful for those experiences that gave me some basic background in composition, shading, and black and white photography.

I finally rediscovered my Brownie Box Camera in my iPhone. I’ve had an iPhone for almost 3 years and have taken a few photos with it, but was never really turned on to it until, while reading a blog, I discovered all of the software available to enhance and refine my photographs. I enjoy my new Brownie Box, more of a slim rectangle, but I am using it for quick shots when my Nikon is not around. It has brought some fun back into taking pictures. [In fact, while writing this blog our 15-month old grandson stuck 2 Ritz crackers in his mouth, which begged for a Brownie Box photo.]

I keep playing with different iPhone apps to get a feel for what I can do. PS Mobile was my first selection, followed by Genius, CoolFX, TiltShiftGen (one of my favorites), Photogene (probably used the most), Best Camera (another favorite), and Color Splash (which I just got). The good news is that I have yet to spend $15 on all of the apps. And the best part is, I’m having fun! I’m able to process and post my photos quickly to flickr, facebook, twitter, and “the best camera.” The photos may not be the best, but they are mine and I like them!

Graduation

Last week we traveled to Boise, ID to celebrate our son and daughter-in-law’s graduation from Boise State University. They were both completing their Bachelor’s degree. I’m not really big on sitting through graduations, and as a professor I’ve sat through more than I want to remember. Even as I say that I realize it is not true. At UNLV we graduated on the previous Tuesday afternoon. That morning as I was walking into the office I saw proud parents and excited graduates appearing on campus. As I was watching their excitement I was reminded again why I teach. Sure, the speeches are tiresome, the hooding of new Ph.D.s seems to take forever, but as the students cross the stage and I see the excitement the graduate’s faces and in their happy countenances it renews enthusiasm.

Our family has had several graduations in just the last 2 years with our oldest daughter graduating summa cum laude (from Utah Valley State University), and we were as proud as her children. Then our oldest son graduated with his MBA from Iowa State University last December. It was cold, but worth the trip and the graduation experience.

Finally, and for the first time, we graduated two - son and daughter-in-law. It was as exciting as any graduation. It is not the end of our graduations for our children. More will come and we will be excited about them also. Following that is the graduation of our grandchildren. By the time that happens we will be nearing retirement, but I will always enjoy attending those terribly boring graduation as a proud grandparent, along with my lovely wife.

On being a Son!

Dad's are really important in our family. Of course I'm a dad writing this so I'm biased. So are Mother's, but today's blog is a special occasion. When your dad gets to a certain age and you get to a certain age you realize that both of you are more mortal than you had ever anticipated. Your dad has always been there, but now you realize he may not always be there. You recall many of the great times you had together, such as fishing in Biloxi, MS for perch, not knowing how good the catfish could be - or driving cross country singing songs, playing license plate games, and the like with all with the windows rolled down since there was not air conditioning, - going to a San Francisco Giants game with dad and grandpa, - or working in the yard trying to achieve the perfection dad expected.

As I grew older I loved to hear the stories of dad growing up. Of the time he rolled the model-T, or stole watermelons off the back of a moving truck, or when he was small and ran into a fire truck that was also moving (thankfully slowly) and was knocked out. The one story he told that stuck with me through the years was when he was in high school summer baseball, he hit a triple off of Bob Feller. Feller went on to become a Hall of Fame pitcher. He spent his whole career with the Cleveland Indians, a career that spanned 20 seasons, and 428 games. In 1962 he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. To me that meant dad must have been a pretty good ball player. It wasn't until recently he told me that when his family moved from Clarinda, IA to Des Moines that he discovered he wasn't as good as he thought he was, but I still think he was probably pretty good.

Recently I met a young man who used to be a sport agent, and one of the people he represented was Bob Feller, after Mr. Feller was in retirement. I told him the story of my dad hitting a triple off of Bob Feller and he said, "That's really a great story. Would it be okay if I got a signed ball from Mr. Feller for your dad?" Would it! Are you kidding me. It would be great. So I said yes, please see if you can. It took longer than I expected, but the baseball finally came. In the meantime, my oldest son, who lives in Des Moines, went to the public library archives and found the 1937 and 1938 North High School yearbooks with photos my father's baseball teams. He made a photocopy of the photos and gave them to me. I played with them a little bit, put together some text, framed the photo and got a case for the ball and sent them to my middle sister. Also, I made a Christmas card with a baseball on it and put dad's signature on it and a message from all of us kids in it. Then I sent it off to my middle sister in California. As I write this they are opening gifts and I'm waiting for a Skype call to participate in the "LAST GIFT" of the day.

Of all of the things we could have found for my father for Christmas, this is at the top of the list! Of course we could never have purchased it. All of us are excited by it and we know our dad will be. For all of us this is an act of love.

And finally, I have usurped my sister's photo of Dad with his Christmas present. I was able to participate via Skype and it was great to hear his excitement. Merry Christmas Dad.

It's Winter and Christmas in Las Vegas

We are spending our third winter and 2nd Christmas in Las Vegas. Last year we were off to Des Moines, IA, but were still here for much of the Christmas season. However, this year it appears that I'm beginning to know when it is Christmas season and since I don't believe in Black Friday I have to figure it out other ways. Some of the things I have experienced this year include:

• Our neighbor turned his Christmas lights on the day after Halloween. I really thought that was just a bit tacky, but it is Las Vegas.
• Our other neighbor waited a week to turn his Christmas lights on. Both are just around the roof line of their homes, but still, they are Christmas lights.
• More lights - some terribly gaudy seemed to appear on almost a daily basis.
• Finally I was shamed into Christmas lights for our house (see photo). Forty-two years without outside lights and finally I broke down. Of course we are in Las Vegas so our front bushes are sage, but JoAnn says they look good.
• The radio stations started playing Christmas music 24-7 within a week of Halloween. If that's not the truth it sure feels like it.
• I had to wear a coat 3 days this week. That's a sure sign it is nearing Christmas. I haven't had to do that this early before.
• I woke up to snow on the mountains (and only a mile and 1,500 feet in altitude) and for me that IS a sure sign.
• The weather man talks about how cold it has been all day - 42 degrees. And I'm cold at that temperature. Maybe I'm finally becoming adjusted to the warmer winters.
• Tonight I drove home from Target in a blizzard - A Las Vegas blizzard. When the snow flakes are less than 24 inches apart we are allowed to call it a blizzard.
• Finally, our Christmas tree is up and the cat is eating it, and it's a fake tree.
• Oh, I almost forgot, we had our college Christmas party tonight. Being in the Hotel college I never got spreads like we get here. We have our own kitchens, our own chefs, our own conference center, the chef comes out and asks how it is, and the food was yummy. JoAnn says the shrimp and crab was outstanding. It was yummy as you only find in Las Vegas.

It's good to feel like Christmas - finally.

Traits Carried to Family Members

My granddaughter has a year-long project focusing on family history, family development, and family traits. That means I'm receiving periodic emails regarding questions about our family. I decided to post today's response to the following question:

"now that I have a enough information on family history, do you have any child life stories that have molded your personality, and have carried on to your children?"

I’m not so sure it is as much as a single story as it is an approach my mother and father took with us as we were growing up. It was a “do it now” approach to getting things/tasks done and a process of doing it right.

We usually lived on a military base (you know all about that) and in the military there are lots of inspections. Our lawns at base housing had to meet strict standards. They had to be cut every 2 weeks, they could not get long and shaggy, and the sidewalks and curbs had to be trimmed. In other words, we could not let grass grow over the edge of the sidewalk or the curb. When we were finished mowing the and trimming the lawn my father, your great-grandfather, would come out and inspect it.

Your uncle and I did the dinner dishes (no dishwashers) almost every day from the time we were in the 4th grade until we graduated from high school. Great-grandma McLean taught us how to do the dishes, early on inspected our work, and then left us alone to do it. Uncle Dennis and I would have a lot of fun doing the dishes and usually made a lot of noise (which occasionally got us in trouble), but the dishes were ALWAYS done correctly. After we boys left home our sisters had to do the dishes and all they heard from Great-grandma was, “Your brothers always did the dishes much better than you do.” They still don’t like it when we talk about doing the dishes.

We were taught to learn how to do a job, do it right, and do it right the first time. As a boy (you know how slow boys can be) I didn’t always apply that principle in everything I did. The lawn, the dishes, painting, cleaning the house when we were moving, but keeping my bedroom clean was a lot tougher and great-grandma pretty much gave up on me - just as Grandma and I did on our sons and daughters.

Your great-great-grandpa Merriam owned his own candy company. It was a vending machine company. It required that he know how to fix broken machines, work with companies so he could put the machines in their offices and factories, and then had to go out every day and refill the candy machines. He and great-great-grandma Merriam worked very hard at this for many years. Your uncle and I would ride along some times and get a chance to see how hard they worked. Again, it was the principle of hard work.

Your mother, aunts, and uncles all believe in (1) do it now, (2) do it right, and (3) move on to the next task. They are also a little outspoken and I’m afraid I have to take credit for that also. I got that from my mother, who was not afraid to share her opinion, as well as my father who frequently was required to share his opinion, especially as a first-sergeant in the Air Force.

I hope this helps.

The letter and the spirit of the law - or I should pay better attention!

On Sunday JoAnn and I had this one-way (notice how I say one-say, which should give you a clue as to how it went) conversation about cleaning up her sewing room. It was getting to where you could hardly get in the room and it had been weeks and weeks since she last sewed in the room. Of course she was working on Mike & Allison's quilt and that did require more space, but while she was off doing that the material seemed to breed and multiply on her desk. So I put my foot down and said, I want that room clean. Yes, it hurt when I put my foot down.

I got home after a late class yesterday and walked by her sewing room and it was "beautifully clean." I was so impressed. I went into the living room to tell her so. She was busy at the dining room table cutting out material for her next projects (note that there is more than one project). I really wanted to let her know just how wonderful and clean and organized the room looked. And it did and does. She was gracious in receiving my appreciation, even though I probably should have been skewered for suggesting she do something when she has been so busy. So she met the spirit and letter of the request (not the law as I published in the title.

I'm really impressed. It's clean and ready to go. I hope I don't have to make my desk look this good.

I really didn't pay much attention to the rest of the living room until we got ready to sit down to a bowl of soup and as I looked around me, there were piles of material everywhere (maybe a slight over exaggeration). My first comment was, "So, we moved the material from the sewing room to here?" She quickly responded with a spirited, "Well yes, the room is clean, isn't it?" I was boxed, what could I say. So much for the spirit of cleaning - or at least that was what I thought. I could not have been more wrong. Oh, I was right about the material hanging around the living room couch, but wrong about why.

Later she shared with me all of the piles individually and intimately explaining how each was a project and what it would look like when completed. It took all my patience to get through this. She unfolded item after item and showed it to me. The whole time I'm telling myself, I don't need to see the whole thing, and finally I said that (I know, dumb idea). To which JoAnn responded, "I want to see it again, it's so beautiful." I was trapped, but also aware I had judged too soon. I wasn't looking at random piles of material located on the couch to avoid storing them. No, I was looking a multiple projects, all carefully thought out and organized. I know there is a lesson in there for me and someday I will have to ponder it out. For now I'm just happy I was wrong.

It looks pretty ugly, but I thought I took 2 photos. No just one and I could tell you it looks like this so you wouldn't know what they are - but you know me too well.

Catching up

It seems like just yesterday all the kids were in Idaho, but for me it's been almost 3 weeks and in that time I have not gotten any of the photos I took processed. I have been a little busy with work. That happens this time of the year. Students are thinking about the end of the semester and administrators (that's me) are trying to get everything done we put off the whole semester. Since I'm at the near bottom of the slide a lot seems to end up on my desk. Oh yes, I've had a couple of other projects too.

Most of the photos, and I'm still working on them are on my Flickr account (just click to see them), but I thought I would put a couple here to tease you. I'll get to the wedding photos tomorrow or later this weekend.

Mike and Allison keeping an eye on all the preparations.

We really came to see cute little Charlotte.

All of the getting ready for the wedding just wore me out! But Chas kept me company!

Lots of help writing

I'm sitting at my desk writing. JoAnn is out for the evening and I'm fighting a cold. However, it's a great time to be working on my book. It is due to the publisher at the end of the year. However, we have this cat. You know, the devil cat to everyone else and sometimes us. She has gotten into the habit of jumping up on my desk and if she can find paper laying on it and purring. It just so happens my cut sheets are 11x17, almost the perfect size for the cat.

I was about to quit for the evening and fix myself some chicken noodle soup, compliments of Albertsons - and yes it is pretty good! When who jumps up on my desktop? Whisper of course. First she sits right in front or me. It's difficult to type when her face is just above your left hand and she wants to be petted. Failing to pet her can result in a nip or bite. I can type with one hand, but it is really slow and even slower when one hand is trying to type and the other is occupied petting the cat.

When she had enough of that she moved t0 the left side of my "L" shaped desk and took up the whole 11 x 17 inches and spread across back into my working area. It's always nice to have a little inspiration, but she purrs almost as loud as some people snore (and no, I'm not referring to anyone in our family).

She is gone and I'm ready for dinner, plus I'm flat tired of writing today.

Granddaughters as Sweethearts

I was going to title this blog "princesses" until I read the definition and decided I didn't want to subject my grandchildren to the potential abuse the word princess could bring upon them, even though one of them continually tells us she is a princess. In fact, under the definitions of royalty, I do consider her a princess. To me they are all princesses and sweethearts, but to a 60 plus grandpa we hold different perceptions of terms and meanings than other people do. Hence, my use of princess is always an endearing one, not one of derision.

I am speaking of two of my eight sweethearts today. One young and one a little older. Our 3rd daughter had a little girl last week - Hattie CeCe. I have waited for what felt like an eternity for a photo. I had finally come to the conclusion that she was either two-headed or 12 toed, or had 3 arms and they didn't want me to see her. The real problem was that I left town without leaving the cables to the camera so my beloved could download the photos. Naturally it's grandpa's fault. I have broad shoulders, I can handle the abuse.

Yesterday I received 8 emails, each with about 8 high resolution photos. I have photos of Hattie CeCe now and my favorite is below. And yes, she is a royal princess and a sweetheart.

My second sweetheart is an almost tweener (those who are almost teens, but not quite). In fact she is probably better classified as a precocious tweener - not quite there, but a wanna be. She has her own email account and I love getting emails from her. They are usually in large print and every word is a different color. Well, I was a little slow responding to her last email and while I was not reprimanded I got a "vacation note" or what we typically call and out of the office and not available. But her note was the classiest I have ever received. I share it below.

"Sorry if I didn't e-mail you I am probably grounded or gone, I'll e-mail you as soon as I can, bye"

Grounded or gone? That describes life from the perspective of a child. They have a simple perspective and it is focused on levels of independence. As a pre-tweener it has 2 primary levels. Those things I can do and those thing I can't do. Of course the intermediate level is those things I didn't do I should have and those things I did that I shouldn't have - hence I'm grounded.

Ya gotta love them.

The Perfect Weekend

There are lots of ways to describe weekends and perfect is a term that is used frequently. In fact, perfect is an overworked term. For example there is the "perfect game", the "perfect storm", the "perfect tense", and so forth. The term perfect is defined as, "having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be." That's how I would describe this past weekend

We had all of our children with us in Boise, ID for our youngest son's wedding. It is always an event when we all get together and we all enjoy one another. What made Friday and Saturday special was that our family grew by a whole new family, not just a new daughter-in-law. We made new friends, strengthened family, and on Sunday as everyone was leaving we all felt great. Of course we were all so proud of Mike and Allison and the decisions they made. The daughters have already accepted her as a family member. The Newlyweds even showed up for an informal getting-away dinner on Saturday evening. I would never have done that as a newlywed, but they did, signaling to us just how important family is to them.

Youngest daughter and I drove to Utah for Sunday evening and early Monday morning (still the weekend) we took off for Las Vegas and hadn't gotten too far down the road when the first text message came in. Daughter 3 was in the hospital for the birth of a little girl (Hattie). By 2 pm MDT she had accomplished that miracle and as I talked to her later and asked how Hattie was doing, her response was "Perfect!" And so, you see it was a perfect weekend.

PS - I would be delighted to share a photo of Hattie, but the one's I have are just not cute enough.

Newbies

If there is anything constant in our family it is change. We figured since we, or I had to be in Salt Lake City, we could just drive on up to Boise and check things out. There is a good reason. Daughter 3 is due any day now with her 5th child - Hattie. And Mike gets married on Friday, October 23.

On Saturday, that's today, his fiance Allison (photo below) is going to the Boise LDS Temple to receive her endowments. If you aren't LDS I will only say this is a very sacred ceremony and prepares them for their marriage the following week, which unlike most we see, includes being sealed for time and eternity. We wanted to be present for today's experience and support her and Mike.

Over the past 15 months JoAnn and I feel like we have been on the road almost constantly on family business. It's not really business, but it is support. It includes 3 new babies, a funeral, 1 marriage, a family reunion in Colorado, Christmas in Des Moines, 2 college graduations (note some of these activities are still in the near future), baby blessings, Aaronic Priesthood ordinations, visits to my Dad and Sisters, and visits by families to Las Vegas. There is one common thread in all of this - family. Our move to Las Vegas was truly a blessing. We are now able to share more of our time with all of our children and grandchildren. That is exciting for us. We enjoy these times and experiences. I feel like I know the roads to Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Idaho, and California and the sky-ways to Iowa. They have become common to us.

When we lived in Indiana it was so much more challenging to make these visits. We felt like we missed a lot. Not now and while I know we will slow this pace down, it has been fun.

Yesterday…

JoAnn and I were in Spanish Fork yesterday on the anniversary of Calvin's death. (note: I started this on the 16th, but since we were in Boise at the time I had to put it aside for family matters.) I had meetings in Salt Lake City and came back mid-afternoon to find everyone gone. They were off looking for a miniature tree for Calvin's gravesite. The sexton apparently approves trees up to 6 feet mature height.

Around 6:00 pm or so we all went over the the cemetery to plant the tree. We found a couple of other families there and by the time we left at 8 pm there were six families visiting Calvin. Plus there was evidence of a number of other people who had been present at some time during the day. I am still amazed a the outpouring of caring and remembering for Calvin. These six families all showed up spontaneously, just to spend some time with Calvin and remembering him.

On Facebook a young man from Calvin's middle school posted the tribute he was going to read the following morning as an announcement. There were a number of responses to the post and it was touching.

Below are a couple of additional photos I shot. Donna took her camera so hopefully she will post some photos on her blog.

Cole is making sure the hole is the correct size and depth. He wanted to be involved in the whole process.

Memories...

All of our memories should be good, especially of Calvin. He was sweet, adorable, kind, considerate, a bit spoiled, conniving, sneaky, and a big tease. Hey, for a boy, those are all good memories. He never failed to get a smile from someone, to charm them, to share something with them, to show that he cared. All good traits in a boy. He also loved everyone. I'm not at a loss for words, but so much has been said by others.

I think my favorite photo of Calvin is with Grandma. I love this photo. It sits in our living room. In the photo, as Sally said in her blog, he was measuring up to see how far he had to go to be taller. It is not far. There are a couple of things to note in this photo. The cross between the smile/smirk - a classic Calvin. The arm around Grandma which she obviously loved. The zest for life you can see in his whole face. He did love life and people.

A memory. Shortly after we moved to Las Vegas we were up to Utah for the weekend and as we sat in Fast and Testimony meeting on Sunday morning Calvin leaned over and said, "Grandpa, would you bear your testimony." How could I say no. I got up, walked to the podium and acknowledged Calvin had asked me to share my testimony. I did, but I did it for Calvin and his brothers. It was a special moment I won't soon forget.

Traveling to Boise

Calvin was maybe 3.5 when Donna suggested we take him to Idaho with us. We were traveling from Indiana with Krissie, who was 14, and thought it would be a great idea. We picked Calvin up in Utah and headed out. Krissie was really excited about taking Calvin with us. After we left Spanish Fork and headed up to Boise the two of them in the back seat were in a constant chat. Even then Calvin could dominate a discussion.

This was real treat. Suzanne had only been married for 2 years of less and had no children, so Calvin was king of the roost! The first night we were in Boise we went out for Mexican. Calvin was at the end of the table in a booster seat and the rest of us were all busy talking. The waitress comes up with our obligatory basket of chips, Calvin takes one look, and at the top of his lungs, "Whoa - CHIPS!" We all laughed so hard. He was so excited about food - always pretty much - but that excitement was new to us.

When a couple of daughters and mom, of a couple of daughters without mom, get together shopping is on the menu. A couple of days later we were out shopping for school clothes for Krissie at Target. After selecting a few items, Mom and Krissie headed to the changing area. I picked Calvin up, tossed him over my shoulder and he was a little high - his waist was at my shoulder - and as we walked out of the teens section with us going one way and JoAnn & Krissie another I hear, again at the top of his lungs, "Krissie's getting naked!" I'm red and he is laughing and I'm wondering what Donna is teaching my grandson. Not that I didn't think it wasn't cute, because it was.

Calvin Published

First off, anyone who has seen Calvin write would say, "Calvin published?" Actually, he wasn'ta bad writer - got that from his Mom. And yes he is published, but not in the sense one normally thinks of. In the last edition of my textbook I asked daughter 2 to take some photos at a water playground close to their home. I knew Calvin, his brother, and 2 cousins would all be there and I was pretty sure she could get a good photo. Two of the photos appear below. I used them in a textbook on introduction to recreation and leisure for university programs and also on a poster at a previous institution advertising degrees in recreation and park management. I am particularly fond of the photos because the capture the playfulness of our grandchildren and depict how much they did and do enjoy each other.

Calvin points to what is clearly the object of everyone's attention - where the water is coming up NEXT!

Sure enoug, that was the spot - plus a couple others they didn't anticipate.

Memories

We have been asked to share memories of our oldest grandson, Calvin. I call this the "Many faces of Calvin." I created a collage of photos from our 1999 Christmas reunion and all of the photos, less a couple where he is a baby and were in Alabama for spring break. Each photo represents a zest for life and for fun. An opportunity to enjoy, look for the best, and most importantly to love.

Taking family or individual photos involving Calvin always was an adventure. You never knew what you were going to get.

I will have more to say in later posts, but I wanted to put this up today. I've also put the original photos on flickr or will as soon as it comes back up. Click on the collage to see the full size.

A Las Vegas Fall

The Old Man of the Forest and this Old Man Winks at You!

I have to admit that we don't get much in the way of fall in Las Vegas. I was only mildly joking when I said, "Fall arrives when we have 5 days in a row under 100 degrees." That was just 2 weeks ago. Then over the weekend we dropped from the 90s to the 70s. We are still trying to figure out what happened to the 80s.

You know it's not officially fall without a scarecrow

Yet, if you want fall, the best place to find it, without having to drive to Mt. Charleston, or Arizona or Utah or California is to go to down to the strip at the Belaggio (isn't that where everyone goes?). Every season of the year they outdo themselves and this year is no exception. You can see most of my photos on flickr, but I've shared here some of my photos I took with my iPhone.

As we were progressing through our walk we hit a tour, or rather they ran over us. We walked around outside the exhibit to get away from them and just as we were about to come in from the other side here comes this man with a green light-saber held high over his head and being followed by a mob. He was the tour guide, but maybe more appropriately called the light-saber pied piper. It was funny. Instead of "were walking, were walking" it was "keep up with the light, we have more to see."

A leaf waterfall (actually 4 leaves) was one of the highlights of our fall walk.

It was a great Fall walk for JoAnn and I and we finished it off with ice cream from the world famous ice cream bar - and boy was it good!

The brass trees had water falling continually from them. Certainly a reminder of those midwestern fall rains.

Sweetness Personified

I wrote my earlier blog today about Alyssa just before we left for Church. I received the photo last evening, but waited to post. We got to Church and I casually looked at my iPhone for another reason (don't tell the Bishop) and there was a picture of our newest little granddaughter, born July 2. She is sweetness personified - but then all of our granddaughters are. That smile could melt the hardest heart, calm the strongest storm, calm the wildest wind. At least I think it could. So, as I stated in the earlier post, they grow up, but right now we need to take full advantage of Charlotte and her sister and cousins - regardless of their age. They are special spirits.

As a note to the grandsons, you are adorable too, but I just can't keep up with you. I will write about you soon!

Who Let her Grow Up?

One of the great mysteries of fathers is how their cute daughters can grow up, mature, marry, and have children. However, much as we resist it, we somehow adjust to all of those changes when the grandchildren start showing up, especially granddaughters. You know everything will be okay again, because there is another generation of little girls. In my mind I was sure these girls would never grow up. That is until now. I received the following picture yesterday from our 2nd daughter, Jeni, and it is of our oldest granddaughter on her way to a 6-stake dance (that's a church dance with hundreds of youth and you have to be 14).

I received the photo yesterday evening, took one look at Alyssa (on the left) and thought to myself, this can't be happening again. And yet it is. Grandpa's are inherently selfish when it comes to daughters and granddaughters. We love them at any age, but we remember all the sweetness of being young and while the sweetness doesn't go away, it's harder to hold them close and cuddle them. Of course, it's not like this grandpa doesn't have plenty of little girls to hug and sometimes hold, he does, but they too, all too soon become independent and while Grandpa (and of course Grandma) is still important in their lives, it's just not the same. And that is as it should be. We love them at all ages and enjoy, often vicariously, their experiences.

It's great being a Grandpa and watching your grandchildren grow up, being part of their lives, and just watching each family mature spiritually and physically. It leaves a warm glow at the end of the day.

This Week's Mail

I will be the first to admit that I'm not typically excited by the mail. In Las Vegas we receive more ads in the mail than we used to receive in the Sunday newspaper. If they were putting ads through the mail elsewhere like they do in Las Vegas the Post Office wouldn't have a budget problem and we could still send mail for 25 cents (well, maybe not).

However, I learned from my dad that he had received Allison & Mike's wedding announcement. I hadn't. Or at least I didn't think I had received it. That was Thursday evening. I came home, but it was late enough I really didn't think about the mail. On Friday morning I found it on the kitchen counter. You can see the photo above. JoAnn had gotten the mail just before she left for the temple, so she took it with her. It was great to wake up and find the invitation and photo first thing on Friday morning. It's the best mail we have received in weeks.

On the down side, now we have nothing to look forward to in the mail until that next grandchild arrives. Or unless JoAnn, or one of our children (hint) sends us a surprise. On second thought, I guess we will just have to wait until Hattie is born - and then I have to look at email, MMS, facebook, but no real mail. I guess I can live with that - as long as we get something showing the cute little girl.

Notes, Thoughts, and Mostly Ramblings

It has been a busy start to the fall semester. I feel like I've been behind since the day classes started. We have already completed week 4 - now over 25% complete - and it was the first week I was actually at work for 5 days. Between holidays and family events it has been busy.

Some random (emphasis on random) thoughts I have had over the last few days/weeks that have little or no meaning, but then again. . . .

• We are about to see the beginning of fall in Las Vegas. That means the "dog days of summer" are almost over (see photo below). If we can put 5 days together without reaching 100 degrees then I think we will officially be in fall. We are still looking forward to the day we can keep our windows open for several nights, not just one now and then.
• I've noticed that we are anxious to get past summer the way we used to be anxious to get past winter. Now winter is just a diversion from summer.
• On the positive side, we did not turn our furnace on last year until almost mid-December.
• Even in Las Vegas if I wash my car it rains. Of course a rain here may only cover 2 or 3 square blocks, but my car always seems to be in that zone.
• Ever notice how your phone rings all week long (our's does) and on the weekend no one calls because they are busy with family or football games or whatever?
• My daughters write their blogs all week, I write mine on weekends. If I write during the week it's a clear indication I've found some free time.
• It doesn't matter how much quilting material JoAnn has, she seems to need a little more. In fact today she was cleaning out her closet to make room for her new material. Plus she purchased more storage containers to put the material in. That's okay, I love her.
• She could say the same thing about me purchasing art prints, or shirts, or shoes, or ... well you get the idea.
• We are now allowed to water only 3 days a week (September & October) and it must be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Imagine my surprise as I was sitting at the kitchen table and I heard the watering system (we use a drip line) come on this morning (Saturday). All I could see was a big fine if the water authority caught me. I ran to the garage and sure enough the "watering brain" thought it was Wednesday.

That's really about enough for now, since not much of it made sense, but gave me a chance to dodge doing work I really should be doing.

I took this photo at a scooter rally the Bradley's came down for. It speaks well for the "dog days of summer" and how we should just embrace the experience.

Pretty in Pink

Labor Day weekend we went off to Idaho to visit family and to help bless our newest addition to the McLean clan - little Charlotte Ann Bradley. It was a great trip and we had lots of fun. We got to spend time with 7 grandchildren, 3 children, 2 son-in-laws, and a soon to be sister-in-law. It was also very busy. You know you can't get Mom and 2 daughters together without there being a shopping experience, and that started on Saturday at 8 am (that would be 7 am Las Vegas time and JoAnn is not a morning person). Each evening ended with an extended family get together, talking, laughing, keeping track of the kids, and on Saturday the BYU football game (Go BYU!).

Little Charlotte (above) has lots of pink, hence the title, and I could not resist a shot of her in her pink pajamas on top of her pink pillow. Of course she is a McLean/Bradley and has an attitude, but a good one. One of the great joys of a grandparent is holding new borns. You realize just what a miracle life is, and what a joy it is to bring little children into the world.

On Sunday afternoon we were off to Church (you can read Sally and Suzanne's blogs on this) to bless Charlotte. We took up almost 2 rows with all of the family present. It is exciting to see how many family members show up for special events.

Sally and Charlotte were beautiful in their preparation for Church and the blessing. Mom and Charlotte Ann are below, all dressed up for Church and Charlotte in her blessing dress. When she was blessed she was a perfect angel. It is always a great weekend when we can spend them with our family.

Grandma's Fan Club

This morning JoAnn received an email from Meagan saying "Please email me soon!" I saw the tag line, went into the bathroom where JoAnn was preparing for Church and said, "You have an email from your fan club."

A few moments later JoAnn responded with, "I didn't know I had a fan club?"

My response was, "Yes, and it's pretty big." Then I remembered a photo I had published on flickr and Jeni commented on, "Grandma with all of her granddaughters." (less Charlotte who couldn't be away from her Mom) and I realized my statement was more true than I had first thought. Of course this photo only shows the girls, but they do have a special bond with their grandmother.

The granddaughters with grandma!

The photo was taken in Frisco, CO at an historical center that all of the granddaughters, grandma, Krissie & Jeni went to - via bus. The girls absolutely loved the bus. When they got back grandpa treated them to ice cream. I realize I've got to buy my fan club. Grandma gets her fan club just because she is grandma. But, I'm not above a little bribery.

Sydney & Bonnie enjoying their ice cream

42 and Counting

Yes, that's the number of years JoAnn and I have been together. It's hard to believe sometimes, but then again, I can't think of a better way to spend the last 42 years than the way we have. It has been fun, challenging (mostly because of me), spiritually uplifting, growing (grandchildren), shrinking (kids at home), exciting, boring, scary, rewarding, and mostly a wonderful wonderful experience.

Every day is a new adventure. Every day we get a chance to fall in love again. Every day we live in wonder of how much we love each other. Every day we get to spend time together (almost every day). And best of all, every day we know it's a new day and we can embrace it together.

I could tell stories, but I won't. I just want to savor the day and express my joy in sharing it with JoAnn. And tell the kids thank you for all you are and all you have done.

Dad

Bonus photo of August 18, 1967 and how it all started.

And the CHAMPION is. . .

Let's look in the envelope to see who are the all-time champions of Grandpa's family photos on the flickr site it. First off, can you even believe that people look at family pictures - they do, but I've learned it is all in the title you give the photo. The more off the wall the more hits you are going to get. But the winners are real champions.

Second Runner Up at 123 hits and a family favorite is this photo of Donna and JoAnn at Wymount Terrace, BYU, 1972.

First Runner Up at 190 hits, a dead ringer, and sneaked in from the past "Tim-1982." It must be the name Tim that draws everyone to the photo. He is cute, but I really thought someone younger would beat him out. Don't let it go to your head son. Then again, it could be because it's fuzzy and everyone is trying to figure out who it is.

The Champion at 377 hits as of August 11, 2009 at 8:15 PM. After 1 look at that photo, which I titled "Tonsils!" is there any doubt who is queen of flickr? Click on the photo for a real close-up.

Up and Coming Photos that may someday become champions. It doesn't matter how good you are, there is always someone in the wings waiting to take your spot. Here are two likely contenders.

Bonnie and her boots got 27 hits in one day! Of course she does have a great supporting cast.

And Megan and Alexis got 24 hits on the same day. Time will tell, but these 2 photos may become flickr Champions.