Spring is in the air...

In Las Vegas spring has been in the air for almost 3 months now and we have had some great weather, but it is finally sitting on the back patio on Sunday afternoon weather. That's when you know spring has really arrived. If we measure it by spring flowers we are 2 months into spring. If we measure it be temperature we are 6 weeks into spring. If we measure it by patio weather, we are right on target.

After a light lunch JoAnn and I adjourned to the back patio to relax. I had a paper to edit and she had a book she is committed to finish before sisters' weekend. I realized this was a great photo opportunity, so I went in pulled out my trusty tripod, set it up, made sure it was level, attached the camera, and then said, "How do I set the timer?" I do it so often! I looked at the multitude of buttons, screen options, and the like and finally found a button on the front side of the camera body that looked like a timer button. I pushed it and on the screen came up "self-timer shooting." Good, I have it, but nothing happened. Maybe I need to push the shutter button (okay, shutter button definitely relates to my age). I tried the shutter button, a beeping started and I figured I had 10 seconds to make it to my chair, sit down, and look natural. Of course I forgot, I also had to smile. A few photos and sprints to the chair later we had a couple of good photos (or marginally so).

I call this the reluctant guest - very teenish, if you have teens you know what I mean.

Then I went and got the cat. She had been roaming around the edges of the shooting. Put her in my lap, next to JoAnn and made a shot. Try holding a cat and setting the camera for a time shoot at the same time. We were good for 1 shot only. She climbed up on the table wandered around and then plopped herself down right in front of the camera and stared at it. Well, if that isn't a natural shot, I don't know what is. I rush over to the camera, start the timer and then rush back. She looks at the camera, listens to the beeps, and then, just before the camera shoots, she turns her head, or stretches out, or changes position. I tried this about 5 times and the same result each time. As long as the camera was quiet or beeping she would look at it, but the moment the beeping stopped and it was ready to shoot, she turned away. I finally gave up and just took a couple of shots before she realized what I did. She is our teenager and almost as obnoxious as a real teen.

Who do you think is in charge?

It's great to have a spring day and a Sunday afternoon to enjoy it. We hope your spring days are all bright and beautiful.

Three Days, Two Nights, Three Celebrations

When you are young you don't realize how busy life can get when you are older. You also don't realize how important small things become. Celebrations are "small things" that build great families. JoAnn wrote in her blog about our Modesto trip. It was 3 days and almost 2 nights, but the celebrations occurred in Modesto and Boise and we could only attend one of the three. Suzanne and Sally spoke of their celebrations - a birthday and an anniversary. Our's was a birthday bash and a father only turns 89 one time.


We have not lived close enough in 37 years to attend a birthday party for my father, yet this year we made the mad 8-hour dash north and had a Friday birthday lunch. It was so much fun! We found a new little restaurant about 4 blocks from Dad & Ruby's place and it was all comfort food, owned by a local group, and the food was almost as good as the companionship. I don't think I've ever seen Dad put away so much fish and chips. He even took my extra fish & chips home for later. And yes, he ate them.


Saturday was the big bash. All 3 sisters and families (that were in town) were present. It's a little overwhelming when we are all together. Everyone talks, some even listen, everyone is in motion, and it all centers around Jeri's kitchen. In all I think there were 13 of us plus 3 dogs. For a family that grew up without dogs, we sure have changed that! Of course, only Penny was allowed in the house since she doesn't consider herself a dog.

It was fun, company, presents, and family. Put it all together and you get a real feel for why families can love each other so much - in spite of our differences. When we get to the core we are more alike than different. Dad got in one game of cribbage and he must be getting old since I had to give him 2 points he missed. I don't think he ever missed any points before. And he still beat me! Of course the family dominoes game has morphed into a set of rules that focuses on cooperation rather than competition - although there is still a winner. It was a tad difficult to get a feel for the first game. I was more focused on "winning" than on cooperating. JoAnn won the first game and I didn't win the 2nd game. Wait, I didn't win any games.

At the end of the day we just sat out on the patio and relaxed. JoAnn and Jeri got a head start while I shot a few photos of them. Later, as JoAnn explained, we watched and listened for the owls. What a great family weekend.

Mom Can ALWAYS Find It!

We are in Modesto at my sister's home for the weekend. They have a beautiful place in the country and we are in the "guest house" (eat your heart out folks). We heard a phone ring while we were sitting and relaxing. I got up to answer it, but after 2 rings it quit. That was insufficient time for me to find it. A while later it rang again - only 2 rings. I figured my sister was picking up in the house. No, we get a knock on the door and her husband comes in and he starts rummaging through the shelves by the video surveillance (no, not of us). It turns out the ringing was his cell phone. He is on his way out and needs it. He calls it again, but no ring. He points up and says it is up there (about 7 feet off the ground). We are looking. JoAnn says, what color is it? "Black," is Mike's response. Still no ring. Then JoAnn points on the waist high counter between the roles of toilet paper and the baby car seat and says, "There it is."

What can I say, it's just like riding a bike - you never forget how. And now I know it's true, "Mom's really can ALWAYS FIND IT. I stand in humble awe of mothers.

The OCD Connection Continues

I have always known that Meagan was a bit OCD. Okay, her mom would say she is over the top. Jeni hung a box and filled it with wooden flowers in Meagan's room. While grandma was there Jeni gave her one of the flowers to take home. When grandma left Meagan explained to her mother that it just is not right, a flower was missing. Tim and Sally like to point out that a good OCD is a born accountant - good luck Meagan.


However, her true colors came out while the family was visiting in Las Vegas. The kids gave grandma a 500 piece puzzle focusing on quilts - lots of quilts, colors, small, and difficult. At least I thought it was difficult. Grandma, Mom, and Meagan got into the puzzle in a hurry. Grandma got busy with other projects, Mom would come back periodically, but once Meagan got the hang of the puzzle it was all over. By my count she did at least 50 percent of the puzzle. There is some disagreement there, but since it's my blog my number counts.


Meagan was so proud of herself when she was finished. She just beamed. We have an 8-year old puzzle whiz. Is there a TV show for that - there seems to be for everything else.


The best part of being a grandpa is watching your grandchildren grow up and learn about themselves. It is a discovery process that brings back old memories of when their parents were small. I have to admit, living closer to our children is a whole lot better then living far away. We have enjoyed the opportunity to see them more often. And their parents too.

So How Hot was the Salsa?

Saturday night we received a green and red salsa. Krissie promised both were hot, but couldn't remember which was the hottest. Jeni discovered it was the red salsa. I will pay for posting this photo, but it's worth it. Please note at least one of my daughters is trained as a model. Krissie didn't miss a beat - all smiles.


I guess now I know why our grandchildren make so many funny faces. Lots of parental (and grandparental) modeling.

Gotta Love Spring Travel

I truly have become a Las Vegan. If it isn't sunny, warm, and nice I don't much care to travel. Well in the last week I flew to Salt Lake City and upon arrival I picked up my car for the drive to Provo and the woman at the rental counter says, "We are expecting 5 to 8 inches of snow tonight and tomorrow." My response was, "If that's the case, I won't be back tomorrow." Not that I don't like driving in the snow (I don't), but especially not in Salt Lake City or any other big city. And, I'm just a little out of practice. Not much snow (or rain) in Las Vegas.

Jeni, Craig and the kids came for spring break and I promised to drive Jeni and the kids back to Denver since Craig had to go back to work. As I watched the weather (remember I just dodged a storm in Utah) I noted that Denver was set for a Friday-Saturday snow event (that means .1" to 24" depending on how mother nature feels). So we opted to go through Albuquerque to Denver. Yes, it is a little longer, but the scenery is still new to me and with David & Krissie in Albuquerque it makes for a nice stop.

We got off moderately early (5 am), saw Hoover Dam just as it was getting light. Noted the new bridge is making great progress and then headed south to Kingman, AZ and Interstate 40. Off we were east to Albuquerque and making good time. We stopped for gasoline in Flagstaff, noted the wind was getting brisk (how about just plain hard) and got 17 miles east and hit a standstill. We made 1.2 miles in 2 hours. I could see our "good time" going right out the window. By the time we got to the off ramp - yes the road was closed - we were informed all roads east were closed due to high winds (gusts up to 65 mph). So, we turned around, back to Flagstaff, found a hotel with an indoor pool (lukewarm water and cold indoor space, but still indoors) and after everyone quit shivering we were off for lunch. Back in the room we looked outside and yes, the wind was blowing, the side roads were filling up with trucks (nowhere to go) and then the snow hit. It was horizontal (a good Iowa snow) and whiteout conditions.

It really did look a lot colder and snowy when I looked at it. Photos make a car look like it lost 10 pounds - or more.

By comparison the rest of the trip was uneventful. However, as I was driving east on Saturday through eastern Arizona and western New Mexico I thought more than once about the movie Cars and how much scenery we must be missing. Remember the scene with all the traffic on the interstate. Well, that was us! I decided to save that detour for another trip. After all we will be going to Albuquerque 2 more times this summer - on the way to Denver. Thank goodness I don't have to go to Boise to get to Denver.

We had dinner at a little Mexican restaurant on Saturday evening in east Albuquerque, close to the Air Force base, and it was truly a mom and pop operation. The food was superb. It may have helped that we were all starved, but we did have a great time. I had a photo of Jeni expressing just how HOT the red sauce was, but had to censor it (for fear of my own health).

This shot of Alyssa came as she was being a bit of a teen and not wanting a photo taken. I set my iPhone on the table, propped it up with hot sauce container and shot a series of time lapse photos. This was the point where she asked what I was doing. Of course I told her nothing, but I don't think she believed me.

Now, as I sit in the Denver airport waiting I'm excited to go home and see my lover. I've forgotten what it was like to have kids at home and how little of JoAnn I really got to see.

The OCD Connection

Tuesday I flew in to Utah to attend a dinner at Brigham Young University that evening. As part of the trip I scheduled an afternoon with my oldest daughter. We had lunch and enjoyed ourselves talking about all kinds of things, including "Baby" (I use her blog name for the youngest). It appears he loves to buy Legos and especially Star Wars legos. The evening before I arrived they went out on a quest for a specific Lego set and found it at only the 2nd Wal-Mart. Better yet it was purchased with Baby's own money. Donna said the bags were all numbered and all Baby had to do was open one bag at a time and get what he needed to build the space vehicle. It was late and the boys were supposed to be in bed, but when Donna checked on him he had all of the Legos out of the bags and on the floor of his bedroom. Donna was a little upset, but got over it.

When I got to their home I realized all of the Legos had been moved to the kitchen table, more or less in a large and scattered pile. Donna went off to get the boys from school and I took it upon myself to "organize" the Legos by color and shape. See where I'm going. We all accuse Donna, and some others, of OCD. One look at the table clearly showed I have some OCD tendencies. Go figure! I do lists and lists of lists. I have a form that sets long term and weekly goals at work along with daily tasks. I guess I'm guilty. I know it drives JoAnn crazy sometimes (maybe all of athe time).


Sorry kids, I guess it is inherited - and not just from me. It's a Merriam trait which has become a McLean trait. Thank goodness not everyone is infected or it would be crazy when we all get together.


Bottom line - Baby and I had a great time working on his Legos. He put it together and I helped him find the pieces. I had to leave for the banquet and when I got home it was all done, and looked great. I have provided a couple of photos below of Baby's hard work. I would have more, but he wouldn't sit still long enough for me to get a photo. He is always moving. Just ask his mom.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Sometimes I'm just overwhelmed by the commonality that exists in our family. And of course the differences. But that is what makes a family and we are constantly amazed by the commonalities. I shot the photo below while we were at a bookstore. Okay, I was at the bookstore and drug my daughter and wife along. As I was looking at management books my eyes drifted towards my loved ones, and what do I see - two peas in a pod. You gotta love them. They were boredom exemplified and with amazing patience.