Wordless Wednesday - Calvin's Spirit of the Eagle

More to come later

Wordless Wednesday

Little Samuel (Sammy) 2 days old on 17 December in Boise, Idaho. All 10 pounds of him.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Calvin, our Grandson

It is becoming a tradition to honor Calvin on the anniversary of his death as a reminder of what a great young man he was. There was so much we did not know about him until people came forth and told us. Even now his parents  occasionally discover someone else who was touched by him. He had a zest for life and a love of people.

We are honoring him with photos. JoAnn and I have gone through and selected way too many photos, so we reduced the number and have shared them between our blogs.

Calvin took his first trip with Grandma and Grandpa to Boise, ID when he was
about 2 years old. Here he is with Suzanne.

The boys, just off the airplane in the Indianapolis airport at the Indy 500 Exhibit.

Calvin, Clayton & Cole on a "Giant Beetle" at
the St. Louis Zoo

Calvin, Clayton & Chris climbing a practice wall
in Terre Haute, IN

Calvin on a tank at the Fort Knox Armor Museum
in Kentucky

At the end of the day we can look back and see how special and how blessed we were to have this young man with us for a short period of time. Rarely a day goes by without me thinking of Calvin and how special it was for us to share time with us. We are thankful for all of the memories, the photos, and love that all have exhibited to Calvin and his family.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Classic Monday

I did a "3 faces of a 9-year old" in May and last week we were out to dinner at Fancy Freeze, a local Boise, ID drive-in. Our 2-year old grandson was in heaven eating his hamburger and fries. Actually, he didn't eat much, but the photos were good. In fact it seems that when boys are eating at a casual place (I can't call the places we were at a restaurant - an outdoor drive-in fits what we wanted. So Chas was really enjoying himself and it's obvious from the photos. Enjoy them.

Saturday Morning Dreams

Two weeks ago I wrote about "Saturday Night Lights" in Spanish Fork, UT. I meant to followup with this blog right away, but somehow time just got away from me. Not that that's unusual. So here I am on Thursday evening playing catch-up.

If you are a boy and play baseball on Friday night then you should be allowed to sleep in on Saturday morning. Donna's "baby" believes that wholly - even if he doesn't play ball on Friday night.


And like any 9-year old he has his room set up the way he wants it. For example, all you can see of baby is a little hair. That other batch of multicolored hair on the far side of the bed is "Tank," baby's sleeping partner.

To be honest, I haven't seen a leaf canopy over a bed in an awfully long time (like forever), but it gives the room a certain ambiance. It's my understanding that middle child picked out the colors. I didn't count pillows and quilts, but I think he is set for a long spring sleep. If you could have seen outside you would note that the snow was down pretty low. I guess I should have cuddled up like that also (in my own bed).


Note the flashlight on the stand to the left. Standard Army issue from about 1950 to 1990. It looks good, but when I checked it there were no batteries. But then, he sleeps with a light on.

It took a little prodding, but he finally came out from under those covers. Okay, it took a little tickling rather than prodding. But he was all smiles ... which is what we Grandpas look for.

The Faces of a 9-Year Old

I really think this picture says it all!


What's not to love in this expressive photo of a young man who enjoys life (and food)!

Friday Night Lights - 9-Year Old Style

We are on the road again. I just finished leading a workshop in central Utah so we are taking advantage of visiting with our Utah children and grandchildren. Since they grandchildren are 2 boys we took in a ball game and a play on the book, "Friday Night Lights", which was written about Texas football, but seems to aptly apply to Spanish Fork baseball.



Our 9-year old grandson plays baseball and I think he enjoys it. He is the right fielder, which means he stands 3 feet behind the basepath on the grass and sometimes watches the game. Actually a couple of hits were directed to him and he was on top of them before they got by, not that I'm sure they were hit hard enough to get by him. His throw is a bit of a shotput effect and is pretty good shotput form. The important thing for this 9-year old is that when he threw the ball it went where it was intended, even if it had a high arch.

Getting on base has a pretty standard model - 4 walks to every hit - and then, once on base, it's all about base stealing. For 9-year olds base stealing is about seeing the ball go by the catcher, watch the catcher run to the wall to get the ball and then have it register in their mind that they can steal. My favorite part is the slide. If you run towards a base, any base, you must slide. If you don't quite make it, well then you reach out with your hand and touch the base. If you didn't get to slide during the inning you walk towards home plate and take a slide. The rule? Every boy must go home with a bit of the basepath on their pants. It may be the most important component of the baseball game.

Was it fun? You bet. I think the boys had fun. I know most of the parents had fun. That is what it is all about - having fun! None of the boys took it too seriously and I only saw a couple of dads who took it too seriously. The umpire is 13 or 14 and did a great job. In the preceding game before he made an error and a lady was all over his case. Thank goodness the game was almost over. I went up afterwards, called him over and said, "You are doing a great job. Just ignore the parents." He seemed appreciative someone said he was doing a great job.

Baseball is about fun. If it's not fun then why play it. Kids are forced to take too much seriously in this society and too many parents have to make sure their kids live out their sport fantasies (or frustrations). Keep the fun in the game - and win occasionally, but enjoy it for what it is - a game.

Did I mention that the ballpark has the best hamburgers and fries I have found. Actually Spanish Fork has the best little hamburger joints I have ever found. Friday Night Lights in Spanish Fork is about baseball, boys, families, hamburgers, and fries. Does it get any better than that - I don't think so. Well, maybe they could add fireworks!

I Just Couldn't Resist...

I was working on our graduation, blessing, and Christmas photos this afternoon (and no, I'm not done yet, but check flickr for the new photos) and Joshua provided me with another story line. Thanks to Lonita and Tim for creating story lines for Joshua.

It's was Christmas morning and only Joshua's second Christmas, of course he was only 3 months old for his first Christmas, so this one had to be better. It was. It didn't take him any time at all to get into the spirit of ripping open gifts. It's a guy thing!

Let's get started on this gift. I've got the first piece off, but I still can't see anything. Who wrapped this anyway?

I can see it, but just what the heck is it? And how do I get the rest of this paper off?

Okay Mom, let's get this thing open and operational. I'm ready to play.

Oh good, now I've got the help of 2 parents. I think I'm losing control of the situation.

It's all hands now! I'm sure we will get this done before dinner - well, at least I hope so.

And after all that work can you believe that Grandpa didn't take a picture of me having fun with my new school set? Some Grandpa, he forgets to take the good pictures. Oh yea, thanks Chas!

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.

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.

Papa's Car

Our 3rd daughter's youngest son calls me Papa and at almost 2.5 that's just fine with me. Truth is he could call me anything and I wouldn't care, as long as he knows I'm his grandpa and JoAnn is his grandma.


We had a lot of fun at our reunion (more on that in later blogs) in Breckenridge, CO and on Monday morning six families began departing for different parts of the mountain west and midwest. We left about 30 minutes before 3rd daughter's family and headed west down the mountain. I figured Grand Junction was a perfect place to get gas and maybe drop by a grocery store and grab a sandwich from a deli for lunch.

We pulled off the highway, got gas for the car and pulled back out into traffic. JoAnn asked where we are going and I said straight ahead (south on a city street) to look for something to eat. Just then the cell phone rang and it was daughter number 3. "Hey Dad we're going to Burger King for lunch."

"Where are you?"

"Right in front of you." And they were! While we were getting gas they had pulled of the highway and as we pulled out of the gas station they were turning left literally right in front of us. Had the light been different we would have missed them.

"How did you see us?"

"I didn't, little Deano said, 'There's Papa's car.' And when I looked it really was you."

So we had a bonus coming home, we got to spend extra time with one of our families.

Calvin's Yearbook Page and Bonus

Donna sent me two scans today. In an earlier post from today I said when I got them I would post them. You can click on each image and it will open a window showing the full size. The Memory Page from the Yearbook is first. Second is from a memorial football game by one of his best friends. Enjoy them as much as I have.