Happy Birthday Jeni

Daughter number 3 inspired me when I saw her blog congratulating Jeni, daughter 2, on her birthday. And, like any good father I'm not telling anyone how old she is. So, enjoy the photos, with no specific date, so you still can't figure out how old she is.

At any age a child is cute and while she isn't very old, but at least 3 months, because that is how old she was when we moved to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. And she's in the crook of my knee.

In Provo, Utah at BYU Jeni is closing on 2, but look at that determination. That hasn't changed one little bit.

At Grandpa & Grandma's house with Spunky, the dog. Now you know where her love of animals comes from.

This is a classic pose and one that I've seen on at least one of her kids. Who says things don't come around. She is 2 years and 3 months old and still at BYU.

Wow, 10 years old and in Ames, IA standing out in the back yard. No, that's not all of our backyard. We lived in a townhouse and it was a common area.

Jeni with her then brother and sisters. 1982 in Ames, IA

Happy Birthday Jeni!

The Cat's Attention

We have had our cat for over 8 years. She has many names, but she is mostly known as the "devil cat" by the kids and a former veterinarian. She hides when family comes. She runs if someone knocks at the door or the doorbell rings. If we walk in the door (no doorbell or knock) she is at the door. The backyard is her domain. Sometimes the wall along the backyard is her domain and we have to wait for her to come back.

She is very much her own cat. She ignores us unless she wants food, water, or to be petted. She and I have an ongoing battle, which I usually lose. I have scratches on my hands pretty regular just to prove it. Yet, we pretty much know who she is, where she is, and what to expect of her. In other words, our cat is pretty predictable. That is until this morning.

I was setting up the television to record a show for JoAnn. After I did I switched it over to local television and PBS where "Nature" was on. I got hooked pretty quickly and it wasn't long before a she wolf was howling. As I was continuing to watch I look over by the corner of the couch and there sits the cat, totally enthralled by the television. This is a behavior we have never seen from Whisper. As you can see from the photos she was totally enthralled watching the various animals, This went on for over 20 minutes until we had to leave.

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.

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.