Whale Watching

This year was a San Diego Christmas. We usually travel to less mild weather, so traveling to San Diego for Christmas was fun and the bonus was to spend it at the Dunn Inn and with our 7.5 month pregnant daughter and her wonderful husband. More on that in another post.

David, Krissie, & JoAnn as we were leaving the bay.

It's been more than a week since we we went whale watching and yet it remains fresh in my mind. After arriving in San Diego on Friday prior to Christmas we took off on Saturday morning to do a little "whale watching." I don't know what I was thinking, as I anticipated a short voyage - which by some standards it was. But I didn't anticipate a 2.5 hour voyage and was surprised after we got on the ship it was that long. However, once we got out on the ocean and started watching for whales the time literally flew by.

Krissie & JoAnn in the cabin just as we are leaving. I'm
the red jacket reflection in the window!

It's been 8 years since I was on a ship of any size for any length of time, and that was a ferry (large) in the English Channel as JoAnn and I went overnight from England to Belgium - and back! That was fun. So was this. This ship was smaller, but still sizable with room for a couple of hundred passengers. And the ocean couldn't have been nicer - just a gentle roll of the ship after we left the harbor and began to "troll" for whales. The captain was quite knowledgable and kept us up to date on all the things that might or might not be seen.

We were rewarded with seeing 3 whales. When I say we saw 3 whales don't get the idea that they were breaching (jumping out of the water) as they were not. Sometimes they do, but today we saw the tales (what I now know are "flukes") which was at the conclusion of the process of breaching (breathing - spray of water shooting up from their blow-holes). We saw a lot of breaching, but only a little of the lobtailing (a display of the whales large pectoral fins. Once out of the water, the whale will either slap the water surface or wave it in the air). It was fun to watch and we shot a few photos. By law the ship cannot get closer than 100 meters, but our captain was experienced enough to anticipate where the whale was going to angle for good views.

We had a great time and followed it with a visit to the USS Midway aircraft carrier where we inhaled lunch and enjoyed a walking tour. Needless to say, by the end of the day we were a smidgen tired.

A photograph of a photographer as we come in
from a morning of whale watching!

Photo Memories - What will the baby look like?

I partnered with JoAnn to create this photo memory. There are so many possibilities that we almost don't know where to begin. As of right now we officially have several hundred (if not thousands) photo memories.

Just a little teaser of what we could have shared.

However, as we were looking at our flickr photos we noticed we have a lot of baby photos of both the parent and their child(ren). At some point we will do a set showing "baby parent" and "baby child" and let you match the parent and the child.

For today, however, we have been wondering what David & Krissie's little bundle of joy will look like in February. Maybe this photo of Krissie might give us a clue as to what their baby could look like. Come back in 6 months and see if we are close.

July 24th - Utah Style

We have lived in a few states and none of them celebrate their founding as excitedly as Utah does. July 24th is not really the day that Utah became a state, or even a territory. It is the day the first settlers arrived in Salt Lake Valley - of course there wasn't a city, a hamlet, or even a place then. But, no state seems to embrace their beginnings better then folks in Utah. When our children were small (Donna and Jeni) we would participate in Pioneer Day (that's the official state holiday) when we were at BYU. The kids would dress up and ride their tricycles around the Wymount Terrace Quad. Our married student housing was organized with 4 building all facing each other in a rectangle. In the middle was a large grassy area, playground, picnic tables, and the like.

This year we went back up to Spanish Fork for the 2nd time to observe July 24th. When you've been away from Utah you forget how much fun it is - and especially in a small town. It's even more fun when you can do it with family and have a grandson in the parade. There is a festival all through the downtown on Main Street focusing on the city park. Yes, Spanish Fork is one of those wonderful towns with a city park right in the middle of the town. It's not big, but every time I've ever been there it has been busy. The day before the parade people start going down to stake out where they are going to sit and watch the parade. It comes by 2 sides of the park. Chairs and rope and strung so families can have their spot saved. Can you imagine doing that in Las Vegas? I can't, but in Spanish Fork no one bothers your stuff. I didn't realize the science of selecting a spot until Donna explained to me that we were sitting in the best location for maximum shade. She was right too! And even sitting behind families in front of you, there was no problem seeing the parade.

Even before the morning started we were up early - Chris was off at his 10k - and the boys and I went out and put flags in people's front yard. The Scouts have about 40 neighbors who ask them (pay them actually) to put the flags out for holidays. Each boy has a route, picks up their flags from the Scoutmaster, and they are off. In the photo Clayton is in front with Cole catching up. Neither one of the were very awake.

It can't be an official parade if it doesn't have a fire engine and this one was a beauty.

A trick rider on a horse. It really is Spanish
Fork and these girls were great!

10K shoes - maybe smelly

I've been to a few small town parades, but I've never been to one that lasted almost 3 hours. It had floats, bands, big trucks, little trucks, children, adults, roller bladers, clown, cowboys, politicians, and on and on. It didn't feel like it was ever going to be over. For us, the big event was seeing Cole with his Karate group. They were on a big flatbed truck, but he was walking and demonstrating various Karate moves.

Earlier his Dad and I had walked to the start of the parade, which wasn't far from Donna's house, but it was from where we were already sitting and then when the parade was over Chris and I walked to pick him up. It became pretty evident he was a little over heated, but like any good 11 year old he wouldn't drink water, so we poured some on his head and neck and he was fine. We got him back and to sit down.

Like I said, they had floats - and some pretty good ones too!

Cole looks pretty fierce!

When the parade was over I was all set to head for home, but no, there was a quilt show just a half-block from the where we were and the girls all went over there while Chris and the boys went to the blacksmith to watch him work. I sat around and relaxed, picked up all of the chairs and blankets, folded them up, put them in their bags and was ready to go when everyone got back. Bad idea. Donna informed me we weren't done yet and they promptly opened the chairs back up. I clearly don't know the etiquette of small town parades and festivals.

It was a great day and we finally got home. We can hardly wait to go again next summer. Maybe we will decide early to go so we can get Rodeo tickets. We will skip the demolition derby. It's just not our thing.

The next morning it was time to get up and be on the road. I had a meeting down the road, so we didn't leave before dawn - for a change - and JoAnn was glad. I did get to see the sunrise coming over the mountains. It was a great way to start our trip home to Las Vegas.

A day at the beach - Las Vegas Style

When you live in Las Vegas and you want a little water - beach style water - you can either go to Lake Mead, which doesn't have real sand on their beaches, or to the local splash park. When you have young children and you don't want to spend all-day in the car the splash park makes a perfect beach. Centennial Hills park is about 30 minutes from our house and there are 2 water playgrounds on site (only 1 of which is featured here) plus there are 2 great playgrounds - and lots of shade. It is the favorite playground of 2 of our families with young children. I'll let the photos tell the story.

The entrance to the playground is spectacular. It makes the kids want to come in. Our grandchildren could see if from a distance and were so excited. Once they got out of the car it was a straight line run to the playground. Note the variety of slides and other play devices. They are all fun and creative.

The playground also has lots of shade structures that are unique - representing flowers and butterflies.

This is all warmup stuff so that when you get hot you will run over to the water playground (or splash park). It is very inviting and the water rotates among the different devices with several being on at the same time.

Of course it's not really a beach unless you have a place to sit, shades (sun glasses), drinks, a shade hat, and a telephone. It looks good to me and now everyone can have fun.

That's right - she has everything the well prepared beach
grandma needs.

But the real fun is for the kids while they are playing in the water, even if they are a little reticent to get too wet - they are still young, but will learn.

Chas hard at work redirecting the water.

The frogs are just too cute not to climb on. Bonnie thinks so, at least.

Sally is trying to show Charlotte how to get wet without
getting wet herself. It almost worked.

And when it's all done we do what we do best - stop at Dairy Queen for a little light (okay, heavy) refreshment. It was sure fun and good and a great morning. The kids crashed all afternoon.

Three Generations - Part 3

The Quilt Shop is Open

We were blessed to have 2 of our children visit this week. Well, a child and a spouse, but once they become a spouse they are adopted into our family (in a literal sense). David and Krissie flew in from San Diego on Monday to help me and JoAnn out since JoAnn went into the hospital early Monday morning for a condition that has been resolved and is NOT life threatening. She came home on Wednesday, tired, hungry, and physically exhausted. She had been sick for 3 weeks, but we really didn't understand that until she got to the hospital. However, that has little or much to do with this post.

Because David & Krissie were here I was able to go back to work on Wednesday for what was left of a busy week. JoAnn finally made it home about 6 pm and she went almost directly to bed. We were all exhausted and went to bed early. Thursday was another busy morning at work and I took the afternoon off to spend time with the kids. David and I were busy reorganizing the garage and driving around picking up shelving, tearing down existing work benches, and cleaning up. At some point we came inside and the girls announced they had been to the quilt store!

I looked at them incredulously, thnking to myself, "Your mother just got out of the hospital and you took her to the quilt store! What is the matter with you?" They could see me warring with my emotions and began to laugh. Now I was confused. Finally they said, "We went to Mom's quilt store!" They had me, but it wasn't for the first time.

JoAnn reminded me that the last time we had Sister's Weekend at our house that I was sitting on the computer in her office when I watched our daughters come in several times and go through her well organized quilt storage area. For the girls it was like being in a quilt store and they all readily agree it's one of the best quilt stores they have been in. So Krissie, our lone unrepentant non quilter had finally repented and was quilting to making Christmas gifts for her sister-in-laws (no secrets revealed here). She learned pretty quickly under the steady hand and eye of JoAnn. Krissie did most of the work once she understood the basics.

It's still good to know that we can help our children in small ways that allow them to grow. We do enjoy having our children around and look forward to when we live closer to some of them and not have to depend on a visit to have them over, but it becomes part of a daily routine.

Happy Birthday Krissie

Happy Birthday youngest daughter. You have brought a lot of light into our family and we love you for that. It seems like you are always at the center - but that happens a lot when you are the youngest. Have a GREAT Birthday.

The Real Classic Monday - Graduation times 2

The Sleepy Daughter

One of the things that was a surprise to us was how much our 2nd daughter liked to sleep. Now, given the fact that as a baby she slept like everyone else that age, it was not big deal. But, as she got older and we said it was nap time she was the ONLY child we had who NEVER argued with us about taking a nap. Since she was number 2 of 7 we had hope with each new child. That hope was dashed 5 times.

Jeni liked to take naps so much she used to ask, "Can I take a nap?" In fact, she enjoyed them so much we were afraid that when she went to school she wouldn't make it through the day without a nap. She can correct me when she reads this, but I think most of the time she made it through the day. But, going to bed at night was always fun. "Can I go to bed now." At least until she became a teenager, then life changed a little.

As a mother of 4 she has fallen back on her old habits. She can sleep anywhere anytime. I'm still amazed by her ability to fall asleep. I wish I had it sometimes. I guess some things never change. In a way, that is comforting.

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!

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.

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.

Melted Malted Milk Ball Mountain

Yesterday was exciting at our house. Colorado daughter called and wanted to make sure we checked the mail. We are getting older, but JoAnn lives for all those adds we get in Las Vegas - NOT! Our recycle is full every week. This time, however, Colorado daughter said my Father's Day Present should arrive today! I was excited, especially since I had no idea what it was.

JoAnn went down, checked the mail and came back with a box. She started to very carefully open it and I had zero patience at that point. Of course I was still on drugs from my procedure that afternoon (and there will be NO blogs on that) so I can try to excuse myself. I asked for the package and promptly got it open. Material? I got material for Father's day? Talk about disappointed. But wait, there was a box in the box. I pulled it out and it was wrapped (see the photo) and I could tell what it was. The shape of a malted milk balls box is distinctive and anything chocolate is a sure hit. I opened it up, pulled out some soft milk balls. Gave JoAnn a couple and popped a couple in my mouth. No crunch, just sort of a squish-crunch.

Wait a minute, there was no rattle when I shook the box. Think Daniel, think. Oh, summer, 90 plus degrees, sitting in a hot mailbox and probably in a hot mail truck, and who knows where else? Now what do we do? I am not throwing away perfectly good malted milk balls. Into the refrigerator. Results - A Melted Malted Milk Ball Mountain. Okay a Square Melted Malted Milk Ball Mountain. Too bad I didn't take photos of me carving the mountain to get to the milk balls. At this point the appropriate term is probably malted milk slices. Who knows, maybe I have hit on something. Probably not, the FDA would surely find something wrong with it. However it does spawn creativity.

Sister's Weekend Has Officially Ended - Sort of. . .

I received the following graphic from daughter number 3 with daughters 4 and 5 in the photo. Now at least I know where my car is parked when I get home tomorrow. That makes things good. I carried on periodic text messages with daughters (JoAnn doesn't do text messaging) so I feel as if I know 2% of what went on and that is probably all I want to know.

Yet, it was a good weekend. Two days in a row we exhausted the kids - Bakes and Bradleys. At least I thought we did. Yesterday Deano came home exhausted and slept. Then both boys went down later without a peep - okay, after an hour of talking. But then I remember that my brother and I would talk into the evening after we were put to bed, so it must be in their genes. Daughter number 3 may need a week to readjust her 4 to family life again. I'm sure I've run them a little ragged.

After Church today the girls needed to go out and feed the chickens and ducks. They work pretty well as a team most of the time, as depicted by the photo below.


My heart goes out to those grandparents who raise their grandchildren. I know I'm not cut out for it. I love coming home to JoAnn and a nice quiet home. We enjoy our family, but we also enjoy our time together and we think we have earned it. We have great kids with great families and they do well. We are proud of them. Did I fail to mention that Mike was an awesome help this weekend and I could not have done it without him? It's true! Thanks Mike.

A Mostly Quiet Rainy Saturday

It is an unusual day in Las Vegas - a quiet rainy Saturday. It feels like an Indiana spring day. The rain is soft and the sky is varying shades of gray, as opposed to the slate gray of an Indiana winter. Spring in Indiana is beautiful as the dogwoods, daffodils, and crocuses come alive and populate the woodlands.

In Las Vegas our springs come earlier, and especially this year, and typically dryer, so an Indiana spring day is a bonus. We don't have dogwoods, crocuses, or daffodils. We do have pansies and a variety of plants that bloom all winter. For us that is a real bonus. As I looked out the back window and across the partially submerged patio I see yellow, red, and lavender flowers. Several are in the early stages - especially the red ones, while others have been around for weeks.

While the midwest has suffered through an excruciatingly cold winter, we in Las Vegas have had a beautiful January with temperatures 5 to 10 degrees above normal. My midwestern friends and family call and I'm always telling them there is a 65 degree difference. However, I'm digressing.
As we sit around with daughter number 3, who is visiting, we are baking cookies, listening to a little Norah Jones and Jack Johnson (at least I am) and relaxing. We didn't do that all day, as evidenced by the photo. We were up early and I was out working on cleaning the front yard up about 7:30 am (after I had been bribed to go to Panera Bread for some breakfast goodies). I got a couple of driveway offending limbs cut off of our only front yard “real tree” and then we began to work on the yard.

You would think that a yard with NO grass and just a few desert shrubs wouldn't be much to take care of, but over the last 18 months some of those desert shrubs got big. We didn't realize how big they had become until we looked at a photo of the house when we first purchased it. Surprise! Our shrubs were totally out of control. They had quadrupled in size. In midwestern terms that means a bush 1 foot tall was not 10 feet tall. In desert terms, not quite so bad.
It was time to get serious and with daughter 3 in town we had a solid worker. Grandma and I purchased a new hedge trimmer (big one) and this morning I went to work. Okay, we went to work - all 3 of us. I was a little concerned about making noise too early in the morning until our neighbor down the street got out his 4-wheeler off-road vehicle and went up and down the street without a muffler. Okay, noise is now appropriate.
Two hours later we have 8 bags of cuttings in front of the house and it's only until Monday when the garbage man comes, but the yard looks - or at least will, great. Actually, right now it looks like a bad haircut, but when the bushes turn green and the others begin to grow back it will look great - for rocks, microdust, a few plants. The photo of me sitting and Suzanne working wasn't wholly true. I did sit, but then I did also work. Suzanne just worked harder.
All done and time to shower. We were so sweaty and smelled of sage that we just dumped out clothes in the washing machine before we took off for a little shopping. Come on - Mom, Daughter, and a driver. What more can they ask for. Although I did find Harry & David's right next to where the girls were and did a little Valentine shopping. I know, it's a week away, but I have little chance of remembering until then.

Back home to make sugar cookies and my next post will be a real treat. I downloaded a timelapse software for my iPhone and used it to take photos of the cookie baking. The girls kept saying, "What is that noise?" And them Mom couldn't find the phone/camera.

Day is done, sun is down, water is receding for a record high on our patio, cookies are made, time for some veggies! And maybe a little fruit. Tomorrow we are planning our first "barbecue" of the season. Eat your heart out midwesterners.

I call the following photo "desert zero-depth patio." For you non aquatic types that means a beach type entrance into a pool.