Las Vegas, Rain, Grandchildren, Hiking

Dean, Lexi, & Ellen on the steps to
Calico Basin in Red Rock. The steps
are an exception and not the rule.

When we lived in the Midwest we loved a good rain and thunderstorm. Unless it was accompanied by tornadoes. The same is true in Las Vegas. The only exception is that our thunderstorms only occur 2 or 3 times a year. That makes them BIG events. Last week we had almost 3 full days of thunderstorms and heavy rain (heavy for Las Vegas). Because Las Vegas sits in the bottom of a bowl all the rain runs downhill to the lowest parts of town and gains some impressive speeds. It doesn't take much rain to create a flood. They say a 6 inch flow of water will move a car - a long ways. Most of us take our storms seriously knowing that there will be flooding, high water and the like.

Mix all that rain with a house full of grandchildren who want to go to the parks and play and it even gets more interesting. Fortunately that all worked out pretty well and there was enough dry time for them to have a great time at the parks.

Thursday was a moderately heavy rain day. We live almost right up against the mountain on the west side of town. Behind the mountain in Red Rock National Conservation Area, a beautiful area of mountains, plains, and enjoyment. Those mountains around Red Rock channel the storms and they tend to get heavier rain then we do.

Friday morning began with a beautiful sunshine and nice cool weather. I figured it was time to take the two big girls, Ellen and Alexis, and their Dad to Calico Basin. It is in Red Rock and about a 2.5 mile hike that takes 2 hours. It's all up and down and requires some bouldering. Both girls are big enough to engage in the bouldering, so we started out. At the gate I used my new $10 over-65 lifetime pass to national parks, recreation areas, and the like - You've got to take advantage of those over 65 deals!

I took the hike to Calico Basin for the first time last February with Tim. So I was familiar with the trail and knew what to expect. The first thing we noticed was that the rain had widened the channel (see photo). Some of the new cuts were 5 feet deep and looked like a knife had slide the soil away. There were also quite a few uprooted trees. Last time we walked up the wash and used that as our primary trail for about 30%f the hike. This time there was water in the wash so that meant we were climbing from the very beginning.

It was beautiful. The rain had cleared the sky. It was bright, the colors were magnificent, and the hike was refreshing! It was refreshing in February too, but a tad bit cooler that day. The girls kept up with a minimum of complaint and sometimes we had to ask them to wait for us! Well, me, not Dean, their Dad. There were spots where we crossed the wash and got our shoes a little muddy and our socks a little wet, but we lived through those experiences. They are part of the fun.

Ellen, Alexis, and Grandpa enjoying the beauty!

You can see the rugged beauty of Red Rock area, and the clouds that were
beginning to move in.

We even found hail left over from the storm. It wasn't a lot, but it was fun to find
in Southern Nevada.

We got to the top and looked at Calico Basin and saw about 3 feet of water in the bowl. I stuck with the girls while Dean went around to the other side to see the valley. Normally we go through the bowl to get the view of the valley. While all of this was going on we also recognized that the clouds were moving in and they were very dark. We decided it was time to scoot out of there as fast as we could, which isn't very fast when you are trying to be safe. Nonetheless we beat the storm. It just started to rain as we left, we got a little light hail, and later as we were driving on the main highway looking back we could see the rain coming down pretty good. We felt for all those folks who were out on the trail. We had a great time!

The Bake gang about half way through the hike!

Grandpa, Lexi, & Ellen celebrating!

Practice, Practice, Practice

There is nothing like getting 6 grandchildren (siblings and cousins) age 7 or less together for a little photo shoot with Grandpa. Last Christmas when we spent the holiday in Boise helping with the new baby (Sammy) we got the younger 6 together (3 each for Suzanne and Sally) and I took some photos. They are so much fun at this age. For the most part they get right into what Grandpa asks them to do - and why have a normal shot when I can have some fun.

I've had a lot of fun taking photos of grandchildren with what I call the "rubberneck" syndrome. They grow out of it at some point, but I have a number of rubberneck photos I've taken over the years. I asked the kids to do a rubberneck for me. Most of them got the idea, although Hattie was really more interested in eating a little cheese stick then performing. I think that is probably different now.

Hattie, Danny, Chas, Bonnie, Dean

After that photo I thought I would take advantage of their love of making noise via screaming. I asked them all to scream. What big mouths they have - and they are noisy too. Hattie was still eating her cheese stick and on the other end Charlotte choses her own path (which I understand from Sally is pretty common for her!). Still I ended up with 2 adorable photos of our grandchildren.

Charlotte on the right

G-DAWG!

I'm sitting in the Denver airport waiting for my aircraft to board following a quick 48 hour trip to visit a couple of students working in their final internships and to spend time with my daughter and her wonderful family. It's always a bonus when I can include time for family on my trips. That doesn't happen very often,but then I don't travel for business like I used to, and I enjoy the reduced travel. JoAnn and were trying to remember the last time I left her at home for business travel, and it has been a while.

Prior to arriving in Denver I discovered I could not get a car at the airport. The state has 4 vendors for car rentals and none were available. That has never happened to me before. So Jeni picked me up at the airport and took me to a car rental location. From there I went to her house and was amazed to find the driveway all festooned for my welcome. Mac explained to me that "G-Dawg" was my text message handle he had assigned to me. I was flattered and the kids love it.

I love the "welcome" emphasis. And yes, visiting families
is a stairway to Heaven.

Spending time with the family was a wonderful bonus to my trip to see the driveway festooned with decorations was just plain fun! JoAnn and I really enjoy visiting family, and that seems to take the bulk of our travel time, but it is so rewarding to see our children and grandchildren grow, mature, and blossom. And each one is an individual in their own right and watching each child and grandchild develop their personality, from the time they are a newborn until - well none  of the grandchildren are adults yet, regardless of what some may think - they get to where they are today. I have great hope in our grandchildren, in what I see in them, in how they conduct their lives, of how they embrace family values and life itself.

The greatest joy in life is family, and together JoAnn and I have embraced our family as the most important focus of our lives.

Oh yes, and the trip, after a couple of business meetings that were very positive we finished off with a late afternoon at the reservoir beach and later that evening a daddy - daughter - granddaughter date to Sonic Drive-in for a little ice cream - and yes it was good, but what was better was to have 3 generations together enjoying one another. It was a great business/family trip and much was accomplished.

Just as I got to the front porch, the kids couldn't resist a little humor at Grandpa's expense - but I do love their humor.

I really wasn't too late, but every time I left and returned
I was reminded by my grandchildren that life is also about
having fun!

Thanks kids for hosting your Dad in such a wonderful way.

PS - Watch for my next post on the 24th of July celebration in Spanish Fork (and yes, I know these are going to be out of order, but I’ve been busy on other projects.

Bonding in Las Vegas

Whether the teen and near-teen grandchildren want to admit it or not, Grandpa really looks forward to putting them to work for a couple of hours while they visit. They should be thankful we don't live in the country or have a farm. Of course if that was the case they probably wouldn't come to visit for fear of all the work expected of them.

The Allen's were in town last week and I invited Mac and Alyssa to help in the dreaded "tree" project. They have never done it before and didn't know what to expect. I was up early walking at 5:30 am, cuting down limbs at 6:30 am and we finally finished about 9:30 am. Mac has only used power tools in the past, so I had to teach him how to use a "hand" saw and he got very good.

Mac and Alyssa were a great help. Once we got Alyssa involved
the work went twice as fast. We just needed someone to stuff
the trash can - and she did great!

Once done with the hard work we had lunch and off shopping that afternoon. By the time we were all done I was exhausted, even if they were just getting started. It was a fun day with my grandkids, daughter, and spouse. It was a lot harder shopping then trimming the tree.

Not as many bags as usual, but that's because we are getting
into a rhythm of accomplishing the work. And bags are bags!

At the Drop of a Hat

Our family likes to get together. We visit the children and grandchildren - they visit us - sometimes in groups - we have Sister's Weekend annually - family reunion every 2 years - we get together on holidays - and more. It's not always all of us, but it may be 2 or more families. We all wish we could make all of these events, but the beauty of smaller get togethers is that we still have a great time and enjoy each other all the more.

Today we have 4 families in San Diego. Krissie and David live there - thanks the the U.S. Marine Corps - and Jeni and Donna decided to come and visit together with their families. That adds 10 additional people to David & Krissie's little 3 bedroom condo (a nice term for military housing). Then Sally and her family (6 more) had their scooter rally in Colorado Springs, CO cancelled, so it was off to San Diego - and at least they brought a tent. That means there are 18 people at Krissie and David's house through tomorrow when they leave for Sacramento and visit David's family for the 4th; Donna, Chris  and family go home; Jeni, Craig and the kids come back to our place for the 4th; and who know's what the Bradley clan has up their sleeve. As I've said more than once, "Our family will get together at the drop of a hat!" and this weekend proves it remains true.

The photo below, which I just received via email from the families in San Diego includes front to back and left to right: Front row: Meagan, Charlotte, Chas, and Bonnie. Middle row: Sydney, Cole, and Alyssa. Back row: Clayton, David & Sammy, Krissie, and Mac.

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

3 Generation Photo - Part 2 (Wordless Wednesday)

This is our 2nd photo of three generations of McLean's. Tim should note that
I finally learned how to use my remove! Taken at Mesa Park in Las Vegas, NV
close to our home.

Wordless Wednesday

click on me to make me bigger

Cousins! Kissing Cousins! Really?

The other evening I was having a nice quiet evening at home surrounded by plastic sheeting hanging from the ceiling (that's another blog) and enjoying the NFL opening season game when the phone rang. On the other end was granddaughter 3 who is daughter 2 of daughter 3. Still with me? After a little grandfather - granddaughter banter, mostly by me, she finally said, "Grandpa, I need help with my genealogy." Since that is a topic near and dear to my heart, I said, "Sure, what do you want to know?" She asked for our birthdates, birth places, realized she didn't need our death dates and then went on to ask about other relatives. After getting my parents, she asked, "Who are your dad's parents?" I shared all of the relevant information with her, followed by my mother's parents. Then it was off to JoAnn's parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. Remember, this was done a little randomly, meaning we didn't always follow a family line, and I'm several hundred miles away on the telephone. When I asked questions the answers were sometimes a little vague. She concurred she was building a pedigree chart, but I wondered why we went to great-grandparents on only one side. That was when she shared she wanted to go back 8 generations and would need to call again! Eight generations is a lot of names.

The next morning I talked to our daughter, her mother, Suzanne, and asked the burning question, "How does Lexi's pedigree chart look." I got this guffaw from Suzanne and she finally said that Lexi came to her and showed that JoAnn and I were cousins. We're not, we aren't from Kentucky (apologies to my family in Kentucky), and were not even remotely from related families. Not that progenitors haven't done that, but not for over 300 years as near as I can determine.

JoAnn and I had a good laugh over the idea we were cousins - maybe even "kissing cousins." This is what makes grandparenting so much fun. We get to see how children interpret what is said and how differently they see the world from us. It is a joy for us to have such wonderful grandchildren and children. Not that we are biased.

The Joy of Play

JoAnn and I love watching our grandchildren play - together and alone. Of course their play is sometimes loud and other times quiet and it is usually the latter that parents worry about. When you have 15 children together ranging in age from 16 to 2 years of age there is a lot of diversity in what is considered play. For the teens it is texting, texting, and yes, more texting interspersed along with a few video games. For the younger children it verges on a lot more spontaneity and physical play. Joshua had a brand new play structure in the backyard that immediately captured everyone's attention who was under the age of 12. I would go out on the upstairs patio and see the youngest ones playing on the structure, running around the house exterior, and having a wonderful time. No one was in charge, but everyone was together. The photo shows six grandchildren from 3 families having a great time - each one of them individually engaged in active play and using their imagination.

The above photo, while only showing Joshua, shows how engaged he (along with his cousins) were with his Thomas the Train set. The train set usually had 3 to 5 children gathered around it, all engaged in a different form of plan. It was amazing how they were all individually engaged and yet didn't seem to get frustrated with the others. There wasn't a lot of space for 3 to 5 children, but they made the most of it each time. They were all pretty much at the age where playing together is still a novel idea.

Playing with Grandma is also very important. All of the kids enjoy playing, and learning from, Grandma. Joshua and Chas loved having Grandma working with them on a puzzle and teaching them to work together. I'm not so sure the "working together" idea was fully grasped. Grandma also found time to eat a little dinner out at the farm with Lexi and Meagan. They are both at an age where food is more important than it used to be, but fun is even more important. Finally, there is the first grandchild with a "driving permit." I personally find that scary, but while we were in downtown Des Moines and found an Italian festival she found the car of her dreams. Of course Grandma was there to share it with her.

It's all about play and fun. It's about practicing for life. It's about learning to work with others, but in the end, it's about family and joy and love. I could have talked about adult play too, but this one is for the kids.

Father's Day Hopes

It's Father's Day again, my 41st as a father. JoAnn and I were talking about father's days and this father's expectations for our children. As we discussed the topic she said there was a difference between what my expectations were for our children and what they thought those expectations might be. That was both interesting and a little disconcerting.

I do have expectations, but I think the better term is hopes. Hopes are desires and beliefs in what you might become. They are less judgmental. I do not want you (forgive the tense change) to have a pass-fail perception about what I think you do in your life. You need to live your own lives - and you all do - and not worry about what I might think. However, on occasion I've been willing to share my thoughts without you asking for it. I'm trying to get better about that.

What are my hopes? They are simple. First, that you love your spouse and children and make them the most important people in your lives. Second, that you love our Heavenly Father and honor Him in your actions and thought. Third, that you find joy in living every day. That's it. Everything else is incidental to those. Like my own father, I'm proud of each of you and your and families and what you are doing with your lives. Each of us lives a different life. It was meant to be that way. What binds us is our family and the love for one another. Knowing that love is unconditional and free of expectation strengthens our family and allows us to grow individually and together.

This may appear as a bit of a ramble, but at the end of the day, it's what we do in our homes with our families that ultimately is important. It's my joy as a father to support, sustain, and assist (when asked).

Thanks for being such great daughters, sons, sons-in-laws, daughters-in-laws, and grandchildren.

Love at First Sight

One of the wonderful experiences of having grandchildren, especially young ones, but even teenagers, is watching and receiving their love. About 4:30 am this morning we had the Bradley family show up for a short sleepover on their way to San Diego. We are still a destination (we like that in Las Vegas), but we've also become a waypoint as our children head to youngest daughter's new home in San Diego. At least we usually get to spend a night, or a morning in this case, with grandchildren, and enjoy the whole family.

The Bradley's brought 3 young ones with them. I don't even begin to guess ages any more, but none of them have started school yet, so loving grandma and grandpa is still very special. And when they come to town we get lots of hugs and then are asked, "Where are the toys?"

This morning I rescued the 2 youngest about 5:30 so the adults could sleep a bit longer. These 2 had slept all the way from Idaho and felt like they didn't need any more. If I left them alone I'm sure no one else would have gotten much more sleep. We started with a movie on my iPad, followed by a box of toys. I even taught them how to tickle grandma's feet (she didn't wake up for anything). We had a great time rolling a ball back and forth to each other. Love was expressed in being together, playing together, and having lots of fun.

Later as all of the adults were up and we were moving towards breakfast middle child noticed our big screen TV (they don't have one, but the other grandparents do as well as at least one of his aunts, so he knows what it is). What I didn't know was his infatuation with the big screen. He ran over and before I could catch him he spread his arms, placed both hands on the screen, and gave it a kiss! It was love at first sight, albeit, a one way love. And no, we never turned it on, but he let us know what was important in his realm.

Monday Teaser

I'm feeling a little tired this Sunday evening, so I just thought I would share a little teaser from Thanksgiving. We had a great time with the Bradley gang. On Monday evening, following Family Home Evening the kids got some double-stuff peppermint Oreos. I thoroughly enjoyed watching how each of the children approached eating their Oreo. Chas clearly didn't quite understand why it wasn't white; Bonnie didn't much care as long as she could eat it; and Charlotte looks like she still hasn't quite figured out how to eat the center. In her case it was scrape it off with a finger, not the teeth. It was fun and it is always great to have grandchildren visiting ... and their parents.

Wordless Wednesday

Birthday Doll 

Pulling the Train Whistle

Teasing the Cat

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Courtesy of Suzanne

Wordless Wednesday

A Day at the Zoo

One of the fun things of being a grandparent is taking the kids to the zoo. In this case it was all 8 of them. Had we not brought the mothers (and our daughters) along I'm not just sure how it would have turned out. As it was we had a great time.

When you are a child you never tire of going to the zoo. It is a place of adventure, of seeing old friends, of seeing new and exotic friends, and of having new experiences. On this day as we walked in the zoo, a zoo volunteer was walking around with a king snake, which of course the kids had to explore.

Zoos have learned they need to create fun experiences for children. It is the experiences that bring families back. The Boise Zoo has play areas spread throughout the zoo, and the kids absolutely love them. The play areas have representations of animals, and the areas expand the children's opportunity for imagination, resulting in a lot more fun.

The days of the petting zoo are not gone, but are approached differently at many zoos. Boise lets you feed the goats. The kids love lining up to get food for the goats and then feeding them. I think there is more of a feeding frenzy lining up than there is of the goats competing for the food. It's interesting to see the grandchildren feeding the goats, but ignoring the ones they have at home. I guess zoo goats are better than home goats.

Everyone in our little group had a great time at the zoo, on the play devices, feeding the goats, looking at the Tiger, running ahead of mom who couldn't catch up, and playing with their siblings and cousins. The final photos show various aspects of all of the fun we had. It was a great day!

The Golden Eagle nest is just the right size for a gaggle of Eaglets.

Did I mention its more fun sometimes to
watch the feeding frenzy at the goat food
dispenser for the grandchildren and mother?

Chas is all about knowing just how cool
that hat is, especially when standing
next to a penguin (sort of penguin).

Wordless Wednesday