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.

Wordless Wednesday - Conductor Time

Classic Monday - 3, no 4 Generations of Scouting

I was going through some old photos recently and came across some Boy Scout photos of myself. I did a little deeper search and found some of my sons, and then found some of my grandsons. Truth is, when I got to the photos I was a little short on photos of a couple of them, but I will make it up.

Me as a Cub Scout on
Guam. The eyes are closed
as it is a family trait.

My earliest days of Scouting harken back to when I was a young man living on Guam (in the South Pacific) and my mother was my Den leader. Mostly I remember the games we played. Later I attended my first, and most memorable, Scout Camp while living on Guam. We had an ocean front camp. Of course I do remember when sharks got inside the reef and we couldn't swim until they left. Next I remember a winter campout in Bellevue, NE at the nearby scout camp. My brother and I huddled together all night to stay warm - we thought for sure we were going to die from cold. Remember, this was in the 1950s, long before contemporary camping equipment was available. You ask, "how cold was it?" We had to defrost our eggs in the camp manager's home before we cooked them. I remember a scout camp in the Sand Hills of Nebraska (if you haven't read about the sand hills you should). We rode up in a stake truck (a flatbed truck with fence like walls). This was in the days before safety concerns and requirements. Then there was our Scout building in Biloxi, Mississippi, which was a barracks and it was where our Scoutmaster used (we were on Keesler Air Force Base) as his quarters (he was single). It was a great building. We got to decorate it all the different ways we wanted. By the time we moved to Abilene, Texas my Scouting days were waning. I was getting too old and I had little encouragement. I finished as a Star scout with enough merit badges for Life, but I never pursued it. We did fly to San Antonio to Lackland Air Force Base as an Explorer Post to attend a conference. We flew on an Air Force DC3. We had parachutes, benches along the side of the airplane (metal), and a 50 gallon drum strapped to the middle of the aircraft for if we got sick (no airbags). Also, there was no restroom, no airconditioning, and no heat.

I just pulled out my 1948 Handbook for Boys (the scout manual of my day) and on the inside I had written some of my troops and patrols. On Guam I was in Troop 20 the canteen patrol (think we were in the military); In Bellevue, NE I was in Troop 53, the cobra patrol; in Biloxi, MS I was in Troop244, the wolf patrol, and in Abilene, TX I was in troop 96 and was the troop scribe, but I did not list a patrol.

Beach front Scout Camp on the Pacific Ocean. Does it get any better?

As an adult I became involved in Ventura, CA as a Cubmaster in our church Cub Scout Pack. Even later, in Ames, IA I provided basic Scout Leader Training for members of our church. In Cedar Rapids, IA I sat on the District Council. In Ames, IA and Bloomington, IN I organized camporees for those troops from out Stake (about 10 units), Eagle Courts of Honor (only in Des Moines) with a General Authority present.

My most rewarding Scouting experiences were as a father. I was my oldest son's Webelos Den Leader. We had 11 boys and we met every week in our kitchen in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They were great kids and I loved all of them. They were a tight group and worked well together. All but one of the boys achieved their Arrow of Light. That was our goal. I was my second son's scout leader for his 11-year old period. There were 4 boys and they were buddies. The best remembrance I have is seeing the 4 boys walking down the trail with arms wrapped around shoulders, 4 abreast. All 4 boys achieved First Class that year and had the requirements for Star completed also.

Tim receiving his First Class Award. He went on to become an Eagle Scout.
The first Eagle Scout in our family.

Scouting builds strong boys and gives them direction and skills for today's world they aren't going to get anywhere else. I'm glad we have 3 generations of scouting in our family. Actually, you can count 4 generations if you count my mother and I just remembered that my Dad was the Cubmaster while we lived on Guam.

Calvin receiving his Tenderfoot & 2nd Class Awards in Spanish Fork,
Utah. He is an inspiration to all of us and is our first 4th generation scouter.

Photos and Memories - Part 2

Time to post a few more slides and thoughts to go with them. It is fun to look back at our memories of our family. As one of my daughters said yesterday, “I’m so glad you took photos when we were young.” That’s the whole point of taking photos.

Following World War II my dad got out of the Marine Corps and we moved back to Des Moines and built a house on property owned by my grandfather. It was a basement home which were fairly common in those days, especially if you couldn’t afford a full house. Dennis and I were 2 and 3 (I’m the older and with the dog) in this photo. Within 2 years my dad was called back up for the Korean war and we moved to North Carolina, but for a few years we lived in this wonderful basement home out in the country just north of town.

Skipping forward 23 years our little family left California so I could pursue a masters degree. We moved to BYU with our two daughters, Donna & Jeni. We moved from Ventura, CA to Lawton, OK, where I completed the Artillery Officer Basic Course at Fort Sill. Then we moved into Wymount Terrace, married student housing at BYU. Part of the beauty of living in Provo, UT was the closeness of the mountains. Going up to Cascade Spring and walking in the spring and summer was one of our favorite things to do. In the first photo Donna is holding her hair back while she gets that good mountain water. In the second you can see JoAnn keeping an eye on Jeni. This had to be close to 1974 just before we moved to Manhattan, Kansas. How do I know? Jeni is looks about 2-years old and JoAnn is pregnant with Suzanne. We moved in July when JoAnn was 8 months pregnant. I know, what were we thinking?

Our three little girls are having a peanut butter sandwich with Suzanne in the middle, and obviously not old enough to have a peanut butter sandwich. Suzanne was 4 or 5 months old and it was winter, 1974. Please note that the wonderful couch the kids were sitting on was purchased in California when Donna was born and survived moved to Utah, Kansas, and 2 moves in Iowa before it got so old it was given away. It was an 8 foot long couch and we could put all of us on it. It had a great charm and I still miss it.

Just 13.5 months after Suzanne, little Tim showed up. Our first boy and I was excited. There is nothing better than laying on the couch and playing with my son. In fact, this photo, taken in 1977, just before we left for Iowa, looks a little bit like his almost 2-year old, Joshua.

Finally, Christmas, 1981 in Ames, Iowa, Sally is experiencing her first Christmas. That teddy-bear is the most exciting thing in her life. When I showed JoAnn the photo, she said, “She is just stinking cute!” Clearly JoAnn’s choice of phrases has been impacted by her daughters. I think it was a good influence, but sometimes I wonder. Not really!

Happy Birthday Donna

Donna, you were our first child, but then you know that. Thank goodness you were born on February 24, the same birth date as your great grandmother McLean (Nola Elizabeth Goff) and she was sure excited to know she had a granddaughter born on HER birthday.

I have lots of photos to share in this blog, and it will only be one as I'm running on borrowed time this week. Exams to give, papers to write, wife to care for (she has a cold - or so she claims), and a cat to feed!

Babies are so cute and Donna was no exception. Of course, as our first she was the cutest baby we had ever seen (until the next one came along, and along, and along...).

JoAnn (Mom) calls this, "Donna and her movie star Mom!" She certainly has the 70's hairdo.

Then there is Donna with Aunts Patti, Marti, and Jeri who have become very special in her life.


And then the perpetual sleep time while in the car. As you can see car seats were a little less rigorous in those days, and certainly not very safe.


Her first day of school in Manhattan, KS was precious. JoAnn says this is her favorite photo.


As she grew she had great times with her brothers and sisters, like Christmas in Ames, Iowa in 1981.


Or outside with the most awesome looking glasses I have ever seen in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1986.


And always finding time to share with one of her sibilings as she and Krissie enjoy lunch on the front porch when she was 16. Love the hair!


There are many many more photos to share Donna, but let's end like we began, with you and Mom hugging. You just won't fit on her shoulder any more.


That's far from the end, but "that all folks"

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.

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.