Vintage Vance

Because It's Been Way Too Long Since I Blogged.....

2011-12-19T22:40:00.000-08:00

It appears I've gotten way too lazy with blogging, and I forget that not all of my friends and family are on Facebook. Not that I've been much better with posting on Facebook.....

So here are a few pictures to get things caught up a little (September, October, November):

Mandi tried a sewing project. I think she got a little frustrated, but persevered and finished up her dress.

Danica and Melissa love building their Lego houses, vehicles, etc. They are very good at following the instruction booklets that tell how to make various projects from the same set of Legos.

Cute R.V. (and cute granddaughter!)

Dewsnup Family.

We like to try planting different varieties of tomatoes each year. Many of this variety came out with this weird "appendage" which I found amusing because it was somewhat obscene if you look at it from certain directions. (I hope nobody is offended by this picture!)

This text to me from Melissa regarding Mira's "protest" was from earlier this year, but I'm not sure when.

Clay and I do some babysitting occasionally for some friends of ours who have 11-month old twins, Charlotte and Henry, known collectively as "Chenry" (which is much more amusing than "the twins"). We decided it was a plot -- Henry is distracting Clay while Charlotte sneaks in to steal his glasses. It worked!

This is my walking partner, Jody, (with Dolly). We walk about 3 miles, 3 times a week. Now that it's cold and dark in the evenings, we have been working out in our garage on the treadmill and stationary bike.

Clay reading to Mira -- don't you love her hairdo!?

The girls are ready for Halloween.

Melissa made her own Cinderella costume. Rob had agreed to dress up as Prince Charming, but Melissa was not able to find the appropriate pieces to his costume, so he went as his old stand-by, "Dead Guy".

Just a recent picture of Nathan. I caught him in mid-laugh.

One of the ladies I visit teach brought me this lovely flower bouquet in a real pumpkin. (Yes, I know I"m the one who is supposed to be doing things for them, not the other way around!)

I was watching the girls one sunny fall afternoon, so we walked to a small playground at a nearby church (used to have a school there too). Mira wasn't sure she wanted to come down the slide, so Danica just grabbed her and slid down.

Danica liked twirling on the swings, and Mira loved swinging -- at least until she lost her balance getting off the swing and sat down in some very damp, almost muddy, wood shavings and freaked out. She does not like being dirty. I had to wipe her off with my hands, and carry her most of the way home.

This street sign is kitty-corner to our house. People get very confused when we try to give them directions to our house because both streets are named Kodiak (they are right angles to each other -- in a "T" shape although the base of the "T" is only a half block and the top part is a couple blocks long, if you can follow my poor description). When they ask how to find our house, we say "well, you turn on Kodiak and then you turn again on Kodiak". Luckily we are the only house with a picket fence, so we can at least narrow it down a bit!

Shore Acres State Park

2011-08-22T19:37:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday Clay and I finally got away on one of our little daytrips. For some reason, we just haven't managed to get out of town this summer, at least not since our anniversary at the end of May. We wanted to go to the coast because it was supposed to get up to 90 degrees in Eugene, and we decided to go south this time instead of straight over to Florence or north of it as we usually do. We ended up going a little south of Coos Bay to the Shore Acres State Park and Botanical Gardens and a little further beyond that to Cape Arago.

We got to Coos Bay just before noon, and after grabbing a bite to eat, we headed towards the lighthouse and state parks. It was quite foggy. We couldn't see very far out on the ocean at all.

We stopped at the Umpqua River Lighthouse, and toured their museum. We declined the lighthouse tour because it cost money, I think $3 each, or maybe it was $5. But we really enjoyed looking at the museum. We thought it was very well done. My favorite room was the Coast Guard of the1960s (they had 1940s through 1970s in addition to lots of information and artifacts about the lighthouse and the area in general).

This Coast Guard guy was kinda cute, don't you think?

I spent way too long in the gift shop at the museum. I was tempted by many many things, but only ended up buying a pin for my collection (because I just don't have any place in my house for a bunch of knick-knack type things that I really wanted). I might have bought this t-shirt if they would have had it in my size. I think this should be my new philosophy in life:

This is the view from a lookout spot in the Shore Acres State Park which was once the grand estate of pioneer timber baron Louis Simpson, complete with lush gardens and even a tennis court (the gardens have been restored but the house is long gone). It was still quite foggy when we arrived, but it eventually cleared up in the late afternoon. There are some really unique geological features to this part of the coastline.

Clay is posing in front of the roots of a tree that had blown over years ago. There were several of these along the hiking trail.

Here we are in front of the Japanese-style garden.

It really was a very peaceful place. There weren't too many people there when we were, and it was very relaxing with the sound of the ocean in the background.

The rose garden was surrounded by high trees and bushes on all sides and felt especially tranquil. And the roses were beautiful! It wasn't a really big garden, but very well cared for.

They also had big patches of dahlias in other parts of the garden.

A small greenhouse had mostly begonias, which were also beautiful.

Clay likes the monkey puzzle tree.

By late afternoon it was quite sunny, but still a pleasant temperature.

We hiked a little bit north of the gardens because we wanted to see the Cape Arago Lighthouse, which is on an island out a little ways from the coast, and hadn't been visible in the fog earlier.

It was my goal to see all of the lighthouses in Oregon, but I guess this is as close as I can get to this one.

Just south of the botanical gardens is the Cape Arago State Park. I read that you can hear the sea lions from a mile away, as there are large groups of them out on the rocks in that area. Here is one that was serenading us. We could actually hear them more clearly in the parking lot above than we could when we hiked down to where we could see them, since the noise of the ocean hides the sound somewhat when you get down closer to them. But they were still pretty loud!

On our way home, we stopped for a few minutes at the Dean Creek Elk Preserve which is right off the side of the road a few miles east of Reedsport. It was just before sunset and there were a lot of elk in the meadows there -- I'm guessing maybe at least a hundred, but I'm not very good at guessing.

It was a very pleasant trip, and we have vowed that we need to make the effort to do this more often. If we lived closer to the Shore Acres park, I think we'd spend a lot of time there. It seems like a nice spot for family picnics and activities, and very well taken care of.

The Sleep-Over

2011-08-06T23:04:00.000-07:00

Mira (and Melissa) had a sleep-over last night because Rob and Danica went camping with part of his family, and Melissa was afraid Mira would not do well in the "primitive" campsite they were going to, not to mention the long drive to get there.

She slept on a toddler bed air mattress in the toy room. She actually fell asleep when Clay was holding her while watching a movie, but luckily she did not wake up when he put her into the bed. She slept all night until about 9:30 a.m., which is a miracle if you know her poor sleeping habits!

Grandpa made his famous "french toast with red stuff and white stuff" (strawberry jam and whipped cream), but Mira was not as enthusiastic about it as Danica has always been. I don't think she's quite awake yet in this photo?

She helped Grandpa do his exercises on the Total Gym (at least I think pulling a little extra weight would be helpful, right?)

She helped on this exercise too (I don't think the "ride" was fast enough for her -- she got bored quickly).

Maybe Grandpa got a little too much help from Mira? He seems a little tired.

She thought it was really funny when she stole my spot on the bed when I got off of it.

We decided to do a little hike up Skinner's Butte. It's a very short hike, but we got a late start and didn't want to have to drive very far. Skinner's Butte is basically right in the middle of town. We told Mira we were going to climb the mountain. She was proud of herself when she climbed these steps, but they were only the steps leading up to the hiking trail.

Mira did most of the hike on Grandpa's shoulders.

She thought it was funny when she tried to cover up his eyes with her skirt. Luckily it wasn't long enough to really block his view.

When we got to the top (which only took 10 minutes since it wasn't a very long "hike"), Mira climbed up on the bench to admire the view.

The view from the bench was actually Grain Millers, where her Uncle Neil has worked.

The view looking south. I love all the trees in Eugene. I'm not sure you can tell from this picture, but Eugene has A LOT of trees.

Looking east to Autzen Stadium and the mountains beyond.

Mira wanted to climb, but with the concrete below, that wasn't such a good idea and her mama said no.

A picture on top before heading back down. (I turned down a suggestion that I should be in the photo also. A picture of myself red-faced and windblown is not what I want to remember, or share with the world).

On the way down.

The butte is right by a huge city park with a great playground. Grandpa took Mira to the playground while Melissa and I took a brief walk by the river, then met up with them later.

Mira really likes swinging.

Then off to Arby's for a late lunch. Mira loves the roast beef sandwiches, and so do the rest of us.

This was before she discovered how much fun it was to slide the straw up and down in the cup until the water splashed out.

There is a lot of joy in simply "hanging out" with family. That's all the excitement I need in my life.

I Am a Child of God

2011-07-10T22:52:00.000-07:00

July 4th

2011-07-05T22:47:00.000-07:00

I decided to keep the 4th of July as a pretty low-key holiday this year. I wasn't tempted to run the 10K "Butte to Butte" like Mandi (but I admired her energy). And hearing about the horrendous traffic jams deterred my desire to experience the small-town "old fashioned" 4th of July parade so popular in Creswell, which Neil and Mandi were brave enough to persevere and attend. So I settled for grocery shopping on my own, then doing a little running around shopping with Melissa while Clay watched the girls.

Mandi has been waiting for months to make red, white and blue "pink stuff." This is the closest she could get with the limited supplies I had on hand (no red or blue jello). Neil had to add more blueberries after this picture was taken, but the salad/dessert was too small to get the proper number of stripes and stars on it.

Melissa wanted to make sure Mandi could eat the fruit pizza, so the crust is gluten free. It was delicious!

Clay barbecued chicken. It was very good. (Nathan couldn't be persuaded to join us at dinner, but his birthday balloon did a good job as his stunt double.)

Neil and Mandi and I walked down the road about a mile to a parking lot where we could see the fireworks. Melissa and her family were already there. We didn't have a perfect view -- it wasn't the same as being right underneath where they're going off -- but it was enough to be enjoyable.

My camera has a "fireworks" automatic setting. I didn't bother with a tripod so I didn't have very high expectations, but a couple of the photos were interesting.

Danica was practicing her new skill of bubble blowing.

I guess Mira thought the fireworks were too bright, because she insisted on having her sunglasses.

On the way home we walked past a retirement center that was built not too long ago. I've walked past it numerous times in the daytime, but had never noticed this "scary dude" statue in the window before. I'm puzzled by its presence there.


Another photo opportunity presented itself on the walk home. Here's Neil and Mandi stalking the evil R.O.U.S.'s (really it was just a family of nutria, but we don't like them any more since they tried to kill Clay a few years back*).

*I'm referring to the early-morning bike ride when one scurried in front of him and caused him to crash.

Hiking to Tamolitch Pool

2011-07-03T08:47:00.000-07:00

Neil & Mandi and Melissa's family planned a hike to Tamolitch Pool, and invited the "old folks" along. None of us had ever seen this particular spot. Tamolitch Pool is along the McKenzie Trail, not too far from Koosah and Sahalie Falls, which is a favorite hiking spot of ours.

Since we were going to be so close to Koosah Falls, Neil and Mandi wanted to stop there first to try out their new camera. Koosah Falls is right near the highway with just a brief walk to get down to the viewpoints.

I borrowed a few of these photos from Neil and Mandi, but I don't know which of them took the photo, so they are just marked "(N/M)". They are enjoying their new camera!

Danica in front of Koosah Falls. She was very impressed with the waterfall. She said she had never seen such a big waterfall.

Mira in front of Koosah Falls. She didn't say whether she was impressed by the waterfall, but she liked the hike.

Koosah Falls.

It was long past lunchtime, so we ate our picnic near Koosah Falls before heading for the trailhead for the hike to Tamolitch Pool. Melissa organized the picnic, which was much enjoyed by everyone (including the leftovers for a quick meal after our hike before heading home).

The trail ran close to the beautiful McKenzie River for much of the way.

Neil HAD to walk out on this very long log to the middle of the river to take some photos!

Danica borrowed Clay's walking stick for a ways on the trail, but soon got tired of using it since it was about as tall as she was. When we were nearing the end of the hike, she told me (about 5 times) how much fun she had today and how much she loved the hike. (N/M)

Along the trail. (N/M)

After hiking a little over 2 miles, we reached Tamolitch Pool. This is looking down on it from above. The McKenzie river flows a little downstream from Sahalie and Koosah falls area and then sinks underground where lava had pooled over the McKenzie river around 1600 years ago. The river flows underground for a couple miles and then bubbles back out from the ground into Tamolitch pool. The water then flows out of the pool and the McKenzie river starts back up again.

A slightly closer view of Tamolitch Pool. We didn't get there until about 5:00 p.m. It was a beautiful turquoise color, but I'm curious about what it looks like a little earlier in the day?

Zooming in even closer. I liked the reflection of the trees and sky.

Zoomed in so close it looked like an abstract painting to me.

Rob and Danica decided to hike over to the other side of the pool, even though there is no trail over there! They are on the cliff above the pool -- I've circled them in red to show where they are.

This is a close-up of them. (N/M)

They went even further around the pool so they could climb down to it. It's supposed to be icy cold, but I forgot to ask them if it was.

A close-up of them at the shore. (N/M)

Mira and Grandpa Clay found plenty of ways to amuse each other. (They were pretending to fall asleep on each other's shoulder -- Mira found this very amusing).


A group shot after we'd finished the hike, after Neil and Mandi figured out how to use the self-timer on their camera. (N/M) If you want a more "dramatized" account of this hiking trail, check out this guy's blog entry I ran across: http://journeywithstevenmichael.blogspot.com/2009/10/tamolitch-pool-mckenzie-river.html

Strawberry Jam

2011-07-01T22:39:00.000-07:00

We picked up our 30 pounds of sliced strawberries from the Kiwanis yesterday, so we had to make the jam today. It took us a little over an hour to make 11 batches of freezer jam. It's a great recipe, and so easy!


I insisted that Clay smile while I was taking this photo. He was concentrating so hard on filling the containers that he looked pretty grumpy!


How many kitchen utensils does it take to make jam? Lots!

That should be plenty for French Toast "with red stuff and white stuff*" -- as Danica would say.

*("white stuff" is whipped cream in a can in the Vance household.)

Danica's book

2011-06-23T20:47:00.001-07:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Mira Turns Two

2011-06-16T20:32:00.000-07:00

She's not a baby any longer -- Mira is now two years old. Melissa is following the family tradition that she grew up with of making birthdays into rather low-key family get-togethers. We started off at Chuck E. Cheese's to let the girls enjoy some simple rides and games. Mira hadn't wanted to get up from her nap to come, so she was a bit quieter than usual.

The carousel was cute but not too exciting.

Race car driving with Daddy.

Going up.

Going down.

Melissa was very competitive that night. There was basketball against Rob...

....Water guns against Danica.....

...and Skee ball against Danica and Clay.

We thought the simulator was one of the better deals because it was one of the longer "rides" -- but not terribly scary (it didn't even have seatbelts).

Mira took the opportunity to do a little relaxing.


Despite the strange expression on her face in this picture, this actually was one of her favorite rides.


Just before leaving, they checked out the blue screen (to pretend they were on television).

Danica looks pretty scary with the green pointy teeth she chose with the points she won on the games.

Then we headed back to their apartment to open gifts and eat pizza.

The chalkboard is also one of her gifts, but it was too big to wrap.

She's really into monkeys right now, so we got her some Curious George coloring books and stickers, to go along with the big Curious George she got from her family.

Anything in there?

She loved all her presents, including this Elmo DVD.

Now that she has her own Curious George, hopefully she won't keep trying to steal Grandma's.

Mira is happy to share with her sister.

This "quiet book" will be very helpful at church.

Her Rice Krispies Treats "cake".

Danica appointed herself as the official cake cutter.

George is borrowing Mira's highchair and hat.

Danica (the artist in the family) made a birthday card for her Uncle Neil.

Here's the inside, which she thought up and wrote all by herself.

Since we had to wait for the pizza to cook, we ate dessert first -- the birthday "cake" and a very yummy dessert that Mandi made. I was almost too full to eat the pizza by the time it was done, but I'll never turn down a piece of pizza!

The Swimming Lesson

2011-06-13T22:19:00.000-07:00

Danica invited us to her last swimming lesson of this session. It's great to live close enough to participate in these small moments in a grandchild's life. We have been so blessed!

The classes are separated into both

swimming abilities and age levels.

To be able to advance to the next level, she needed to be able to float on her back while kicking. Even though she was able to do it when Melissa took her to practice, she didn't do it in class tonight.

Her swimming teacher was very
patient with the children.

Danica seemed comfortable with him.

They are just finishing up the lesson.

She's saying "hurry up and take the picture, Grandma. I'm cold!"

While Danica was getting dressed, Clay and I took Mira outside to the playground.

She insisted that Clay push her from behind, not in front. (She likes swinging much more than Danica did at that age).


This is rather uneven, wouldn't you say?

Clay always wins the race.

It's a good thing Clay has the excuse

of his grandchildren so he can go down the slides...because he'd look pretty odd doing it all by himself.

Danica is apparently not afraid of heights. (She got in trouble for bouncing the other children right after this picture was taken, so her time on the playground was very brief).

Newport 2011

2011-06-04T01:46:00.000-07:00

It has become our tradition (3 years makes it a "tradition" -- right?) to go to Newport for our anniversary. Since Memorial Day weekend always falls near our anniversary, it works well for an extended weekend out of town. We stay at the Newport La Quinta because we can get a good deal there since Clay works at the Eugene La Quinta. We had a lovely "spa" room (large room with a spa tub and a fireplace). And even though we've been having cold, rainy weather all spring, we actually had some decent weather for the weekend. Not very warm, but at least we didn't get rained on until we were on our way home late Monday afternoon -- which was much better than I had anticipated.


Overlooking the beach at Yaquina Bay Lighthouse at sunset.

Clay at the park at Yaquina Bay Lighthouse the next morning.

Yaquina Bay Bridge

We discovered that there is a cute little shopping area just a block from the hotel. We could see one large store as we turned into the hotel parking lot (kind of an antiques/souvenirs/junk store), but we didn't realize that there were numerous other little shops behind it. We particularly liked the glass-blowing shop where you can actually watch the guy making his glass pieces. I was tempted by several things in that store, but when we went back to buy me something on Monday just before we left town, that particular store was closed. I guess it's just as well, because I didn't really "need it" -- I just liked it.

This little shopping district had a bunch of odd (fake) "creatures" and displays, and those places where you can put your face through and have a funny photo taken (what are those called anyway?).

This is a "Sharcow" -- quite bizarre -- I can't give any better explanation!!

Clay likes to live dangerously!

Avast ye landlubbers! Arrrrgh!

Wow -- I haven't been
this skinny in years!

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

On the path to Yaquina Head Lighthouse

Cobble Beach below Yaquina Head Lighthouse. Even though we arrived at low tide, we were told that they are experiencing the "highest low tides" in many many years, so there weren't many tidepools uncovered. Clay was disappointed -- we enjoyed looking at them last year when we were there.

We climbed the hill to the east
of the lighthouse and got a
different view of the area.

Looking north from the hill
above the lighthouse.

On our last day, we checked out "Historic Nye Beach". We didn't actually go onto the beach -- we just looked through several of the stores in the little shopping district there. We were also amused at the birds lining up on the posts. There is definitely a rule of "seniority" to post-standing -- we watched younger birds get pushed off by older birds claiming their territory.

All in all, it was a fun trip to celebrate our 33rd anniversary!

Jog-a-thon

2011-05-23T16:10:00.000-07:00

Danica's school did their jog-a-thon last Friday. They sure got lucky on the weather. It was a beautiful day! Each grade only jogs for 1/2 hour. Danica's time was 1:00-1:30. I got there just after they had started. She ended up completing the 14 laps that she needed in order to win her water bottle (she says that Mira has chewed her old water bottle so she needs a new one). Melissa ran a few laps with her, and I did a couple of laps too (at a very S-L-O-W jog, and I was not the one holding us up).

She did actually *run* for a little bit.

Her principal is helping her get the bark mulch out of her shoes.

Melissa did several laps with her.

Sometimes some "persuasion" and encouragement was needed.

I did a couple of laps with her, too. All three of us did the final lap, which is why there are no pictures.

That reminds me....I still need to pay up on the pledge I made!

Roadtrip 2010

2011-05-20T12:42:00.001-07:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Good fences make good neighbors?

2011-05-18T22:52:00.000-07:00

Clay said he wanted a picture of the dogwood tree in our neighbor's backyard AND the blossoming tree behind it AND a blue sky. That's a lot to ask for. But it finally all came together this afternoon when I got home from work. Trouble is...our neighbors are out of town. They have a low metal gate at the entrance of their backyard, which I could have climbed over, but I thought that would be kind of weird, so I got our ladder out of the garage and put it in our backyard near the fence, and climbed up on the ladder and took a couple of pictures looking out over our fence -- then I moved the ladder to another spot for a picture from a different angle.

And somehow I thought that would look less weird than simply climbing over their gate???

:-)

Wedding Pictures - Part 1

2011-03-25T23:19:00.000-07:00

Some wedding pictures for those of you not on Facebook (click on them to see them bigger).

Saturday, March 19, 2011. Neil and Mandi's wedding. What a wonderful day!

Siblings (the groom's sister and the bride's brother)

The nieces looked like little angels.

Mira was trying very hard to be patient.

The youngest "bridesmaid" wasn't happy about posing for pictures.

They're taking pictures of Mira (if you hadn't guessed).

She is pretty cute, after all!

Sisters/friends.

There were 12 weddings at the temple that day, so we had to spend a little time waiting around for the good photo spots to become available.

The temple was beautiful, and we even had a bit of sunshine.

Clay's parents, Jean and Mac.

And here are some of the ones taken by the professional photographer (just copied off her blog -- the ones Neil and Mandi will get from her won't have her logo on them).

Welcome to the family, Mandi -- we love you!

:-)

Mira at the Mall

2010-12-01T07:18:00.000-08:00

Another girls' night out, but it's Mira's turn this time. We were doing some shopping at Gateway Mall.

Mira loves to climb up on chairs and benches (maybe she's tired of being short?)

She was very patient in posing

while Grandma took pictures.

I was trying to get her to smile, so I said "Boo!"

at her, and she immediately went

into peek-a-boo mode.

She was in a good mood tonight, and was a very pleasant shopping companion!

The playground wasn't overly-crowded, so we spent some time there.

She looks so little up on top of the slide,

but she's not scared at all.

Sometimes she would prefer to

push the stroller, rather than ride in it.

She's trying to get the automatic doors

to open again, but she's too short

to trigger them when she's this close.

She has this toy at home--I think she's

wondering how it got into this box, and why mommy won't let her play with it now.

Getting a little bored?

The drinking fountain is always a

big hit with little kids. First a drink....

....then it's time to play in the water.

We had a fun evening, but I'm still not getting any of my Christmas shopping done!!

Girls' Night Out

2010-11-19T21:32:00.000-08:00

I'm very lucky to be able to spend a lot of time with my daughter and granddaughters! We actually have quite a few "girls nights out" so I thought I'd do a blog post on our little outing tonight, just so I'll be able to remember it in the future. (Mira wasn't with us tonight, but she often comes too).

Our goal/excuse was looking for a new hat for Danica (the weather is definitely turning colder now!). We just went over to Gateway Mall, and spent a little time in Ross, Target, and Kohls. Melissa was excited to find that the long black coat she saw at Ross's a few days ago was even cheaper today, so Danica has a new coat for next year (she insisted on putting it on as soon as we got out of the store, at least until she got too warm).

We found her a new hat at Target. Isn't she cute?

I took another picture out in the middle of the mall, so I'd have a cuter background -- the Christmas decorations are up (Santa will be there tomorrow!).

After going through three of my favorite stores, I had not purchased anything! Normally, that would be a very good thing, but I really need to get going on my Christmas shopping, so I wish I had made more of an effort tonight. But I'm too tired on Friday nights.

We were walking out to the car, and noticed that something smelled really good. We were parked fairly close to the Original Roadhouse Grill, and even though we weren't sure the good smell was coming from that direction (as we were surrounded by restaurants), we suddenly realized we were all hungry and that sounded like a good place to go. (Danica was excited about the bucket of peanuts).

Melissa and Danica shared a steak salad.

It's always more fun when you have a child with you because you get crayons and coloring sheets to play with while you wait for your food. Guess who the artist was? Danica didn't think it looked like a pirate, even though he was saying "Aaargh".

We all did the word search game together. Then Danica and I did this Unscramble the Words game. She did the first 3, and I did the last 2 words. They tried to throw me off by sticking an extra "R" in the word "motorcycle", but I didn't fall for it (although I was puzzled for a while -- I was that tired).

I love hanging out with my girls!

Self Portrait (and other misc.)

2010-09-18T19:04:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't blogged our ~~vacation~~ road trip yet, but that would take too much effort, and I've been sick all week, so here are some random thoughts instead.

I've been checking out the Brain Age programs that came with the Nintendo DS. They're supposed to "exercise" your brain, working towards a goal of achieving a 20 year old brain (meaning younger is better -- although who on earth thinks a 20-year-old has the optimal amount of intelligence and/or wisdom????).

Anyhooo...the program first asked for my birthdate, and then wanted to take a picture of me for my file (the DS has a camera in it). I said no to the photo, so it asked me to draw a picture of myself. I drew a quick sketch, and then took the first test.

So I guess if you tell it you're 53 years old, but then you draw like a 5-year-old, it averages the two and thinks you're 29. Works for me!
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I was amused at the Eugene Public Library's acknowledgment of the quirkiness of living in Eugene (see bottom of sign). If you're not from around here, you can Google "Eugene Celebration" for an explanation.

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And finally, oh the indignity of being the object of Danica's experimentation with fashion. Meet "Tigger-ella" --

Actually, he looks pretty good in a dress. And so does she!

Danica is 6!

2010-08-08T23:14:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe my first grandchild is now 6 years old! It seems like only yesterday that she was just a little baby.
She asked for "Grandpa's spaghetti" for her special birthday dinner, and he was happy to oblige.
Here is the birthday girl (with one of her kinda silly faces she's fond of making).

Showing off one of her birthday presents -- a brightly colored skirt.

Here is part of the family as dinner is getting started -- everyone is refusing to acknowledge the camera. Neil is especially camera shy.

Mira is enjoying her spaghetti. She prefers it without sauce, which is much less messy. (Sorry about the lawnmower in the background - I realized it was there after a couple of pictures, but I like her expression in this one best).

Mira wanted to help Danica open her presents from Grandpa and Grandma.

She is excited to get her very own camera.

She is taking a picture of me while I'm taking a picture of her.

Mira was excited about the rocking horse Melissa brought down out of the attic. It's adorable, but why do all the toys have to make noise nowadays, and can someone tell me how to get this song out of my head now (one of the songs the rocking horse plays):
"De Camptown racers sing this song,
Doo-dah, doo-dah
De Camptown racetrack five miles long,
Oh, de doo-dah day."

I don't know the reason for the funny face while bike riding, although she did get a little frustrated trying to get on it while wearing a long dress, so maybe that's it. ;-)

The girls like having chairs that are just their size.

Danica was kind enough to share her ducks with her little sister.

Summer Fun

2010-07-10T11:39:00.000-07:00

Now that we finally have some hot weather, the girls decided to try out the swimming pool Mira got for her first birthday. They came over to our house to set it up (no privacy at their apartment and probably against the rules anyway).

I was reading in my bedroom and heard a commotion in the living room. I came out to find that I now had an indoor swimming pool:

The girls had a great time playing in it (we decided it would be a great way to keep Mira out of trouble), but our living room just isn't big enough for an indoor swimming pool, so out it went.

They didn't put a whole lot of water in it, since Mira is only a year old, but the girls had a blast playing in it. Mira laughed and laughed, and didn't even seem to mind that the water was ice-cold at first (Melissa was bringing buckets of warm water from the sink in the garage, but the girls didn't want to wait for warmer water).

Danica tried to practice her swimming skills (she took swimming classes earlier this year), but there just wasn't enough water. She enjoyed splashing, though.

I was invited to join the pool party, but said no thanks (seeing myself in a swimming suit is depressing, and my white skin would have blinded everyone).

Here's a short video. My favorite part is the look of surprise on Mira's face as her feet slip out from under her. It happened numerous times, but she always just jumped up again, laughing!

Another popular summer activity is bike riding. Danica is very proud of herself (and deservedly so!) now that she has learned to ride her bike without training wheels.

Danica really wanted to go for a bike ride with Grandpa, so they decided to go "around the block" (our neighborhood doesn't really have "blocks" but it's a close equivalent).

Here they are getting ready to go.... No, Mira is not going to ride her "bike" -- she'll be in the bike trailer, but don't they look cute in their bike helmets?

Melissa went along to monitor Danica's progress. (It was kind of a big "production" for such a short bike ride!)

Before.....

....and After.

She didn't last too long before conking out!

Mostly "The Girls"

2010-07-07T16:58:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, Clay and I decided to hike to the summit of Mount Pisgah, and Melissa and Danica wanted to come along. We used to bring our kids here all the time when they were young, but we always just walked around the lower trails. I have never hiked to the very top, although everyone else in the family has. I was determined to do it this time, but.....

.....It was too hot and sunny, and most of the path to the summit is out of the trees, and I just couldn't bring myself to attempt it. Maybe next time. So we decided just to hike around the lower trails, which are mostly in the shade. Aren't Melissa and Danica cute in their "matchy-matchy" outfits and hairstyles.

Clay is the designated "pack-horse" -- he doesn't mind carrying a backpack with all our essentials.

There are a lot of benches along the trails. I am in favor of lots of resting places.

The Mount Pisgah Arboretum is next to the Coast Fork of the Willamette River. The girls are looking for the perfect rocks to try skipping them.

I'm not sure Danica understands the concept of "skipping" stones -- it was more of a big "ker-plunk"!

Melissa even caught a fish (I added the arrow to help you see it--you'll need to click on the picture to enlarge it). Danica wanted to catch one to take home, but we talked her out of it....this time.

Here is Danica's fake pouting face, which looks remarkably similar to her real pouting face.

Danica picked up a hitch-hiker early in our walk. She is very fond of these "roly-poly" bugs. This one was named "Suzette". Danica really wanted to bring it home with her, but we convinced her that Suzette couldn't leave her family, so she was deposited in a nice shady area at the entrance to the park as we left.

Later that afternoon, the girls showed me their "mad skillz" on their scooters.

This is just a picture of some pretty flowers near Melissa's apartment (I was waiting for the scooter-riders to return from checking the mailbox).

On July 4th, Melissa and the girls came over for barbecued steak (while Rob took a nap at home). They were dressed very patriotically for the holiday, and wanted their pictures taken.

Clay and I were both taking pictures at the same time, so there was some competition for their attention. I got the baby this time, while Clay got the attention of the other two.

Mira had enough of the picture-taking, but the other two stuck it out a little longer.

Clay took some pictures of the girls playing in the backyard.

We cannot convince Danica that we didn't plant any edible-pod peas this year (as we always have in the past). So she just chews on the regular ones anyway.

Isn't Mira as cute as a bug's ear? *

*Where did that expression come from anyway? I've never even seen a bug's ear!

My All-Time Favorite Hike

2010-06-29T20:46:00.000-07:00

I've decided that the "Waterfalls Loop Trail" around Sahalie and Koosah Falls (on the McKenzie River) is my favorite hike. I think I could do it regularly and not tire of it. It's about the right length of hike for me to handle (approximately 3 miles); the scenery is beautiful; not too much uphill climbing; and the path is pretty good, although a little too rocky in places. There's a lot of shade, so it stays pretty cool, and there are many places you can feel the cool mist rising from the river and waterfalls. Very pleasant!

We parked by Koosah Falls and started the "loop" from that point. There was plenty of water this time of year to make these waterfalls really impressive. This was about 10:30 in the morning, taken from the east bank of the river.

This is Koosah Falls from the west bank of the river, a couple hours later.

The beautiful McKenzie River -- lots of whitewater rapids, but where the water was more still, you could see how beautifully crystal clear it was.

I loved the icy blue color of it in many spots.

Doesn't it make you shiver just looking at it?

We saw some of the local wildlife....

...some a little wilder than others (I've never seen a bike helmet with a mohawk).

We ventured off-trail to some fairly precarious spots in search of the best places to view and photograph the waterfalls. In this photo, Clay is trying to get back up to safe ground, or maybe he's just becoming a "tree-hugger."

This is the beautiful Sahalie Falls.

When we got around to the other side of Sahalie Falls, I could look back and see the tree roots going down the cliff to the side of it. I just think it looks interesting, and maybe kinda spooky (it reminds me of something out of a Harry Potter movie, I think).

I found this amusing -- a huge fallen tree is blocking the path, and instead of removing a small portion of it, they build a staircase over it! Of course, why not?

I loved the rainbows created in the mists from the waterfalls!

I want to do it again. Soon!

The Birthday Girl

2010-06-20T21:02:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that Mira is a year old already. The time has gone by so fast. Here are some pictures that Melissa took (she said I could blog them because she didn't know when she'd get around to doing it). Mira did not cooperate -- she refused to look at Melissa for most of the pictures.

She's getting to be so much fun now. She chatters constantly, but I don't understand a word she's saying.

She always seems to have quite a mischievous look going on, like she's plotting her next adventure.

She was interested in her gifts at her birthday party, but seemed to enjoy playing with the wrapping paper more than the gifts, which is always what happens with little kids.

Grandma Julie made Mira her very own little cake, in addition to the normal-sized one she made for both Mira and Neil (it was a combined birthday party, although Neil says he's not having any more birthdays).

Mira took one swipe at the frosting with her hand and tried a little taste of it, but she wasn't interested in having any more -- she's not accustomed to such sweetness because Melissa is a fanatic about teeth and Mira's not used to "junk food."

It was Danica's last week in kindergarten. This is her picture on her last day. I think she had a really good year, and hope that she enjoys 1st grade just as much.

Newport

2010-06-02T23:42:00.000-07:00

We went to Newport for the weekend, to celebrate our 32nd wedding anniversary, which happened to fall on Memorial Day this year. We had a great time. Did a lot of walking/hiking, toured three lighthouses, took lots of pictures, ate a bunch of junk food!

This is the Yaquina Bay Bridge in Newport. We stayed at the LaQuinta Hotel just south of the bridge.

Here's another picture of the bridge because I couldn't decide which one I liked the most.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse, just north of Newport.

The tide pools below Yaquina Head Lighthouse. We arrived about half-way between low tide and high tide, and really enjoyed exploring.

Besides the sealife you can see in these photos, there were also other things in the tide pools such as small fish, hermit crabs, small purple crabs, chitons, and lots of seaweed, kelp, etc.

We saw these purple sea urchins and greenish sea anemones, and quite a few starfish, among other things.

A couple hours later, the tide pools are all covered up by the rising tide.

I tried to take photos of birds in flight, but gave up and took this one as it was resting.

Near Yaquina Head Lighthouse.

Yaquina Bay Lighthouse. Only in operation three years before they built the Yaquina Head Lighthouse. Look how short it is -- it just sits on top of the lighthouse keeper's house. They have volunteers giving tours of the lighthouses, telling how they were built, what life was like for the lighthouse keeper and his family, how the lens worked, etc. It was really interesting. There was also an interpretive center at the Yaquina Head Lighthouse, with an interesting film about Oregon lighthouses.

I don't think I would have liked living in a lighthouse. The bed looks really uncomfortable -- see how it slopes into the middle. And notice the chamberpot underneath the bed. Yucky!

It could be quite a lonely life to be in the lighthouse keeper's family. They had to entertain themselves with music, books and games. In the early years, before Highway 101 was built and towns started springing up along the coast, they rarely had visitors (although the inspector could show up at any time, day or night, and things had to be totally in order in the lighthouse and the family's living quarters, or the keeper could get fired).

This is Haceta Head Lighthouse, which is further down the coast. We took a tour of this lighthouse, but they didn't allow visitors to go up on the very top where there's a walkway around the outside. We were at the next level down, where we could look up into the lens. The tour guide explained a little about the "first-order Fresnel lens" and how the prisms work to re-direct and magnify the light. It was actually very interesting.

Looking up at the lamp/lens inside the Haceta Head Lighthouse. (The kerosene lights have been replaced by electric ones).

We went hiking at Drift Creek Falls near Lincoln City, recommended by one of the hotel staff. It was very enjoyable, about 3 miles round trip. The path was very muddy in spots, but we could usually work our way around the sides, and didn't get too muddy (just a bit!).

Drift Creek Falls. If you look closely, you can see the suspension bridge above it.

The suspension bridge above Drift Creek Falls is 240 feet long, and 100 feet above the creek.

I liked the bridge, but it was kind of narrow--almost "single lane traffic." And it bounced when anybody was walking on it, so you had to wait until it stopped moving before you could take a picture of the falls.

I managed to get a semi-natural smile from Clay.

On Monday we went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. A new exhibit, Swampland, had just opened up. There was a display there of alligators, lots of different kinds of snakes, and birds like parrots, etc. I think at least part of what we saw was a special display for the opening weekend of the new exhibit, and it won't always be there.

The seals were fun to watch in the aquarium. They were gliding so smoothly through the water, almost without effort, and often upside down.

Sea anemones in the Oregon Coast Aquarium.

The sea stars have always been a favorite of mine.

Very interesting jellyfish.

I asked Clay to pretend he was being eaten by this replica of a prehistoric shark-like creature.

We got to pet an alligator. And several snakes.

There are three tunnels ("Passages of the Deep") to walk through at the aquarium, representing different habitats in the ocean. This one was in the section representing the reef.

I especially liked the tunnel with the sharks (but they moved too fast to get a good photo).

Last Saturday

2010-05-22T12:05:00.000-07:00

Since today is rainy and cold, and we won't be doing anything "fun" because we've got to prepare our talks for speaking in sacrament meeting tomorrow (yuck!), I decided to blog about last Saturday instead.

One of our favorite places to explore this time of year is the rhododendron garden at Hendricks Park. We wanted to go early in the morning -- to get that cool clear morning light for our photos, hoping there wouldn't be very many people there yet, which helps with the bird watching too. We had a great time -- it was everything we wanted.

So here's a bunch of pictures of the lovely rhodies:

This one was in the shadows, so the colors looks especially deep and vibrant.

I have a better zoom on my camera now, so I can take "close-ups" of the flowers from further back (I can stay on the path instead of trampling through the planting beds, which they REALLY don't want people doing!).

I loved seeing the rhodies peeking out from among the ferns. The garden is famous for its rhododendrons, but there are lots of other types of plants there too, including tons of interesting ferns.

Always the "boy scout," Clay is prepared with his fanny pack carrying water bottles for each of us, and other "important" supplies.

There were some pretty poppies. I like looking straight down on them from above.

Here are a couple of pictures Clay took of other types of flowers in the garden.

Hendricks Park is on top of the hills overlooking Eugene. Here is a view of downtown.

After spending some time in the park, we went to Danica's last soccer game of this session. These two teams seemed pretty evenly-matched, and it was a fun game to watch.

Danica's kindergarten teacher, "Miss Jane," came to watch the game (there's also another little girl from her class on Danica's team). I thought that was very kind of her to take the time and effort to support her students in their activities. Aren't teachers great!!!

Seriously Cute

2010-05-11T20:03:00.000-07:00

My, what a talented daughter I have. Melissa has been very "crafty" lately. In addition to the cute things she's been working on that you can see on her blog, she surprised me with an adorable Mother's Day gift -- a sock monkey. (I have admired them in the stores, but had resisted the temptation so far). Mine is the striped one. "Polkie" (the polka-dot one) is Danica's. I haven't found the perfect name for mine yet.

And what's even cuter than two monkeys? Why, three monkeys, of course! Just kidding!! -- I'm not really calling my adorable granddaughter a "monkey". Danica wanted to be in the picture too. Notice how well her outfit matches the monkeys -- was that on purpose?.

Danica loves working in the garden with her grandpa. She was in charge of planting the marigolds this year. The one thing I insist on having in the garden every year is marigolds. Clay chooses the rest of whatever gets planted.

She did a great job of planting the flowers. She wasn't bothered at all by the excessive amount of worms we have in our garden. She enjoyed the worm "family" she found, and had very elaborate descriptions of the great big daddy worm, the medium-sized mama worm, and the itty-bitty baby worm, and the exciting life they were leading. She put them (along with a bunch of soil and "food") in a little bug habitat she has, which Melissa has decreed must stay at our house. They were "freed" a couple of days later.

And of course, if we're talking about cute, we can't leave Mira out of this post. So here's a picture of her from a recent trip to the grocery store -- gotta get her started early on smart shopping! She loves being able to sit up in the cart and see what's going on.

Seriously cute!

Soccer Game and Miscellaneous

2010-04-18T22:08:00.000-07:00

Danica is playing soccer again this year. Now they're even playing games against other teams (in the past they were basically just learning the skills and practicing). Clay and I went to see yesterday's game (Clay had been to previous games, but it was the first one I'd been to this year). It was a beautiful morning, and it was fun to watch. Most 5-year-olds are not very competitive, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves, for the most part (there were a few tears at times).

Danica likes kicking the ball.

She's a pretty fast runner, too.

Time for a juice break. This is hard work.

The whole team got in there to try and block the goal. Not very successfully, though. The white-shirted team had some pretty good players and made a lot of goals.

Danica played three quarters, then ran races with Grandpa while she sat out the 4th quarter.

I need a camera with a better zoom lens!

A hug for little sister.

A cheer for the other team when the game was over (that one little boy didn't look very cheerful, though).

Everything is a picture-taking occasion. Here are my favorite girls.

Mira really wanted to get down and explore. And by that I mean she wanted to eat the pretty little white flowers in the grass, and anything else she could find.

It's kind of hard to learn to walk when your pants are falling down and covering up your feet!

Mira turned 10 months old on the 15th. Melissa really wanted to get some pictures, and it was a nice sunny day (really too sunny--it was hard to get a good picture), but kind of windy.

I don't think she could figure out why we were sitting her down in a patch of flowers.

I think she's saying: "I'm just not too sure about this, folks!"

We "borrowed" the neighbor's yard for a nice background, as our tulips were a bit past their prime.

But it was kinda hard to get the squirmy one to cooperate.

We girls have gone on a few walks lately.

Danica likes to pick up "souvenirs" everywhere we go. We try to limit them to the least disgusting of what she wants to pick up.

Drumming on the bus stop with the reeds she picked.

On our walk today, Danica insisted that she was an "old lady" and had to use these "canes" for walking.

I was baby-sitting Mira and gave her a silky blue shirt from the dress-up box (because she likes things of that "slippery" texture such as nylon slips, etc.). Somehow she managed to get it on by accident. Upside down, but she wore it for at least ten minutes before she finally shook it off.

One hand was all the way through the sleeve, but the other one wasn't, and she got frustrated trying to pick things up with the hand that was covered.

She looks good in blue, don't you think?

And last, but not least: Danica and Melissa were playing around with the Dynamo labeler. I'm glad to know that I'll be able to remember their names now!

Actually, this might be useful for Clay--he has a tendency to mix up the names of his family members. :-)

Spring Has Sprung in Eugene

2010-03-27T22:38:00.000-07:00

We had a ward activity this morning at a local park, including a very nice breakfast, an Easter nature walk (looking for specific items to remind us of Christ), and some Easter games for the young (and young at heart). It was a bit chilly to begin with (at 9:00 a.m. it's still in the 40's), but there was plenty of sunshine, which was kind of a miracle itself -- I thought our activities committee was rather ~~crazy~~ brave to plan an outdoor activity in March, even with a covered picnic shelter. (It was raining yesterday and supposed to rain tomorrow, so we were really lucky to have such a beautiful day today).

After the breakfast, Clay and I headed out for a walk, as there are plenty of jogging and bike paths surrounding the park, and I wanted to take some pictures of the spring blossoms along the millrace.

We had a good view of the hotel Clay works at, since the trees along the side are still bare.

We were amused (and amazed) by the ducks that sleep standing on one foot with their heads turned backwards to tuck them under their wing. I would think they'd fall over, or wake up with a neck ache.

We saw some trees with pretty pinkish blossoms and bright green leaves. I like the blossoms against the blue sky.

Here's a close-up of the same tree.

Even Autzen Stadium looked fresh and shiny. Go Ducks!

We saw tons of geese and ducks and other birds. Clay can still identify a few birds by their songs, even though it's been many years since he studied them. (He's a long-time bird watcher).

Clay doesn't like this picture, but I do. I think most of us don't like pictures of ourselves. You'll notice there isn't one of me in this post, even though I let Clay take one of me wearing the bunny ears he made for me at the ward activity. The kids we teach in nursery looked a lot cuter in theirs.

It was just a beautiful morning for a walk, and we enjoyed ourselves!

And here are a couple of pictures I took earlier this month. The first is one I took from inside the car (don't worry, I wasn't driving while I took it, Clay was). And the second is some crocuses in our front yard.

Of course, there is a downside to all this beauty. Here is a picture of our best friend this time of year:

HAPPY SPRING, EVERYBODY!

Mama's Helpers?

2010-03-17T22:04:00.000-07:00

I'm told that Danica is a pretty good helper at home. One of the chores she is learning to do is to put away the dishes. I was invited over for a meal the other day, and while Melissa was making sandwiches for everyone, Danica was emptying the dishwasher and Mira was "helping."

But as everyone knows, everything in baby's hand goes right into baby's mouth (how else can she explore her world?).

Let's try the green plastic spoon first.

Meanwhile, Danica is diligently working on her task.

Then Mira needs to try out a plastic plate to go with the spoon.

The next course is the metal spoon. (Doesn't she look like she's plotting something?)

No, you can't have this one -- it's all mine!

Danica shows us how carefully she can carry the dishes.

Making progress.

Oh, are we done already? I was having fun. Can't I help some more?

Of course, the dishes that Mira "helped" with had to go straight back into the dishwasher. :-)

More Mira

2010-02-27T01:19:00.000-08:00

I was going to do a post on the signs of spring we are enjoying, but it was too much trouble to wander around in the rain taking pictures, so I'll fall back on that reliable stand-by: grandchildren. We got to watch Mira while Melissa and Rob took Danica to "Family Bingo Night" at her school, so of course the camera must come out.

She gets a big kick out of the funny noises Grandpa makes to entertain her.

She thinks she's a big girl when she stands up.

Showing off her first tooth (and has another on the way).

She eventually falls asleep in Grandpa's arms.

Does Mira's shirt look familiar to anyone?

Wow, that brings back memories!

Speaking of the Tooth Fairy...

2010-02-06T22:29:00.000-08:00

The subject of the Tooth Fairy has come up frequently lately. Danica has lost several teeth in the past few months. (Mira is trying to help by getting some of her own, but that's another story).

Poor Danica seems to have trouble producing the necessary "evidence" in order for the Tooth Fairy to be able to compensate her. One loose tooth was missing when she woke up one morning, presumably swallowed. The Tooth Fairy understood, and was generous. Another one was missing one morning a couple weeks later, but found in her bed. And now her latest loose tooth (knocked the rest of the way out during a rowdy game of "tossing a ball" with Uncle Neil here at our house a couple days ago) ended up going down the drain in our bathroom at some point during the semi-traumatic aftermath (Melissa didn't realize Danica still had it on her tongue as she was leaning over the sink to avoid bleeding on the floor). Clay declined to dismantle the pipes underneath the sink to look for it -- because the previous owners of our house had somehow jerry-rigged one pipe in such a way that it will need to be replaced with a new part if we ever have to undo it.

So here's a picture of Danica a few weeks ago, doing a puzzle with Grandpa (with one tooth missing).

Here she is last week, with another one gone (on the bottom)....

...and here she is today, with three teeth gone.

On a slightly related note, a few days ago Melissa made a pan of brownies while at our house, and she had taken a small piece out of the corner for herself, and gone to feed the baby. Danica asked her mom if she could have a brownie and Melissa said yes. When she looked at the pan of brownies afterwards, this is what she saw:

I guess Danica wanted to make sure she got her fair share of the brownies. Danica told me: "Well, I only took 2 or 3 brownies...I think it was only 2." :-)

Virtual Babysitting

2010-01-17T22:00:00.000-08:00

There's a game on the Wii called "Animal Crossing." You can create up to 4 characters for your town (and you have 10 animal neighbors). If someone else has the same game, you can visit each other's towns. My town is Willowby. Melissa and Danica play in Dewville.

Danica likes us to play together (from our own homes). I'll get a phone call, and a sweet little voice says, "My gate is open, Grandma. You can come visit me." I've had to get creative in trying to entertain a 5-year-old online in a virtual town with limited options. Here are some of the things we do.

We go fishing. Sometimes we're after the same fish, and you never know which one will catch it.
(Danica's character is "Odette" and she's the blond in the tiara. Mine is "CindyLou" with the dark hair.)

We can show off fish we've caught.

We can go bug hunting...and we're not even afraid of the dark, or the bugs -- well, except for maybe the scorpion and the tarantula, because they will attack sometimes and knock you out. :-)

We like to show off the bugs we've caught. Ha, ha...mine is bigger!

We can listen to the music of K.K. Slider at the local cafe on Saturday nights.

Or see the art exhibit at the museum, if we're feeling in need of some culture....

....or get up close and personal with the fish at the museum....

....or check out the dinosaur bones.

We occasionally play hide and seek, which can be challenging if we hide indoors.

We can even "talk" to each other. Danica uses the game's onscreen keyboard, but I got lazy and hooked up a wireless keyboard to the Wii, which makes it so much easier. Her spelling is quite creative, but I can usually figure out what she's trying to say.

Grandchildren are the best "invention" ever!!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T18:56:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family, and best wishes for a great year in 2010!

(Boy, that makes me feel really old to say "2010"!)

We had a very nice Christmas. Danica's enthusiasm is catching. Christmas just isn't the same unless you have small children around. Here are a few pictures:

This is Danica on Christmas Eve. She likes how curly her hair gets when she's had it in braids.

Clay has been wishing for an artificial Christmas tree for many years. I finally found one I could live with. It remains to be seen whether it is more trouble or less than having a real one, since we now have to store it all year.

Here is the very photogenic Dewsnup family.

The girls were excited about Christmas. Mira wore her Santa hat most of the time, although occasionally it slipped down over her eyes and she got a little perturbed.

Mira had a unique way of opening Christmas gifts!

I don't think she noticed the toys inside, but she sure enjoyed the wrapping paper.

She wanted to help Uncle Neil open his gift.

Mira is checking out the tree, and eating the Nativity scene.

Melissa had mentioned that she'd like one of those inexpensive flat cheese graters, and Neil "ran with it." He bought a variety of graters and wrapped them separately, but after opening a couple, the element of surprise was missing.

Neil and Nathan joined in the festivities.

Yes, these are really my gifts, not Danica's, but we're really going to enjoy "playing Barbies" together. I've got quite a toy collection at my house. My grandkids are certainly never going to be bored when they come to visit!

Danica was very excited by the new Disney princess, and she hasn't even seen the movie yet.

One of Clay's favorite holiday traditions is to watch the Harry Potter movies. Here he is enjoying the latest one.

I am very grateful to have been surrounded by my wonderful family today!

She Stands

2009-12-16T22:12:00.000-08:00

Mira has recently discovered the joys of standing. I think it makes her feel tall, like she's one of the "big people" now.

Mira had her eye on that jigsaw puzzle. But she was too late--Melissa, Danica and Clay had already finished putting it together.

So she just played with the box.

I played the same game with Danica that I used to play with Melissa when she was the same age--after a puzzle is all done, I take about 10 random pieces out and see how long it takes her to put them back in. It wasn't much of a challenge for Danica. She had them back in within just a few moments.

Danica takes very good care of her little sister.

We feel very blessed to be able to spend time with our wonderful granddaughters.

Fun with Friends

2009-12-13T00:15:00.000-08:00

We are part of a group of friends that have held a monthly potluck for many years. The December potluck is extra special because in addition to the usual wonderful food and good conversation, we participate in that traditional bonding ritual known as the "white elephant gift exchange." This can get quite adversarial at times (all in good fun, of course), but tonight was fairly mild. I guess we're getting soft as we get older!

Unlike some other versions of the game, we do not open any presents until all of them have reached their final destination, which happens when someone gets tired of stealing a gift from someone else and chooses the last gift from underneath the tree. In our version, a gift can be picked 3 times before it is "dead" and cannot be stolen any more. Our sometimes intense competition for a gift is based solely on how it looks and "feels" when shaken.

This beauty came across my lap rather early in the process, but alas, it was not meant to be mine permanently.

After the "stealing" portion is done, it's time to open up the gifts and see what we've been fighting for.
Bruce was properly enthusiastic about his "Skin So Soft" lotion.

Judy was happy to support the Springfield High School Millers.

ShamWow! and De-Icer were practical gifts for Julie.

Craig is not sure what he's going to do with Sylvester.

Would you believe there was an entire lamp post in this box? Well at least a miniature one.

Kyle is still smiling because he hasn't opened his present yet!

LeAnn got someone else's unfinished project to work on, because she has so much spare time, you know.

Warner got properly excited about his Christmas tree candle.

Virginia liked her snowman Christmas card display tree.....

.....once she and Warner figured out how to assemble it (which took a lot of concentration).

And here is Carol opening the one that got away from me.

Darn! I really coulda used that fish bank. :)

But I didn't go away empty-handed. I got a genuine Coconut Bank from Hawaii!!!! (Kinda scary, isn't it?)

Oh, well. At least it came with a moose! :)

More Randomness

2009-11-24T18:22:00.001-08:00

My blogging seems to be getting pulled in different directions, just like my life -- I keep starting projects then getting sidetracked with something else, and nothing ever gets done.

So here are a few completely random photos.

First, it is a well known fact that I'm not a "crafty" person, never have been and never will be. Apparently the solution is to stick to projects suited for a 5-year-old. Melissa and Danica invited me over to make pine cone turkeys, and we had a fun time (see Melissa's blog for more details). I'm kinda proud of how my turkey family turned out.

Danica has fun making elaborate houses for the Littlest Pet Shop animals (please note that these are Grandma's toys, not Danica's) LOL

I like the fact that Google occasionally honors special events, birthdays and anniversaries with a modification of their logo. Since Cookie Monster has always been one of my favorites, I was excited to see this cute one for Sesame Street's anniversary.

We have a very good, very easy chili recipe made from tomatoes, tomato sauce and 4 different kinds of beans. After rinsing out the cans to be recycled, I decided to stack them up for fun, and called it the "Leaning Tower of Chili" i.e. from Leaning Tower of Pisa ("Pizza") to Leaning Tower of Chili -- yeah, I know it's a "stretch" but that's how my brain works.

Lastly, in honor of the Thanksgiving feast, I offer for your consideration "HOW PUMPKIN PIES ARE MADE". I got this in an email from my friend Cathy. I thought it was funny, but some may disagree.

Note that the book he is reading is "Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges Into Texas."

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Oh Happy Day!

2009-11-22T00:53:00.000-08:00

My boss Arlene is really into the Hawaiian culture, and several weeks ago she offered me some tickets to a program of songs and dances of Hawaii, which I was interested in seeing, and Clay agreed to go. However........

Neither one of us realized it would be taking place at the same time as an Oregon Ducks football game.

Then why is he so happy, you might ask?

He has just discovered that the game is being broadcast on an FM station of the MP3 player I threw in my purse at the last moment (even though we both thought it was only broadcast on an AM station, which my player does not get). The game went into double overtime, so Clay was entertained throughout most of a fairly long program -- he said he was "multi-tasking" as he could listen to the game and watch the dancing at the same time!

So, we both had an enjoyable evening!

I took mostly movies of the dances, so here are just a couple of pictures..

These little girls were very cute.

Here are a few clips from some dances, in case you're interested (I threw this together really fast, so not very professionally done).

Oh, the Ducks won the game, by the way! :)

The Young Photographer

2009-10-31T18:12:00.000-07:00

Problem: Waiting in the gas line at Costco with a somewhat restless 5-year-old.
Solution: Hand her a camera to play with.

The object of this picture was the autumn leaves. (You may need to look closely to spot them).

Okay, now what? Ooooh--let's take a picture of Grandpa's ear!

Oh! What's this? A body hanging out the back of the car next to us!

Scary stuff in the car's windows. (These folks are really into Halloween).

In Oregon, we only let princesses pump our gas.

Not sure what this person was dressed up as?

And of course, the required "self portrait"

Nothing like a camera to help you pass the time!

Shotgun Creek

2009-10-16T22:31:00.000-07:00

We went hiking last Saturday at Shotgun Creek, a BLM recreation site about 1/2 hour from Eugene. It was a beautiful day -- just perfect for hiking. Sunny, not too hot, not too cold. We went with our friends, the Jackson family (except for Roy, who was on a hunting trip). We had a great time!

We chose the medium-length trail, a little over 1-1/2 miles. It was the perfect length for our group. We thought maybe Clay would have to carry Ruby on his shoulders for part of the way, but she had no trouble at all keeping up with us. In fact, I think she covered more territory than any of us -- running back and forth between everyone when we got spread out on the trail a bit.

Henry was our leader. He had to hold back a little sometimes for the rest of us to catch up to him. (Notice that the trail marker sign designates this trail as "more difficult" -- pretty impressive, huh?)

Henry is very good at watching out for his younger sister.

We didn't see much wildlife -- just mainly caterpillars and banana slugs (ugh!). I was more interested in avoiding stepping on the banana slugs than taking pictures of them, but I think Carrie got some pictures.

I think Ruby needed to be convinced to touch the fuzzy caterpillar.

A picture of this fallen tree wouldn't be as impressive if we didn't have Ruby there to show how big it really is.

Clay and I wore our "hunting season" clothing -- do you think it's bright enough to be seen? I mean, it would come in handy if I got lost and people were looking for me, right? I want that rescue helicopter to be able to find me. :)

Clay is checking out Shotgun Creek. I had my camera ready in case he fell in, but that didn't happen -- it woulda made a great picture, though.

After the hike, we ate lunch at the nice picnic shelter there, and then the kids were anxious to play in the sand of the volleyball court. Besides the guy mowing the grass, we were the only ones at the park until a family showed up about then. (It's a very popular place during the summer, so we enjoyed having it to ourselves that day).

They filled a sock full of sand, and had fun tossing it back and forth over the net (you can see it mid-air just to the right of Ruby's head).

Henry and then Carrie started digging holes to see how far down they could dig. That sand must go pretty deep, because they were in it up to their shoulders!

There was a nice little playground, too, which the kids enjoyed.

Thank you, Jacksons, for the fun day--and for being our friends!

;)

Happy Halloween

2009-10-06T22:33:00.001-07:00

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Random Thoughts Thursday

2009-09-24T20:29:00.000-07:00

I occasionally take a photo that I think I would like to blog about, but then I can't think of anything to say about it -- I'm definitely not a writer! So here are a few random photos.

We went for a walk a few weeks ago. Danica had fun riding on Grandpa's shoulders. I had fun pointing my camera back over my shoulder in their general direction and taking pictures -- just to play with the camera.

I caught them pointing at something that impressed them (I think it was a birdhouse). I just find this photo amusing for some reason.

This is simply a pretty sunrise from a few weeks ago. I love taking photos of sunrises and sunsets.

I went to the farmer's market downtown a couple of days ago. I was more interested in taking pictures of the vegetables and flowers than purchasing them (prices seemed rather high to me). But it was a little awkward being in the middle of a crowd, taking pictures of the merchandise, and I seemed to be in the way too. So I only took a few pictures (and bought some corn and a tomato -- yummy!).

This is a random picture from last summer. I call it "10 on a log" -- I have no idea why they were all standing there! :)

Sisters

2009-09-05T12:58:00.000-07:00

Yes, I realize I'm becoming a "one-trick pony." I don't blog about anything else besides my granddaughters, because I don't really have anything else worth blogging about. Clay and I haven't taken any fun day-trips this summer. We spend our Saturdays either hanging out with said granddaughters, doing chores around the house, or simply recovering from the work week.

I don't want to blog about work, of course -- who would want to read about that? Nor do I want to blog about the books I am reading (Harry Potter, Terry Brooks' Landover series, Debbie Macomber romance novels, Mary Daheim mysteries, photography how-to books), the TV shows I watch (Eureka, Warehouse 13, The Closer, Psych, and numerous "House Hunter"-type shows on HGTV), or the time I waste on the Wii. Therefore, here is another post on my wonderful granddaughters.

Danica enjoys playing with her little sister, although it's not too easy to "play" with a 2-month old. So Danica was lying on the floor besides Mira, copying what Mira was doing with her arms and legs. Danica got quite a kick out of it. Mira seems to enjoy the attention Danica pays to her.

Danica enjoys giving her sister lots of hugs and affection.

I couldn't decide which one I liked best, so here is another one.

And another one.

I hope they'll be friends forever.

The Many Faces of Mira

2009-08-10T20:41:00.001-07:00

Mira was very well behaved when we went to Chuck E. Cheese on Danica's birthday. She slept part of the time, and was very pleasant the rest of the time. She seemed to like all the lights and noise. (It has been suggested that she is fond of turmoil and commotion, and will create it herself if necessary). It was interesting to just sit and watch her expressions change, and I found myself taking picture after picture. Although I refer to this post as "the many faces of Mira," you'll notice that her crying/screaming/"I'm not happy--fix it now!" face is missing. I never remember to take one of her during those times.

WARNING: EXCESSIVE CUTENESS AHEAD -- VIEW AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Here comes that yawn!

And she's out......

Danica's Birthday

2009-08-08T23:12:00.000-07:00

Danica turned 5 years old today. Wow! I can hardly believe it. Time has gone by so fast. She starts school next month.

She had a busy and exciting day today. I have pictures of part of it, but Melissa will have to blog the trip to SkateWorld, as Clay and I passed on that bit of excitement.

Our gift to Danica was a trip to Build-A-Bear. Unfortunately, the "rainbow bear" that she had planned on making was retired last month. So it took her a while to decide on a new friend -- a pink unicorn she named Lyra. (She had really wanted her baby sister to be named Lyra, but that didn't happen. I think it works well for a unicorn, don't you?).

Lyra gets stuffed, and the "magic" goes in too, along with a heart.

Getting Lyra dressed.

Everything but the shoes (which I'm not sure she really needs).

Then off to the other "happiest place on earth" aka Chuck E. Cheese's (but Danica is deathly afraid of Mr. Cheese -- she ran and hid anytime he wandered in her direction).

How high will she go?

Horse racing.

Whack that mole!

Then time for cupcakes and presents (lots of "Littlest Pet Shop" and "My Little Pony" stuff).

Danica with her birthday loot.

I think that's quite enough excitement for one day!

Granddaughters

2009-07-14T23:37:00.000-07:00

Baby is nameless no longer! Finally! Now that Melissa has posted her blog on the baby's name, I won't feel like I'm "stealing her thunder" if I go ahead and do my post. Our "new" granddaughter's name is Mira Michelle Dewsnup. She'll be one month old tomorrow.

Here are Clay and "the girls" watching TV together tonight. Well, maybe "watching" doesn't really describe what Mira's doing.

Thinking deep thoughts?

Humor

2009-06-25T00:25:00.000-07:00

One of our offspring has always had a very "unique" sense of humor. To illustrate my point, I offer the following as evidence (our recent Mother's Day and Father's Day cards) -- can you guess who gave them to us?

Those of you who know our children probably won't have any trouble figuring out which one gave us these. We both got a good laugh out of them!

Pretty in Pink

2009-06-17T10:37:00.000-07:00

One day old. Isn't she precious?!!!

Baby Sister Arrives

2009-06-15T23:20:00.000-07:00

Baby Girl Dewsnup is finally here. (She doesn't have a name yet, so that's what she is known as right now -- "BG" for short). She was born on June 15th (she'll get to share her birthday with her Uncle Neil). She was born about 10:30 a.m., weighing 7.5 pounds, 19-1/2 inches long.

I know Melissa and Rob will have more (and better) pictures on their blog soon, but for our family and friends who can't wait, here are just a few--I was asked to get some pictures of Danica with the baby, so that's why there aren't any of the baby alone.

Clay and I brought Danica to the hospital so she could be introduced to her new sister. She has been eagerly awaiting this moment for months!

Here she is learning how to hold a baby properly (she seemed a bit nervous).

She's talking to her little sister, but I can't remember what she said.

She wholeheartedly approves of her new sister.

Notice that Danica wore her "Big Sister" shirt to the hospital.

The baby was born at Sacred Heart's Riverbend hospital. The hospital is quite new, beautifully done and very nicely landscaped, and there's a wooded area in back with nice paths to go for a walk (which I guess would be more for the visitors because people in hospitals don't usually go for many walks). Rob wanted to get out for some fresh air, so we explored a little bit. Danica enjoyed checking out the water feature -- a large pond with a waterfall which was very soothing.

We're looking forward to many happy moments with this precious new blessing in our lives!

Urban Hiking

2009-05-27T22:21:00.000-07:00

Clay and I both had Memorial Day off, and the weather was gorgeous (which was a pleasant surprise, as it usually rains on these 3-day weekends). We were both up pretty early, so we decided to go for a walk and try to get some nice photos. There is an extensive bike path/jogging trail system in the Eugene-Springfield area, so we don't even have to drive somewhere first before beginning our hike-we can just walk from our house down to the trails along the river. I love Spring; there are tons of beautiful flowers everywhere! Rhododendrons, azaleas, irises, roses, and many more that I don't even know the names of. I saw a lovely "snowball bush" -- I've loved those since I was a child.

We walked 5.15 miles (Clay took his GPS, as I always want to know exactly how far I walked, and I insisted on claiming every last inch!)

At the beginning of our walk, it was early enough that the flowers still had dew on them.

We love trees so much in Eugene that they just build around them rather than remove them.

Even though we were basically surrounded by the city, it still felt like we were out in the country somewhere (except for the noise from the freeway!)

If looks could kill....I don't think this bird liked us invading his territory!

The city is hidden behind the line of trees.

I love the bike paths along the Willamette River. I like looking up at the sun shining down through the tops of the trees.

We were out early enough that we didn't run into very many people on the paths.

We live just off this street -- Garden Way, which is really living up to its name this time of year.

The poppies were beautiful. I know they're not exactly the same as the ones that we usually associate with veterans, but since it was Memorial Day, they did remind me of the poem:

In Flander's Fields

by John McCrae

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow,

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky,

The larks, still bravely singing, fly,

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago,

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved and now we lie,

In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe

To you, from failing hands, we throw,

The torch, be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us, who die,

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow,

In Flanders Fields.