Have You Met Our Granddaughter?

We've had the pleasure of spending lots of time with family recently because of celebrations, traveling or what have you...

Consequently, I have been able to garner a few more pictures and videos of the cutest, sweetest little girl in the whole wide world (I'm just sure of it!). Here are a few random. I'll probably post the video to Facebook too since it can be seen in a larger format there.

Michael's dad is holding her up for an obligatory picture.

Even when she's fussing, she's so cute! Her cutiness definitely dilutes the effectiveness of her fussiness.

Reine is helping Daddy play Ticket to Ride. I seem to remember Lindsay won this game. Maybe Michael will have Reine help HER next time...

Reine has developed some ticklish spots. Oh, FUN!

Does THIS Look Like April To You?

A few days ago my sweet daughter-in-law was lamenting about the recent snowfall in SLC. Showing a photo of trees covered with snow she asked: "Does this look like April?" or something pretty close. I do honestly feel bad for the lower 48ers when snow comes late! Watching general conference last weekend, when normally the flowers are blooming, we usually ooo and awww and make comments like: "That looks so nice! They are so lucky! ("They" would mean anybody in the area.)... Well, not this year. It looked cold. Poor suffering little souls, to use an oft used phrase by my dad.

Anchorage, while still covered in snow, at least in everybody's yard, has been enjoying a very nice week or so of sunny, warm (in the 40's as mentioned sort of in a previous post) weather. Snow has been melting like crazy. WONDERFUL! Until the last two days. We've had some new white stuff, not much but enough to stifle our spring-like euphoria. This morning we awoke to this snow on our deck. The reason there is only a thin layer of snow is because I shoveled 3 feet of compacted snow off of it two Saturdays ago. Oh my aching back! (Then I put the two chairs out dreaming that one sunny day soon I'd be able to bask in the sunshine and read a book maybe. HAR!)

Don't feel to bad for us. The roads are usually wet by mid-morn and dry by evening. I won't see our pitiful, brown grass for a month yet because of the snow load but we are making progress. Still...to paraphrase Ashley: "does this look like April?" Well DOES IT!? Unfortunately, yes. Yes, it does.

EARTH HATER!

I worked a couple of days in Fairbanks Alaska this week. The last two times I've rented from Dollar I received a free upgrade. I rent a full size car because I usually have samples or display updates that I need to carry around with me as I visit retailers. Both times I've been upgraded to SUVs. This week the lady at the desk said, we've upgraded you to a H3. It's white and located blah, blah, blah. So I got to drive the despised, loathed and cursed earth destroying Hummer H3! Always wanted to do that.

The (shhhhhh... don't tell anyone I'm driving it) "H3" parked outside MacCheyne's Carpet Plus no doubt destroying exorbitant amounts of precious oxygen, burning holes in the ozone and puffing greenhouse gases right out the back, and WITHOUT provocation.

The two days in Fairbanks were beautiful and warm (in the 40's, probably because of the H3). It was fun to drive but it really wasn't much bigger than my Jeep it seemed. It has to be heavier but the gas mileage was about the same, maybe a little lower. The eighty miles I drove it got 13 mpg. Isn't great. Definitely only someone that HATES the earth would drive such a monster. I tried not to notice the glares I no doubt got from the drivers of Prius-es-s-s.

It was very nice to have the room at the back for my samples. Otherwise I would have been lifting them out of the trunk or back seat. This was much better. Everybody I showed it to thought is was a sweet ride... EARTH HATERS!

Olympics: A Little More Personal

We've lived in our Eric Circle house 24 years this summer. Our next door neighbors, Fred and Linda Teela, were here when we moved in. I guess you could say that these two families at least are steady-as-she-goes, why upset the applecart, sticks in the mud type of people. We have many pictures and memories of our children as babies and growing up in this house and neighborhood that we struggle with ourselves to ever leave it. It is home. But I digress.

The Teela's sired a celebrity. Yes, I think you know where I'm going with this. Jeremy Teela, the Winter Olympic bi-athlete is their son, our neighbor. It has been exciting to watch and cheer for someone we know personally. After returning from Vancouver just a bit ago, Mama and Papa Teela favored us with the details of their experience. How much fun for their entire family to be there and root for their athlete, flesh of their flesh. Congratulations Jeremy on a great effort!

Fred and Linda sported matching jackets when they came over and I had to have a picture. One rule of photo taking is to capture the front of your subject (usually the best side) but this time what was on their backs is what I wanted. Russia in four years. One more Olympics Jeremy?

These pics were taken after the 2002 Olympics when Jeremy made a visit home and suffered his adoring fans.

Lindsay wearing Jeremy's cap and jacket.

Jeremy Teela 2002

Chicken Enchiladas & a Cutie Patootie

Julie and I went to visit our granddaughter and her parents a few days ago. The occasion was to help Michael move a yet to be purchased gun "safe" into the closet of their little girl's bedroom. To paraphrase his dad: "Michael owns a half a gun so a gun safe is needed."

Michael and I went to Costco to get the safe but when we got there at 6:15pm IT WAS CLOSED! Saturday. Closed at 6:00pm. THAT was funny. Kim, Michael's father along with Dawn, Michael's mother, met us back at the house to help move the non-existent safe into the house. We enjoyed a delicious dinner of chicken enchiladas and then watched a movie.

I had seen part of a movie that looked funny and learned that it was called "Cloudy with a Chance of Meat Balls". We won't be renting THAT movie again.

We had a wonderful time visiting with Reine. I got a few more pictures and videos I just gotta share. So here goes....

Reine has a contraption she sits in that looks like it is from outer-space! She can't do much in it now but as she gets older and stronger there is stuff for her to do in every direction. Very cute. One of the videos shows her a little fussy which doesn't happen very often really. We find even her fussing and crying cute because of that I think.

Reine is a lucky little girl. She has two grandpas close by that love her to pieces. In the video below Kim interacts with her.

A few days later we did finally get the gun safe and it is nestled in Reine's closet safe and sound.