News and Views From JEO

"May the LORD deal with me..."

2012-02-13T21:09:00.000-08:00

My cousin Drew got married to Jenna in December
and I got to be there.

Here is my cousin Lainey and cousin Mark--
still lovely and handsome--
with E. not cooperating.

Uncle Mark continued to try and bribe
E. into naming him her favorite.

My cousin Luke knows the way to our hearts--
yep--he just kept passing out the candy
until my Mom found him doing it.

We got moved to a different table
with our Dad.

Really all the reception offered
were desserts --so it made me extremely happy.
(That is Uncle Matthew behind the camera--
losing another draw to my Mom's quick flash.)

A. and I got a chance to show off our dance moves.

E. is not so much into dancing with her cousins.

Yes--it's true--
I am willing to let my cousins develop lifelong back issues
just so I can be carried around.

I was excited to hang out with
S. and L.--I really do not know who the
guy in the middle is...

Baby K. wasn't afraid to get out on the dance floor with me.
I can hardly wait until she can walk.

What a gorgeous couple!
(Klintworth Photography did a great job with wedding photos.
I especially liked this one because it caught my awesome bubble skills.)

Cowboy

2012-02-11T17:52:00.000-08:00

My cousins and I went to the Cowboy museum.
This sculpture is called End of the Trail

This is John Wayne in bronze form.

E. was very excited to find bars from which to hang.

We were in the part of the museum with
stuff behind glass at first.

Then we moved to the more kid friendly section and
E. figured out how to get out of her stroller.

She got grabbed like this a lot the rest of our time there.

E. found a place to sit down and read.

We found some saddles to do some riding into the sunset.

I found a long horn that would let me pet him.

Then there was the campsite
complete with yummy plastic beans.

We went outside between buildings and
none of us fell into this pond.

My favorite part was the town.
Here we are at the bar--don't worry they were not
serving anything.

E. locked us all in jail.
Thankfully she was lenient.

We found this great outdoor area to explore.

I found this little stream nice.

Aunt Linda and Daddy found a place to work on
their Indian signs.
(Maybe they were just trying to hide themselves from the sun.)

Oklahoma Capitol

2012-02-09T18:40:00.000-08:00

The Secretary of Agriculture asked
us if we wanted to go on a tour of the capitol.

We of course accepted such a generous offer.

While we were waiting to leave,
my Mom began to take pictures
of Aunt B, A, Baby K, and I--
as you can she by her reflection.

Once we got to the capitol--
we began by posing in front of the governor's office.

Then the staff let us pose in her office.

I tried to make some changes to the state in the
official conference room.

Aunt Linda tried to hold a press conference in the
blue room but only E. would listen.

When the Secretary of Ag. showed up everyone
began to pay attention.

There is a lot of art for adults to discuss
in the capitol building.

What I found most astounding were the detailed ceilings.
I think this is in the old Supreme Court chambers.

Auntie M. was there
to take pictures and pamper Princess E.

I spent some time giving rulings from the bench.

Daddy got this strange call from
someone and well--
I did not see him the rest of the tour.

A. and I enjoyed the great views and amazing
architecture of the capitol.

Yes--we have a great time together.

We went to the house chamber
with Mr. Secretary--
I guess he used to spend a lot of time there.

Look at that beautiful ceiling.

I took the opportunity to introduce some important bills.

Then K. decided to rise to a point of order.
(or maybe it was just her attempt to say she was hungry.)

Once we left the capitol--Auntie M. created
a few photo ops.

Mr. Secretary showed us the garden in front of his office.
(Isn't that cool--a garden with all the crops that grow in Oklahoma
right in front of the agriculture building.)

He took us into his office.
Yes--that is a quilt in the shape of Oklahoma.
(I guess all the blocks are counties of Oklahoma--
created in the county.)

We were allowed to sit on Mr. Secretary's
lap to help him get some work done.

Then we refused to leave so others
could get their pictures taken with the Secretary.
(It's hard to leave the limelight.)

As we were leaving this stranger took
us from our parents and gave us
Oklahoma agricultural gifts.
Yes--that is a pen shaped like a pig.

Thanks Uncle Jim we had a great time!

East Bay

2012-02-07T14:27:00.000-08:00

We were on our way to SFO
when we stopped to check out an oil spill.

Actually, we were supposed to stop by
a roadside coffee spot--
the oil spill was just a happy coincidence.

The coffee spot was closed so we went
walking in a park near a nearby marina.

E. and I had a wonderful time checking out the rocks.

However, we really did not stop
to check out the oil spill, see the rocks, enjoy the sunshine,
or even gaze at the lovely view of the city.

Our real mission was to spend some time with
our friend and yours, Borgie.

Christmas Celebration Continues

2012-02-06T17:49:00.000-08:00

We went to visit O. and T.'s Christmas
after our Christmas naps.

L. was looking very cute in her
Christmas jammies.

E. enjoyed the Christmas goodies.

Mommy insisted on a group shot
with her new camera.
(Great picture to remember our fun day.)

Then it was off the Great Uncle Ted's
and Great Aunt Cass' for more presents.

E.'s favorite present was
a truck given to me.

Her is my surprised and thrilled look.

E. helped pass out presents to Nana and Papa.

There were new ornaments for E. to admire.

Many pictures were taken because of the cute
red dress.

I helped pass out presents too.

Here is the group shot with Mommy's new camera.
(Odd--Papa doesn't even have his camera out.)

Christmas Celebration

2012-02-03T12:48:00.000-08:00

On Christmas morning,
Daddy read to us about Jesus' birth.
Then--we had a wonderful breakfast fixed by Daddy.

After church, we attempted a pose in front of our tree.

Then the present opening began.
Pink legos for E.

A Hot Wheels car case for me--full of cars.

Look at all those Hot Wheels.

Did you notice our cool hats?
My Mom found Christmas Crackers at TJ Maxx.
They did not "crack" as promised--so we were pretty disappointed.

Look at my impressive blocks.

E. got kitties and a house for them to live in.

I finally got weapons!

E.'s favorite present was her pillow pet.

She immediately put it to good use.

Let that baby nap.

Great start to Christmas day!

Live Nativity

2012-01-29T11:09:00.001-08:00

In more Christmas style celebratory activities--
we went to a live Nativity together.

This is the angel appearing to Mary.

It was cold outside.

E.and I enjoyed the many scenes of Jesus birth.

There was some random pointing.

It was a pretty location.

After it was over we were served hot drinks...

...and cookies.

Makes me feel Christmassy just thinking about it.

Kindergarten Christmas

2012-01-24T10:33:00.000-08:00

I was part of an all school Christmas program.
Here E. is watching me from the stands.

We sang a song with these great
actions.

Mom bribed me with candy after
the music teacher told her I needed to look
at the music teacher during the program.

I think I did a great job--
even if you could see my belly button sometimes.

This should be a video but well
there were some technical difficulties.
(Great blurry photo, huh?)

Donuts and Ducks

2012-01-23T11:54:00.001-08:00

E. took Uncle Chris to help him become a citizen.

Reveling in citizenship.

Then when I got out of school
I took Uncle Chris to visit the uppity ducks.

We found snow where we parked our car.

The ducks had some ice to walk on.

Uncle Chris is a plaque reader.

I attempted to display my amazing spider climbing skills.

Then it was time to display my new
found swinging skills.

It was a little cold but fun.

I asked Uncle Chris to pose with me
by one of the places I
bring all the tourists.

Sparkling Sea

2012-01-20T13:14:00.000-08:00

I took Uncle Chris for a picnic by the sea.

Uncle Chris and I went down to the beach when we
finished our lunch.

We took off our shoes and went exploring.

Look at how far the tide is out!

Amazing amount of sunshine.

Uncle Chris and I walked down the beach.

We left Mommy and E. and many pictures were taken.

E. seems to be enjoying the beach this time.

Eventually I came back from my walk.

E. still did not want to go into the surf with me.

Uncle Chris came back for some posing.

What a wonderful day at the sea.
(In this picture I think Uncle Chris looks like a
taller, younger, version of Grandpa Marion.)

Ewok Environs

2012-01-19T11:39:00.000-08:00

Uncle Chris came for a surprise visit in December.

I took him to visit my favorite trees.

E. helped move this one out of our path.

We went to visit the water.

E. is very interested in rocks.

Uncle Chris helped me try to skip some rocks.

We posed by the big roots.

Yes--they are just amazingly big!

We made a small stop at the boy scout tree trail.

Uncle Chris by the famous stump.
Fun had by all.

Noble for Noel

2012-01-18T13:32:00.000-08:00

E. and I went to pick out a Christmas tree.
This noble fir will do nicely.

We then went to visit a friend.

The line was very long and
the night was very cold.

We opted for the rather less
animated version of Santa.

Daddy set up the tree and Mommy got
out the ornaments.

Then we started trimming the tree.

I tried to communicate with my dancing buddy.
He hasn't been the same for years.

E. was a big help this year.

Once she finished playing with the ornaments--
she loved putting them on the tree.

A pretty tree and a pretty girl

Family Form

2012-01-16T15:12:00.000-08:00

We gathered for family photos
to put on our Christmas card.

Grandpa Ed took the photos.
He does nice work doesn't he?

Why yes we are in a cemetery.

Just keep trying to smile...

Yes...still me with a failed smile...

Oh--there we are again...

E. helped Grandpa Ed pick out the best pictures.

Still not feeling the smile.

Railroad Representaion

2012-01-16T13:38:00.000-08:00

This year I took E. to see the trains at the train show.

Everything went pretty well.

There were little trains.

For the most part, E. was very excited.

The lego train is always cool.

I even got to run a train on my own.

Best of all--at the end of the day Grandpa Ed was there
to read me a bedtime story.

Gratitude Grub

2012-01-13T13:15:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving Grandpa Ed and Grandma Sybil
came on a plane.

Here E. and I are awaiting their arrival.
Usually we come here to get Aunt Linda but not this year.

Even though we missed Aunt Linda--
we were lucky to have
a toddler involved.

She giggled, laughed...

... and clapped.

This year I introduced everyone to my new turkey hat.

Nothing says thanksgiving like a construction
paper turkey hat!

Granpa Ed loving the turkey hat.

Nana sporting the turkey hat!

E. will have to grow into it.

Daddy added a new tradition--
everyone was asked to give a short sermon after dinner.

I really enjoyed the after dinner walk.
Thank God for a blessed day!

Praise Pagent

2012-01-13T12:46:00.000-08:00

We had a little program for Thanksgiving.
I was waving at my Mommy but I think I was supposed to be
praying.

I got to hold the Christian flag.

Then we all put on turkey hats and sang.

"I'm glad I'm not a turkey on Thanksgiving Day."

"They'll cook you and baste you
And then they'll all taste you!"

"Oh--I'm glad I'm not a turkey on Thanksgiving Day!"

(Wish the pictures were better.)

Skating Shindig

2012-01-11T14:22:00.000-08:00

My friend had a birthday party at the skating rink,
which is why I am wearing skates.

E. came too--mostly to pose for pictures.

"cheese"

Me in my party hat.

M. got lots of cool toys.

Once I took off my skates--I pretended to play the racing game.

I am pretty good!

Cards and Camera

2011-12-20T11:29:00.000-08:00

I have been teaching E. to play Uno.

Mostly I play for both of us.

She hasn't figured out what she can play yet.

The challenge is to get the cards out of her hands without
bending them.

My Mommy left her camera unattended.
So I am working on portraits.

My train

Myself

I especially like the portrait of Fluffy.

Lithia Linda

2011-12-20T10:42:00.000-08:00

I brought Aunt Linda to visit my
favorite playground.

I posed in very colorful spots.
Unfortunately, the sun was a little bright.

Aunt Linda let me add to my tab and take some pictures.

We did not get a lot of pictures but
it was a lovely Lithia Linda day.

Excellent Effusion

2011-12-13T13:04:00.000-08:00

I took Aunt L. on a trip to see waterfalls.
The last time I went on this tour we did not have E.

We hiked to the first falls.

I found some very attractive slugs.

We posed on this cool bridge.

We played in the stream near the falls.

More posing happened.

Susan Falls

Daddy carried E. on his back to the next falls.

There was a nice place to sit and watch the falls.

I think Aunt L. likes me.

More posing time.

Toketee Falls

This is on the hike up to the next falls.

Posing again.

Watson Falls

The next falls did not require much of a hike.

Whitehorse Falls

Final pose on this tour because it was cold and getting dark.

Clearwater Falls.
(Clean your lens.
Last time we went to some different falls, a different direction
and it was almost thirty degrees warmer.)

Stout Smith

2011-12-10T14:00:00.000-08:00

On our second day at the coast we went to
visit Stout grove.

Aunt Linda let me take pictures with her camera
for a fee.

Do you see E. there by the trees?

Throwing rocks into a creek flowing into the Smith river.

Here I am posing with someone I do not know.
A guy gave me a dollar for me to stand by that tree.

Here I am with Linda and the big tree.
No money changed hands.

Linda wanted to visit her friend Smith.

E. got to ride part of the way.

Here I am in a cool pose.

More perspective...
Can you find me, Aunt Linda, and E. in the pack?

There was some time where E. was loose.

Here E. and I are enjoying the Smith.

This is gratuitous.
We went to the beach after the trees because
it was such a lovely day.

I Saw the Sea and the Sea Saw Me

2011-12-03T11:34:00.000-08:00

We took Aunt Linda to the beach to watch the sunset.

E. doesn't trust the sea so much.

She got better as time went on.

I think she might even have been enjoying it a little.

Aunt Linda generously shared her Dutch Love with
Fluffy. I kind of think Fluffy is a little young for coffee.

While Aunt Linda and E. enjoyed watching from the beach--
I got ready to go in.

Aunt Linda got out her camera.

E. found a shell.

I found a shell too.

Isn't the ocean amazing!

I thought I might have spotted a ship out there.

It was fun to see the sun on the water.

Unexpectedly, the sun was even in the sky for a little while.

Love the sunset over the sea.

God must really love Aunt Linda.

More important than the sunset--
I found a slug on the way up.

Evermore Evergreen

2011-12-02T14:17:00.000-08:00

Aunt Linda came to visit us--
I took her to visit the redwoods.

E. was very happy to be along.

I found a small tree that was pretty
cool even though it will
not be big for a very long time.

Look at this fallen tree.

It was really cool to walk on top of it.

E. got to be out of her
stroller.

Exploring is fun
if you bring along a friend like fluffy-potamus.

Aunt Linda got her feet wet.

We continued our exploration.

We found a bench to
rest from our travels.

Look at this tree going over the trail.
I have seen this tree before.

Wonderful trees!

Grandma Lynn

2011-11-16T14:05:00.000-08:00

Last picture with Grandma Lynn.
Come back and see us soon.

Lava Link

2011-11-16T13:18:00.000-08:00

I took my Grandma to the Natural Bridge
on our way home from Crater Lake.

There is nice little trail.

E. was free and happy to try to keep up with me.

She can be pretty fast.

I made it to the view point first.

I love looking at the river when it goes into the Lava tubes
and out again.

Marvelous!

Here is a pose where E. and I
thought we were supposed to open our mouths
as wide as we could.

Brilliant Blue

2011-11-10T20:21:00.000-08:00

I took my Grandma Lynn to see the blue waters at Crater Lake.
It was much bluer than our last visit to crater lake.

I wish I had not lost my sunglasses.

We discovered this cool view point.
I guess it is usually under snow like when we came with A.

This is the fantastic view from there.

More pictures of my squint.

Look it's Mommy's shadow!

After discovering the lodge closes in October--we got into
the car and headed home with a few stops along the way.

I thought Grandma would like National Falls.

I think she did like it.

We did not bring the carrier for E.
so she had to ride on Daddy's shoulders on the hike up--
which she did not like.

Park Play

2011-11-10T14:21:00.000-08:00

I took my Grandma to Lithia to enjoy the fall colors.

My Daddy tried to get E. interested in the swings.

E. was more interested in the climbing equipment.

E. even tried to climb on the blue spider web.

E. is really flexible.

E. stayed on the ground level but I climbed to the top...

...well--very nearly the top.

I tried to show my Grandma the turtles in the uppity duck pond
but I guess they are elsewhere.

There were lots of ducks though.

I think my Grandma had fun even without the turtles.

(yes--that is my Daddy's frown in the corner of the photo)

Pumpkin Patch

2011-11-08T19:21:00.000-08:00

We went to visit a farm in October with Grandma Lynn.

We enjoyed taking pictures of ourselves with the livestock.

I found myself sliding down a haystack.

I tried not to let the turkey know about Thanksgiving.

E. just had fun being outside.

She also found herself surrounded by flowers.

I found this machine outside of the barn--
I am not sure what it does exactly but it had enough grease to
mess up my hands.

In the barn we found animal skins to pet.

While we were in the barn--there were lots of
other people riding along in a wagon.

E. found some pumpkins.

I tried to play on the tractor--but there were too
many other kids trying at the same time.

Finally, we posed with Grandma Lynn.

We had a great time together.

Train Tracks

2011-11-02T14:01:00.000-07:00

Daddy and I took E. to the railroad park.

We waited in line to ride the steam train.

Here we are seated.

My Mommy and I share the thumbs up sign and we were on our way.

E. did not enjoy the ride very much--
Daddy had to hold her through out the trip.

E. was glad to go.

I checked out the progress being made on the outside layout.

Watched Thomas outside.

E. took F. to see the indoor layout.

All in all who doesn't love a day with trains?

Green Show

2011-11-01T13:27:00.001-07:00

We spent one Friday going to the green show at OSF.
On the way I stopped by to say hello to my uppity duck friends.

We were happy to see each other.

We got tacos at the the taco truck.

Something in the tacos turned E. into a pirate.

She got better.

Mostly we enjoyed the dancing and the music.

Las Colibri and the dancers
were fantastic.

Special Place

2011-11-01T12:57:00.001-07:00

My Grandpa Ed came to take care of us for a few days.

Mommy and Daddy went somewhere special.

How special could it be without me?

I have no explanation for this.

Kindergarten

2011-10-26T17:39:00.003-07:00

Here I am buckled in all ready for day one of Kindergarten.

Upon arrival I gave my Mommy the double thumbs up.

In I go--the door is a little heavy.

Once inside I make sure I can find my box for my stuff
and again give the universal thumbs up sign.
It is going to be a great year.

Hiouchi Trail

2011-10-26T14:43:00.000-07:00

We took the hike that Auntie M. and I
enjoyed so much.

This time Mommy, Daddy, E., Cousin N., Aunt Cass,
and Uncle Ted went with me.

I found a tree cave to explore.

We got a family photo in the tree.

E. fell asleep while we were hiking.

Here we are at the same signs but this time
we know the bridge is open.

Here we are headed to the bridge.

Here I am on the bridge.

E. is near a different bridge.

This is the bridge not traveled...
well--not by us.

We found some lovely trees on the other side of the bridge.

A Day at the Beach

2011-10-18T20:47:00.000-07:00

We spent the a sunny day on the beach.

We walked close to a river that ran into the ocean.

I had been on the other side with Aunt Linda.

It is a lovely spot.

We spent some time playing with the waves.

Daddy played fetch with Bear.

E. wasn't so happy on the beach.

Daddy helped me build a castle on the beach.

When the fog started rolling in we decided to go.

Patrick Creek Swimming

2011-10-14T10:53:00.000-07:00

There was a trail down to the water from
our campsite.

Our swimming spot had
great rocks, shallow water, and a nearby deep pool.

Bear swam into deeper water.

Bear needed to share her water with us.

What a beautiful spot.

Daddy made a little spot for E. to play.

She loved the little rocks and the water.

I found a pool of my own.

It was a too cold to stay in the water for long.

Every night, Daddy made us a fire to keep us warm.

This is the view of the water over the fence
from our campsite.

The empty campsite after we packed up.
It's just waiting for us to come back Aunt Betsy.
(There was one drawback to the campsite...
yellow jackets.)

Patrick Creek Camping

2011-10-13T12:13:00.000-07:00

Over Labor day we went camping at
the place where we were supposed to swim last year.

Daddy made us a great breakfast.

(I learned the thumbs up thing from my Mom.)

Even E. enjoyed it.

We went exploring after Breakfast.

We found some lovely spots and there were no ticks.

We found some fishermen.

There were a few things that used to be other things.
I guess there was a flood at some point.

We found it--the exact spot we were planning on swimming
at last year.

Fun Fair

2011-10-10T21:20:00.000-07:00

I took E. to the Jo. Fair in August
She did not have any desire to hug
the animals at the petting zoo.

E. did a lot of pointing.

There was some pulling.

I tried to show her the correct way to
handle a petting zoo.

E. did interact with the animals but
she just lacked the enthusiasm for which I was hoping.

We looked at the little animals in cages.

We found some very small piglets to enjoy.

Aren't they cute?

Then it was on to the 4-H/FFA exhibits.

This girl let me get into the pen with her pig.

This boy let us pet his sheep.

This 4-H kid had a bean bag toss
and gave me a lollipop.
(My Mother told me that she never did this as a 4-H kid.)

We found this cool show from Wildlife Images.

Yes indeed, that is an actual eagle that woman is handling.

Cool, huh?

This was a fair entry I had never seen before--
painted rocks.
Something my Grandma Joan would have liked.

Sixty-seven Years

2011-10-10T20:52:00.001-07:00

We celebrated Nana and Papa's 67th year of marriage
in August.

Don't they look good!

E. let Nana have a little time before she
moved on again.

My Daddy loves his Grandma.

Mommy tried to get E. and I to pose but
E. was not interested in staying in one place.

Aunt Favorite and The Tag Alongs

2011-10-10T14:51:00.000-07:00

Sometime in August, Aunt Favorite and my cousins came for a visit.

Aunt Favorite and I had a great time enjoying a lovely snack...

...next to the beautiful Madrones--
a.k.a. as Arbutus menziesii.

We had a nice hike together.

We turned around once we could see the Mt. Pitt.
(Wish we would have gotten more pictures of the Tag Alongs.)

My Current Videography

2011-10-08T18:54:00.000-07:00

For those who have not seen my videography, I post all the links here for your convenience.

Mother Mary Had a Baby Boy
Graduation Program

Post-Party Like it's 1931

2011-10-06T12:41:00.000-07:00

The day after the big party we had brunch with
a few of those not staying at the free breakfast place.

It was so hot--my cousins and I
decided to clean out the stock tank on the farm.

It was a lot of fun .

Once upon a time there were actual stock that used the stock tank.

It was not just a source of recreation for the younger crowd
(or so I have been told by the older crowd).

I have been told stories of gold fish and cattle.

Most of the numbered cousins went home and
only 91 and I were left--so we went to the zoo.

Talked to the animals.

Played on the animals.

Stared into the eyes of the animals.

Once back on the farm with the stock tank being full
I went out to enjoy the fruits of
my labors.

It really is just the perfect size
for 91 and I to perfect our swimming skills.

Party Like it's 1931

2011-09-27T12:00:00.000-07:00

Finally, my Grandpa got to have some cake
for his birthday.

I sang the Happy Birthday song loud enough
so that he could hear it.

He blew out his candles.

He gave me the 8 part of the 80.

Everyone had to sit around with my Mommy and tell
something special about Grandpa.

62 spent time bonding with 4 because 60
was not at the party.

62 and 92 were the subject of many photos.

61 and 62 in the gym...
Mommy tells me this is the place
where she went to Kindergarten.

I was hard at work having fun with water.

21 and 62 had a great time together.

62 would run...

and 21 would follow.

They had a lot of fun together.

Then we all posed for pictures.
(This picture was taken a few weeks later
because 60 couldn't come to the party.)

Here is the photo we took the actual day of the party.

Then we posed with Grandma and Grandpa.

We added 7.

We added Hilary--who does not have an official number.
(Although my Grandma likes to call her--1L.)

Then my Mommy took a picture without me.
This is her with My Grandparents and her siblings.

Then we had to get 21 through 92 together with my Grandparents.

It is hard to get so many in one picture.

Finally all the numbers got into the shot.
I thought we were taking pictures of the numbers on the back of the shirts.

I guess they wanted a picture of me looking at the camera.

Slide, Like it's 1931

2011-09-22T15:39:00.001-07:00

My Grandpa, Marion Aloysius after he went down the
big slides at the pool for his 80th birthday!

Some people paused for a group shot...

until they realized I wasn't in it--so the
picture had to be taken again.

Mommy and 62 mostly just stayed out of the water.

Aunt Margaret was there to chase 62 around with a camera.

I did not get to go down the slides because
I am not tall enough.

I did get to play in the water with my aunts, uncles, and cousins.

It was a great time until my Mommy said I had to get out.

I finally got to wrap up in a towel
and and everything was fine.

Kansas, Like it's 1931

2011-09-22T14:24:00.003-07:00

At the end of July I got to go visit my cousin A.
I am always happy to see her.
(We were also there to attend my Grandpa's 80th birthday bash.)

We went out to eat before the really big crowd arrived.
This is one of my Mom's friends
who came to see me.

E. was trying hard to get the people in the restaurant
to notice her and maybe bring her some food.

My Aunt Ruth and E. were happy to see each other.

There we are at the pre-party lunch.

A rather small group considering...

After lunch we watched Grandpa take a pre-party nap.
(That is M. and Uncle Michael--who had some special bonding time with E.)

E. and A. found some books to love.

Here I am with two of my pretty girl cousins.
I sure do love that baby.

We love our new t-shirts.
I am 61 and E. is 62.

Here we are at the actual picnic part of the party
with 3.
(Yes--I gather he has some issues because of it.)

62 really enjoyed the gun fights at the picnic.

20 was available to give 62 some gun tips.

62 and 84 looking for a gun fight.

Here is 62 with some of my girl cousins...
91, 23, 41, 34, 92, 54, 84, and 53.

Model and Mobilize

2011-09-21T10:52:00.001-07:00

Mommy was trying to get some pictures of E. and I.

She tried to get us to sit down on little chairs in the family room.

So I guess we are not ready for any serious photo shoots.

I also wanted to show you my new bike.

It attaches to Daddy's bike and it is a lot of fun.

Look at us go!
(Yes--we always wear our helmets
because it makes my Mommy happy.)

Piano and Pictures

2011-09-15T13:20:00.000-07:00

E. and I enjoyed playing the piano in Idaho.

You might remember that I know
how to make piano playing look fun.

There were attempts to get pictures of E. by the flowers.
The dog likes to pose too.

The family posed for many pictures
(maybe we should work on color coordination.)
It was time to say goodbye and head home.

Incidental Idaho

2011-09-15T12:39:00.001-07:00

Before we saw the fireworks on the lake we had a nice
meal on the deck.

We got to watch the fireworks from the
floating boardwalk by the lake.

We got to have some sparkler fun before
the big show...

...and more fun after the fireworks on the lake.

The next day my Grandpa Ed took me fishing.

As you can see--I even caught some fish.

E. did not get to fish.

She got to spend some time with her girl cousins.

Then there was an attempt to get some good pictures
of my cousins and I together.

Mostly I tried to get them to laugh.

I guess we need to work on looking at the camera at the same time.

Independence Day Parade

2011-08-24T21:43:00.000-07:00

I took my plane to the independence day parade this year.
It's so cool that I can land on the lake.

Poor E. had to go in her stroller.

This amazing flag started the parade.

It made our flags look pretty shabby.

E. tried to get people to look her smile instead of the parade.

The parade won some of the time and even
E. had to look at it.

E. still would not give up her quest.

I tried to get people to look at me with my smile too...

....but I would rather watch the parade--
so would grandpa Ed.

We watched some of the parade on Grandpa Ed's lap.

Then Mommy pushed a lot of people out of the way to get
us flags to wave.

We moved over to Daddy's lap to wave our flags.

E. got confused and tried to eat hers...yuk!

Hold it in your hand not your mouth.

This bike was pretty amazing.

Ok--you caught me...
E. made having the flag in her mouth look like so much fun.
I could not resist.

E. fell asleep at the end of the parade.
I guess the excitement had been too much.

We spent time hanging out by the lake.
(I did not realize I had my flag
upside down--so don't get upset--
at least it wasn't in my mouth.)

We took a walk by the lake before we went home--
me in my plane of course.

M-n-M and E

2011-08-24T20:39:00.001-07:00

E. got reacquainted with cousin M.
Since the last time they were together--they have progressed
from the blob stage to actual movement.

I helped them play with toys and kept them from toys
that were little enough to be swallowed.

E. asserted herself as a lefty from the left coast.

She and M. worked on sharing spaces.

There were moments of encouragement.
(I guess this is the kind of thing a girl does when she plays with another girl.)

I tried to supervise and entertain them.

Mostly though--the girls just ran around.

They seem like they have a purpose don't they?

E. found the Dog door which added to her
feats of mobility.

Idaho Expedition

2011-08-23T13:40:00.000-07:00

On our way to Idaho we stopped by to see
my Dad's cousin Brad.

He is always fun.

In Idaho we got to see our Grandpa Ed.

We went to the new lake that had formed
beside the lake that is always there.

Fish were even living in the new lake.

We enjoyed Grandpa showing us everything.

We of course needed to make sure
the toys were all still available.

Once the toys had been located--
E and I immediately started playing.

Swimming Sessions

2011-08-20T21:28:00.000-07:00

I had swimming lessons the last week of June
and my friend M. was in my class.

Most of my time in lessons is spent
trying not to get my hair wet.

My hair got wet around the edges
but I managed not to get the back wet.

What is fantastic about swim lessons at this age
is there is no attempt to try and get you to actually swim.

It's like a having a personal swimming assistant
to do all the work for you.

The last day of lessons they let us put on life vests
and venture into the deep end!

That's me refusing
to jump off the diving board.
As my goal is not to wet the hair--what other choice did I have?

I did jump off the side.

Look no personal assistant just me and the life vest.

After the deep end, it was time to go down the big slide.

My hair finally got wet but it was worth it!

Purple Playground

2011-08-20T14:05:00.000-07:00

This summer I have been trying to
teach E. some important skills.

She is not always as enthusiastic as I would like.

She spends a great deal of her time asking for hugs.

It has been fun to share with her my love of the purple playground.

She can even safely climb stairs when she wants to.

I let her hang out with me for awhile.

Then it was time to push off down the slides.

E. needed some help from Daddy.

Then off she went.

I think she liked it.

Daddy took E. down the straight slide the first time.

Then it was time to let her try it by herself.

I got to catch her at the bottom.

E. did great.

Then it was time for a little hilarity.

We took a little walk around the neighborhood.

Yes--that is me--being my helpful self.

Roaring River Rhododendron

2011-08-19T17:47:00.000-07:00

We went to Lithia to visit the uppity ducks
only to find that they have allowed turtles to become a part of their community.

There were lots of rhododendrons blooming.
Mommy insisted we try and pose by them.

We also played on the playground.
E. is becoming pretty brave.

My Mommy also tried to get us to pose on the slide.

We sat in the OSF square to have a snack.

Then Mommy insisted on more posing.

Here we are with Miss Debbie.

The water in the creek was really moving that day.

There were no ducks and no one was wading.

Roaring.

Sport Sampler

2011-08-07T14:09:00.001-07:00

Daddy took me to a sports sampler
for kids like me.
We got to play some baseball.

I got to kick some soccer balls into hula hoops.

We all enjoyed
shooting some baskets.

I learned some new exercises.

We pretended we were on a team together.

E. just enjoyed kicking back and watching.

Picnic

2011-08-05T16:38:00.001-07:00

It's always fun to eat outside.

My friend--B. and I involved in some post picnic
sandcastle building.

Auto Array

2011-08-04T14:51:00.001-07:00

In June people with cool cars drive them downtown to show them off.
(Yes--I do think Dad probably bought this one for me.)

E. was more interested in showing off her teeth than looking a cars.

There were cute cars you only see in Cars the movie.

This one looks like Santa's Sleigh doesn't it?

I put on my hat in honor of this cool pick up.

We paused for a family picture in front of this corvette.

Then everyone got into their cars
to drive them around town so even more people would
have trouble with that
"you shall not cover" commandment.

E. looked away from the cars as they passed by
I guess it was just too painful for her to say goodbye.

On our walk home we posed in front of this
resplendent red rhododendron.