Dogs

Bailey and Zoe

Dogs have been a part of the family for quite some time.  Gail grew up with dogs but I did not.  Shortly after Valerie was born, they family took a vote on whether or not to get a dog.  Valerie couldn't even talk yet, but she voted for the dog. 

The first dog was Bailey, a Cocker Spaniel.  He was conceived accidentally when one of Gail's friends left her dog in heat outside.  I affectionately called him butthead.  He wasn't real bright. 

Gail, on the other hand, is very bright and good at training dogs.  As long as she was holding treats in her hand, Bailey would do most anything.  She even made him a performing dog as attested to by the entry into Maria's 4th Grade Talent Show.  He was probably not the dog she would have picked, but he was a dog.

The second dog in the picture is Zoe, an Australian Shepherd rescue dog.  He came about because as Bailey was getting old, I asked her if she wanted another dog.  Before I knew it, she had found one and was training her as well. 

Professor Henry Jones Jr,
i.e., Indy

Bailey passed away in May, 2004.  Zoe in 2013.  She talked me into another dog about 6 months later.  Indy is an "All American Black Dog", i.e., a Lab mutt.  She's trained him well, although he probably gets away with more than the other two did.  You know how it is with the baby of the family. 

From Mother to Daughter II

Maria's daughter just turned two years old today.  For her birthday, we passed down a memento from her Grandmother.

When Gail was little, her father made her a cradle for her doll.  As she grew, her parents stashed it away and when Maria was two years old, passed the doll cradle down to her.

Now, years later, Maria's daughter turned two, so we pulled out the cradle from storage, cleaned it up, gave it a new coat of varnish, and made her a quilt that matches a quilt Deanne gave her when she was born.  By that evening, it once again had a doll inhabiting the cradle and was being taken care of by her "Mommy". 

From Mother to Daughter

Long ago, when Gail was growing up, her parents gave her a small rocking chair.  As a young child, she played with the chair, first sitting in the chair then using it for her dolls and other stuffed animals.

When Maria was a year old, Gail's parents found the chair, cleaned it up, and presented it to Maria for a Christmas or Birthday gift.  She followed in her mother's footsteps, sitting in it and then using it for her dolls and other stuffed animals. 

A year ago, we took it down out of the attic, cleaned it up, and gave it to Maria's daughter.  It sits proudly in their living room, and is used daily for sitting and displaying dolls and stuffed animals. 

It's held up this long, so maybe in another thirty years or so, it will be used by another generation.  Only time will tell. 

Summer Vacation 2003 - Washington, Oregon, Northern California

As the kids were growing up, we made it a point to take summer vacations, and given the number of people, it was usually a road trip.  We frequently traveled long distances, so we had plenty of time in the car.  One popular activity was keeping a journal of our trips.  I found this while cleaning out some boxes late last year.  It contains our road trip to Oregon.

I apologize for the lack of resolution in some of the pictures, the scanner had difficulties with some colors.  And I made the images pretty big so that there's a chance you can read them. 

This was also the trip where one of my favorite pictures was taken. 

Happy Birthday

Today is my oldest daughter Maria's 30th birthday.   After her daughter was born, we were going through a box that said "Maria's Mementos" and came across many things.  There were cards from baby showers, letters and cards after her birth, her first shoes, and these from the hospital.

The hospital where she was born no longer exists, we've long since sold the house where we took her home and virtually everything else from that time has been trashed, given away or recycled.  

But we still had the card and the wristbands from that day, one of the best days of my life (and there have been many). 

Requim for a Tree

Earlier this week, a storm in Northern California blew down a tree in Calaveras Big Trees State Park.  (Drive-Through Tree Felled by Winter Storm)  In 2009, we took a vacation to the Sierra Nevada's and happened to stay at Angel's Camp. 

One of the days, we visited Calaveras Big Trees State Park, and found the famous Drive-Through Tree.  Although you could not drive through the tree anymore, just standing inside the tree was pretty impressive. 

Although cutting a hole through the tree probably hastened it's demise, I don't judge those who did it.  Death is just another part of the cycle of life.  The remains of the tree will decompose and become nutrients to the next generation of Sequoias.  

Favorite Pictures: Daughters on Sea Lion Statue

In 2003, we traveled down to Arcata, California for summer vacation.  We spent much of the time driving along the coast in Oregon and Northern California.  Along the way, we stopped at Sea Lion Caves in Florence, Oregon.  We saw this statue, Stellar Sea Lion Family, and decided we needed to have a family picture as well.  

Camper

When we were in St. Louis, we frequently went camping with our friends from church, Dan and Donna.  Their daughter, Rachel, was about the same age as our oldest two and they all loved to have little sleepouts in their camper. 

A few years later, Dan called us up and asked us if we wanted to buy the camper.  We agreed, and we then began dragging the kids around the country in the camper.  It went with us to Yellowstone, Glacier, Utah, Oregon, California, and many places between.  The most notable was 15-days straight when we were moving from Iowa to Washington (via the Grand Canyon). 

Now it's primarily used once or maybe twice a year.  It makes a great shelf in the garage.  This year, I had 4 days off around the 4th of July holiday, so we went camping near Mount Rainier. Deanne was able to come, and Maria and Chris came up from Oregon to visit for a bit.  It's showing its age, and there are fewer parts than there used to be, but we still enjoy getting out in the "wild". 

Maria

Practicing for the chorus line?

Maria was born about 2 1/2 years after we got married.  We went through all the newly pregnant parent stuff, like baby classes, buying a house, outfitting the baby's room and buying a station wagon.  We had a couple of ultrasounds, but we decided we didn't want to know the gender of our child.

Maria's labor was a somewhat interrupted.  Gail woke up early in the morning with contractions, so we went to the hospital where they strapped a baby monitor on her and made her lay on her back.  So, the contractions went away and a few hours later, we found ourselves at home.  We had a regularly scheduled OB/GYN appointment at 1 in the afternoon, so when the contractions started again later in the morning, Gail just suffered through them and went to our doctor's appointment.

Luckily, the hospital was right next to the doctor's office, because when we got there, he told us to get in the wheelchair and head over to the hospital.  By then, labor was well underway, and a few hours later, we had our oldest daughter.

I first heard the name Maria from the musical West Side Story.  Gail liked it as well, but thought it should be pronounced Mar-eye-a.  I guess I won that one.

Life comes full circle, with Maria and her husband Chris now expecting our first Granddaughter in September.  (They decided to find out sooner.)

Daughters

One of my favorite images also dates from our summer vacation in 2001 and includes a photo of my daughters.  They are hiding behind a tree we found while hiking or camping, and I liked the juxtaposition of the knarled trunk and the faces of the girls.

When we were pregnant with the youngest, I was often asked if I wanted a boy.  My response was always that I hoped it would be another girl, since I had two older sisters growing up.  I couldn't imagine growing up as a boy with three older sisters.

The oldest, Maria, is now married and is expecting in September.  At their ultrasound, they found out that they were expecting a girl.  Carrying in the family tradition, I guess.

Looking forward to spoiling another generation.