In Ohio with Baby Reese

This wee cherub - Ms. Resse - provided ample motivation to go to Ohio.

What is it about holding a baby?

Unquestionably, it enlivens the soul.

Perhaps all wars would cease
if every adult on the face of the earth would hold a baby for ten minutes a day.

What do you think?


All three of the elder sisters absolutely adore their baby.

The eldest, Brinley, is actually a first-rate mother's helper,

at the mature age of 8.

Leah bounced back from this birth like a schoolgirl on a pogo stick.
I had such a delightful time with her.

Here she is wearing a baby wrap made by my goddaughter Paige,
who happens to be Leah's beloved friend.

My job was to entertain the older munchkins and brush up on my cooking skills.

The entertaining part was hardly a chore!

These little gals are absolutely FEARLESS.

Miss Avery, age 5, will try anything. . .

. . . like rolling downhill at a terrific speed, collecting a face full of snow.


One evening, we headed to an indoor community pool with a lazy river.
I didn't bring the camera, so I'm recycling last year's trip to the same destination.
Is that cheating?

On a weekday afternoon, I had the privilege of taking the gals to Dr. JoJo, their pediatric dentist.

It was the first time for little Aspen and she wanted to hold my hand the ENTIRE TIME.

She had a very willing grandma.

Dr. JoJo has the world's best selection of prizes for brave little children -
about 20 drawers worth!

I felt honored that Brinley wanted me to join her for school lunch.

We did the exact same thing when Baby #3 was born.

Baby #3 is the same little tadpole who's leaning in towards me during this story time shot.

I absolutely loooooooove STORY TIME!

But when I was a mom, I remember executing merciless on-the-spot editing
when I was bushed.

Nowadays, I an stretch out those story books for a long, long time
. . . and enjoy every minute of it.


The three big sisters have been sleeping in one bedroom,
just like my kids did.


They seem to like being together at night and I relished getting to tuck them in.

Then, after the lights were out, came the very best part of the evening . . .

traveling to MAKE BELIEVE LANDS.

You can have countless adventures, as long as you have a
MAGIC CARPET!


I'm gonna miss those whippersnappers
their dear mom (especially their dear mom!)
the new baby
Kelty who arrived on Thursday to take my place.


Something I will not miss: the Ohio slate-grey skies.


Utah skies are full of drama.

In fact, here's the sunset shot I took twenty minutes ago, from the living room window:

Such exquisite beauty is a consolation. Sort of.

Joel in Ethiopia

Recently, Joel and his parents came for a visit to Utah.

The above shot includes the five of us who went to Ethiopia,
Joel, his Ethiopian mom Iman, his Californian dad Mike, and Nancy the Grandma, and me
along with
my son-in-law and granddaughter thrown in for good measure.

I only wrote one blog post about traveling to Ethiopia and that's something I regret.

So I'm going to share the delights of experiencing Ethiopia with 5 year-old Joel as a travel mate.


Joel was beloved by just about everyone. He made friends almost instantaneously.

He loved giving out ballpoint pens to children he met on our journeys.

Pens were in short supply in Ethiopia and everybody greatly valued such a gift.

It's very hard for us to imagine, but it's true.

Joel could be hilarious and he kept us in stitches.

(BTW, these reed boats really do float.)


This little man didn't hesitate to try new things:


(Notice the little girl holding on to my hand in the background of the above shot.
Children would just find your hand and become your buddy before you even realized it!!!)


The Ethiopian Coptic priests would take great delight in giving Joel a blessing.

Literally, he was irresistible!

Like his father, he was always ready for adventure.

Of course, his grandmother and her friend were pretty great adventurers too!

But there's nothing like a radiant child to open doors when you're traveling the world.

Nothing.

Rather Random

This post is a collection of recent unrelated, random shots.

These ultra-high-top shoes are securely tied to the legs of one of my Lovely Lassies.

Bizarre fashion statement, don't you think?

(The young lassies came to my place yesterday and learned about careers from three savvy women:
a lawyer, a nurse and a business owner.)

This was bizarre, too.

I came across a unicyclist on the canyon trail. Quite unexpected.

Then, there was this decorated Christmas tree - just above the trail on US Forest Service property.

I know. The holidays are soooo over.

But the wild pine loaded with ornaments is still there, encouraging people like me to ask questions:

Who did this? Was young love involved?

Here's Duane, my son-in-law, with his younger sister on his shoulders . . .
experiencing the sensuous texture of the canyon moss.


Finally, a decent show of snow.

Shockingly late, but we didn't complain.

Still, no rules against GRILLING during the snow season.

Barbequed these yummies for some friends who gathered last weekend.

Fireside chats mixed with healthy vittles = the BEST.

Is that RANDOM enough?

asks my granddaughter, Ms. Rella, with a purple plastic necklace hanging out of her mouth.