Honor Roll

I've never believed in rewarding kids for good grades in school. I expected those A's and B's and anything less required a valid explanation.

Until last night. Luis made the Honor Roll at WSU, an accomplishment that he and Judy should both be proud of. We certainly are!

While they went out to dinner and a movie we enjoyed their three adorable kids for a few hours. The driveway is still adorned with their chalk artwork and the jump ropes were given a good workout.

Our neighbors brought over Nardo the turtle and that kept us all entertained for quite a while.

Making playdough, rolling pins and cookie cutters kept the girls busy.

Little Miguelito wasn't thrilled about being away from Mom but as long as his sisters were around he was content.

It was a fun evening!

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Descriptive language skills

Warning: This post contains bad words.

A few nights ago I went out with two of my wonderful neighbors for ice cream. During our conversation one of them offered an apology for her bad language. Puzzled, I asked her what she had said. The sheepish answer: "crap". It seems that this offensive word occasionally pops out of her mouth and causes great embarrassment.

Oh crap, I am in trouble. My favorite and most used expletive is shit. (Please, please, please, don't any of you report me to the blog police!!!) I grew up with this word. It just naturally rolls off my tongue at both appropriate and (more often) inappropriate times. I think it was one of the first words Athena and Eris learned. I'm fairly certain that each one of my grandchildren is familiar with it and has probably had the experience of soap in their mouth because they echoed my utterances learned when they were entrusted to my care.

My friend Jan is a visual person. For many years she quietly endured my endless "shits". One day she explained that whenever I said the word she actually envisioned a pile of brown, stinky stuff. Oh my heck, I felt absolutely terrible about how she had endured this for so long without speaking up. I tried to get her to say it with me over and over so that she would get used to how it sounded and maybe even use it. Each time she "shhhhhhed" the look on her face was painful. Immersion therapy was not successful.

The air quite often turns blue when things don't go my way. Just as Mary Poppins used to sing "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious", I intone "shitfartdamnpeehell" or some other combination of profanities. In the last few years I have advanced to occasionally exploding the f-bomb, but that is rare and saved for those extra special occasions when there is absolutely no other appropriate synonym. Also, I am very particular about who is present at the time. Don't worry, your children are safe.

Which brings me to the point of this post, which hopefully will not upset too many of you. What is the difference between saying "freaking", "flipping", "eff-ing" or "what the f" as opposed to letting loose with the REAL thing? Gosh darn it, I know what you truly want to say.

Oh crap, how many of you have I pissed off?
(Comments will be moderated... my grandchildren read this!)

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Jubee's soccer

For the last few months our Saturday mornings have been spent wrapped up in piles of blankets and often braving cold winds while we watch Jubee play soccer.

This year she played on a team called the Pink Panther People.

I'm not sure what their final win/loss record was but it was definately in the win column.

Jubee usually plays defense and it has been great to watch her skills improve each year.

Way to go, Jubee!

This photo is from 2005, her second year of soccer.
Congratulations on a great season from two of your biggest fans!

$.81 and a wrench (see previous post)

Musings and Memories

Another beautiful, quiet Sunday morning. The sun is finally shining again and the temps are trying to get back to normal, although at 6:30 a.m. I still had to wear a turtleneck and hoodie.
After finishing my usual route I decided to take care of a few errands before untying the running shoes and settling in at home for the day.

Tomorrow is Memorial Day and this means my yearly pilgrimage to the cemetery to place flowers on my Dad's grave. My visit this morning was brief, just a quick look to make sure that all was in order, place the mum in the appropriate place, another quick turn to acknowledge my grandparents and then back in the car to return home.

I don't go to the cemetery to visit with my Dad. He is with me every day. Every penny, nickel, dime and quarter that I pick up reminds me of him. I think of him whenever I find a golf ball and put it in the overflowing jar in the garage. Homage is paid when I come across an old, run-over screwdriver in the street and tenderly carry it home to add to my collection. Athena and Eris understand this.

Dad was a quiet, loving man. Throughout my life I never doubted his love for me. He was there to help raise my daughters when I most needed him. I'm sure there were many times he disagreed with decisions I made but he wisely stayed silent. He is still there when I need comforting.

I miss him.

$3.24 (a new record, for Dad)

Tagged

Last night Eris got tagged. Yes, Little Ms. Eris tagged the TV. Not one of the small ones, she did the big one. It was discovered during the birthday party when the smell of fresh paint drifted upstairs. I didn't see the damage to the TV but I did witness the emotional damage done to Eris as she walked outside pretending to look at the onions in her garden (tears?). Luckily for Little Ms. there was a houseful of guests so she is still alive. At least she was when I left an hour after the incident.

Some graffiti can be works of art. I enjoy seeing colorful railroad cars and abandoned building but maybe that's because I can't draw a straight line, let alone incredible designs.

Shall we take odds on how well Little Ms. does this summer while Eris works from home? Now when does school start?

(Sorry Eris. Remember this?)

$1.55

A boy and his Grandpa

We had no idea how drastically our lives would change on May 21, 1993. Nothing would ever be the same in our home. Gone were the quiet, organized days. New emotions would come at us faster and stronger than we imagined and a protectiveness that equalled parenthood was immediate.

Bubba was born in the late afternoon and we brought him and Athena home the next day. How lucky we were to have them live with us for that first year. Zeus had recently retired and the bond between them was intense.

By the time Bubba was a month old he had already been taken to Grouse Creek. Over the next 15 years he would become his Grandpa's right hand man at the ranch. Riding the ATVs, shooting BB guns and 22s and sleeping on the deck in the tent are favorite activities. They get dirty, stinky and usually come home in the same clothes that they left in. Showers? That's for sissies.
From the beginning Bubba was a traveler with us, making yearly trips to AZ and Mexico as well as many other places. He was always easy to travel with, even on those long 14 hour drives to Ajo.

Early on the two of them became fishing buddies, enjoying day trips to nearby reservoirs as well as guided river trips. They also were known to take off on overnight trips to various other locations.

Just being together was all that mattered to both of them. In the last few years Mr. Eris, Jr. has joined them on most of these trips and they all look forward to their adventures on the road. Mr. Eris, Jr. adores Bubba.

This is one terrific kid. He started us out on the Grandparent Adventure fifteen years ago. We have cherished every minute of it and look forward to many more.

I'm afraid that this post just wouldn't be complete without this photo. There are many things that a kid (or adult) can get away with at the ranch. After I told him he could take a leak anywhere it seemed like every time I turned around this is what I saw!

Eris requested this one. It was taken a few years ago at a Red Hot Chile Pepper concert. The two of them also have a special relationship.

Happy Birthday! We love you!

$.90

Lacrosse 101

Three years ago I was introduced to the sport of lacrosse. Prior to this time my only exposure had been reading about the Duke Scandals in North Carolina so I had no idea what to expect.

The Duchess' husband, hereafter referred to as The Duke, coaches our local high school team. Lacrosse is just starting to catch on in Utah. I'll bet fewer than one in a hundred Utahns have ever seen the rough and tumble action on the field.

At first sight the game appears to be brutal, a bunch of guys with long sticks running up and down the field whacking each other on the arms and legs as hard as they can in an attempt to get the very hard ball that is nestled in a small net at the end of those sticks. The game is fast and intense.

Congratulations to the Duke for being named the Lacrosse Coach of the Year in the state. Yup, you deserve it and we are proud to be your number one fans!

(note: The Duke (coach) is in no way connected to the Duke scandal, other than the big sticks that they all carry!)

$1.27

Girl's Night

Once a month the guys all meet and play poker. Not to be outdone, the girls get together and spend an evening eating pizza, telling wild stories, eating cookie dough, laughing alot and, finally, eating more disgusting stuff, like brownie dough and chocolates.

Last night we added a new dimension, online shopping.

The kids usually watch movies and generally complain because they are bored. Littlest Ms. found her place watching "Where the Wild Things Are" on the floor.

It's always a fun evening with lots of laughter and teasing. The guys can't possibly be having this much fun, except for Bubba who took a good part of the pot home with him!

$.58

Run like the wind

1st Place
Weber School District

Boys Medley Relay

Top Secret

Please note: In the interest of National Security some names and places in this post have been changed or "blued" out.

Not all of you are aware that from the years XXXX through XXXX I served as a secret double agent in the country of XXXXXXXXXX. My covert mission was to track down the enemy and infiltrate their inner circles, eventually gaining their trust. The mission was successful and only a handful ever knew my true identity.

In order to relay information back to Central Command without blowing my cover I was implanted with a microscopic radio-laser-infrared device under my epidermis in an inconspicuous location. This device served me well throughout my years as a secret double agent and many innocent lives were saved.

Now that my patriotic obligation has been completed and I have returned to civilian life it was time to have it removed. This afternoon I was taken to a top secret location in XXXXX where it was excised and whisked away under heavy guard to spy headquarters where it will be analyzed and all the sensitive information it contains will be erased.

Valerie Plame, let's do lunch!

$.04

$1.47

Addendum: Due to the "ewwww" factor, as well as pressure from Central Command and Homeland Security I have replaced the original graphic images in this post with these very benign images of flowers from my garden. For those who missed them, sorry.

As for this entire post, it goes to show that anyone can embellish the story of a little scar into an incredible adventure.

Karma for Kara

Kara, this is for you!

You have always brought smiles to our faces so now I'm sending you some good karma. You deserve it.

See Bubba Run

More sports reports. Our Friday afternoons in the spring are spent at track meets watching Bubba run.

His events are distance runs and it is fun to see those long legs and feet working hard!

These images were taken last week at a meet at where he ran the 400, medley (1st) and 4 x 400 (2nd).

THB teammates

Ahhh, it makes his Grandma proud to watch him run!

$1.03

Whatever turns you on....

To find out what gets Athena and Eris all excited look here and here. I just don't get it.

Your GCs are waiting for you. Happy Mothers Day!

A play date with Keegan

Meet Keegan, our great-grandchild. Keegan and his mom Jodi came to visit this afternoon for a play date with Eris and the Little Mses. Athena also joined us for lunch.



The kids played for about two hours while we visited with Jodi.

Keegan is adorable, although he wasn't sure about that camera!

Jodi, come back soon to play some more!

Hold that pose!

When Jubee was small we would go to the hospital on Grandma Tuesdays to have lunch with Grandmama and the other cute little volunteers. On this particular day Jubee kept crawling in and around her chair. I warned her that she would get stuck if she wasn't careful. Sure enough, she got stuck and couldn't get out. The little volunteers thought I was very mean because I wouldn't help her until I took her picture. Luckily, at that time I carried a purse and didn't have to go all the way out to the car to get the camera!

Thanks Stef for reminding me of this one!

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Little Ms. hits a home run!

Little Ms. Eris played in her first sports game tonight. Watching five-year-olds play t-ball is as entertaining as bunchball with little soccer players. None of the kids, including Little Ms., had a clue what they were doing the first time they came up to bat. When they finally connected they had to be coached on how to run the bases.

By the time the game was over the players all had the general idea of "hit the ball and run around the bases".

Attending track meets, soccer games, lacrosse and now t-ball games is a major part of our lives and we wouldn't have it any other way. If you have grandchildren you know what I mean.

Stay tuned for more sports photos! My grandkids are awesome!

$1.06