In our yard?

As we were sitting down to dinner the other day, a golden eagle lifted up from the hill behind our home and took flight. I had no idea that there were any golden eagles around here. I guess he must have been munching on some little critter in our back yard. I suppose it is too much to think that he was hoping to carry off one of our deer friends.

It's going way too fast for me!

They grow up faster than you can blink!

This weekend another of our grandchildren will be baptized. I remember the day she was born. We were going to have lots of girls in our little grand-family. The promise far outweighed the reality. Now our little girls are attending their "maturation clinics".

These little ones will not be little much longer. Brooke's little Tyler is now walking  crawling ( check out her blog). Michael has a cheezy grin for his kindergarten picture. Sam reads for five hours at a sitting. Max is almost as tall as I am.

The other day, I awoke from a terrible nightmare and couldn't go back to sleep. (I guess it was really "the other night"). I dreamed we were somewhere camping and Cy showed up with his family. Cy loves to be tickled, so I ran over and wrestled him to the ground, pulled up his shirt, and started tickling. Then Cy looked up at me and said "Grandpa! I'm a senior in high school now!" Someday, he will be. And no more tickling from Grandpa.

And this little guy. He never finds any time to go fishing anymore. They all grow up way too fast. Luckily for me, it was just a Scrooge-esque dream. I still have a little time left.

A note from Chelane

Hi Mom and Dad,

I saw your blog when the photos weren't working and I was thinking it was a great chance for me to have you put these photos up instead!  haha  Fun shots vs glamour shots sounded so much better..  But I see you got the pics to work, so I'm too late. :)  I figured I'd send these to you anyway, because they're some of the highlights of my trip so far.  Hope you like them! Love you! (Off to Singapore tomorrow!)

Chelane

 I think she looks just a little worried. It's a good thing that Janene wasn't there.

 Oh My Goodness! Chelane is in Heaven!

 And who are these drips?

 More animals! Chelane - you should have been a veterinarian.

 Angkor Wat - Wow!

 It's a jungle out there.

 Houseboats?

 Neat trick with your camera girl!

Memories of Grandpa Morton

I talked with my Mom the other day about her dad and I was reminded of a few things. It's funny how something like a smell can bring a ton of memories flooding back from years ago. I started thinking about this about a month ago when I caught a whiff of someone chewing Juicy Fruit gum. Immediately, I was in my Grandpa Morton's garage with him working on some project. When he would bend over and tell me something that was just between us and not for Grandma to know about, I could smell the fruity aroma of the Juicy Fruit gum he chewed. Occasionally, if I was good (defined as not letting the screen door slam), I would even get stick of my own to chew.

Grandpa's garage was a heavenly place. He had shelves and drawers just full of fancy gizmos and tools. There were sheets of plywood and pieces of threaded rods and all sorts of things a small boy did not know how to use, but when Grandpa used them, it was like magic. One of the things that really fascinated me was that he had thirty or forty round bottles with their lids screwed onto the underside of shelves that held screws, nuts and bolts, and nails of all kinds. He even had one section where the bottles were screwed onto two boards connected together forming an X. These boards were hung in a way that they turned like a roll of paper towels. You could turn the rack and expose the bottles that had the screws you needed. He said it was one of his "inventions". Grandma always had a bottle of that "Homade Chili Sauce" in the fridge. I never knew whether they really liked the stuff or just bought it so that Grandpa would have a place to rathole some more hardware.

Grandpa had one of those old style shaving brushes that he used with a hand razor. He would work up a lather, spread it on his face and go to work shaving. A lot of the time that I knew him, he had a full beard, but Grandma wouldn't let it get too out of control. Another smell that reminds me of him is the Old Spice after shave that he used. Even though I hear lots of people complain that they don't like the smell of Old Spice, it is still my favorite. I still use it today, even though some think it a bit old-fashioned. It is a small way that I can have Grandpa with me still.

Shortly before Grandpa died, he let me have one of his homemade tool boxes. This one was fashioned out of marine grade plywood to hold his Skil saw and a Craftsman jig saw. He made special holders for a small square and a two-foot level. There are places to hold the extra saw blades and the tools to remove blades and adjust the saw. Grandpa's ingenuity at how to construct this box has always amazed me. I have to admire the workmanship of his hands, especially the small details. He used Grandma's old prescription bottles to hold the small jigsaw blades. This is something that I started doing about ten years ago. I thought it was my own idea. I was surprised to find this pill bottle in the bottom of this toolbox last month. When I open this box, there is a distinctive smell of marine grade plywood. Grandpa always had it around the garage. I don't know if it was leftover from the boats he built or if he just preferred to use this kind of wood. Whenever I smell this smell, I immediately think about Grandpa Morton. I love the smell of the wood, because it reminds me of the times I spent with Grandpa. A lot of these times were when my Mom was sick and we were all afraid that we would lose her. All of my grandparents helped me to understand that our family would protect us kids if Mom didn't make it. This toolbox is not just a memento from my grandfather's life. It is a symbol of the enduring love of family.

Is there a Doctor in the House?

Chelane - Doctor of Pharmacy

The day has finally arrived. Chelane has finished her last day of schooling to become a Pharmacist. Later next month she will officially graduate with a degree from the University of Utah as a Doctor of Pharmacy. The University of Utah College of Pharmacy is one of the most rigorous in the nation and is rated number 4 in the country for research productivity by the National Institutes of Health. Chelane has done this almost entirely on her own and has stuck to it even at times when she wished she could quit.

As parents, we have always dreamed that one of our children would become a doctor. Janene would have made a great Jewish mother. (My daughter, the doctor). We have these thoughts of being taken care of in our old age by our rich offspring. All of our kids are well grounded and won't fall victim to worldly ways, so that probably won't happen. The time commitment for Chelane to do this has been unbelievable. After graduation, she will be serving a residency at St Luke's Hospital in Boise where they specialize in Oncology. This will just add to the nine years of school since she left high school.

Watch for the graduation announcement to come out this month, but we wanted to brag a little about our little girl beforehand. We also wanted to show off some of the pictures that Crystal Gerber took of her on her one day off , before she headed to her rotation in Thailand. We can't express to Crystal what a good job she did with these photos. They are just awesome! I suppose that part of the reason is that she had such good material to work with. I will sign off now before I burst any more buttons.