The Angelic Look

Granddaughter Mandy and her third child - Aline laid claim to the book that goes with the United States puzzle, and read it every chance she could get - right side up, or upside down.  Doesn't she look like an angel?  However, the evenness of temper was temporary.  She was entranced with the magnets on the fridge.   The favorite is a frog purchased some years ago from a neighbor who was raising funds for the band.  All four feet are on springs, and each one is flat with a magnet in its feet.   Even Dallin, who is much older, took time to play with that one.  Aline tried more than once to carry off a magnet so that she find another hiding place for it.  Every time I asked her to put it back, the lower lip came out and quivered, and she stood still in place, not feeling very friendly at all.  Mean grandma!  Fortunately, there were other toys to play with.

Visitors from Tucson

John, Mandy, Dallin, and Mia came north to visit us - the first time we've seen these delightful great-grandchildren. What fun, discovering the incredible personalities of these two forces. Dallin will enter kindergarten this fall (he knows all of his letters, can write, read, etc. - that will be a challenge to his teachers.), and Mia, at 18 moths is a force to be reckoned with, especially when she has a smile that lights up the universe. Judy asked me if I could understand why she and Bob get such fun out of baby-sitting their two great-grandchildren (Ben's and JoLin's), and I can see their point. However, I think I need a lot more energy to do that. There will be more pictures, but it's wonderful to know that grandchildren we knew in several important phases of their lives grow to be such caring, responsible grown-ups who we can visit with on an equal footing. Perhaps that's what eternity is all about. We'll have an opportunity to get to know people we've only read about, or seen on the genealogy pages, and be on an "equal footing". Life is good.

Marathon Runners and Family at San Diego

Mandy and Sara after the 26-mile marathon they ran in San Diego. Proud father, Ken, reports that Sara ran the course in 5 hours and Mandy in 6. Phew! Husbands John and Phillip and Grandpa Ken took care of the children during the race. Sara taking a pre-race sprint along the beach. Enlarge this one. Two of the cutest great-grandchildren we have - Mandy and John's Dallin and Mia. (We don't have any great-grandchildren that aren't cute, bright, and wonderful, although we have only met Suzanne and Jonathan's Blake to this point. We are hoping to see these two sometime later this week or the beginning of next week.)