July in Alton

Many of my pix are still on my phone, but here are a few fun family photos we took at my mom's garden and in my brother's yard.

Hanging with Grandma

We were so lucky to have Grandma for a January visit!

Some favorites from Hawaii

Hawaii in alphabetical order: beaches, blowhole, dophins, Grandma!, hot tub, Lahaina, luau, new friends Katie and Erica, pancakes, perfect weather, pools, sea turtles, snorkeling, whales.

Playdough sucker

Tristen, Elana, and I made playdough. Here my mom contemplates a playdough sucker.

Grandma meets Tillie

Easter in Alton

Another fine Easter in Alton.

Mom on the mountain

There were a few moments when I thought I might have to call Bo and cop to letting Mom fall off a mountain. But just a few. Overall, she was a TOTAL trooper at Mount Rainier. We spent an evening in the lodge at Longmire and a day hiking at Paradise.

Gus and Grandma

One of our best weeks of the year is the one when Grandma visits. This year, as last year, she overlapped with a time when we dog-sat Gus. Here is Tristen with his two favorite sentient beings.

Grandma!

Thank goodness for grandmas. Mom came for a week this summer -- was joined by Roger, went on a cruise, and came back to share a weekend -- and it was such a gift. She lavished love and attention on our house guests, Bug and then Gus, and on Tristen, of course -- and Chris and me, too. She helped remind Tristen to visit the potty regularly and made a big deal over buying him underwear, which has provoked news I'll post under separate cover. :) Her presence made it possible for Chris and I to squabble to the point of crescendo -- and then turn things around . Mom and I made an Ikea trip. We went to the spa. Fremont Market, dinners with friends, an evening with Abigail, fresh ice cream from the Farmer's Market...all good stuff. We hated to send Grandma back home to Bo!

Easter

Tristen and I visited Grandma and Grandpa for Easter. We usually visit in February or March, but this year we decided to horn in on the huge egg hunt Mom throws for the grandkids every year. Tristen had never hunted for eggs and didn't even know who the Easter bunny was when we got there. But he sure gets it all now!

Some highlights:

• Cousins! Tristen and Elaina were fast friends, as usual. They raced their baby strollers around, had tea parties, dropped matchbox cars down Grandma's homemade ramp (an old piece of house siding), played with playdough, and snuggled up for movie time.
• Will and Ashten: go-fish sharks. Great kids!
• Dena was in fab-u form for someone recovering from salmonella poisoning.
• Bowling! I got to sip an especially yummy, extra-dirty, extra-olivey martini while watching Bo, Dena, JB, and Jennifer round out the bowling season. Third place for the season!
• Bath time at Grandma's.
• Mom and I tried to get Tristen to sit on the Easter Bunny's lap, but he would only stand nearby and stare. Mom took the lap spot in the end.
• Lunch at Olga's with Mom and Carol (Simcox!). Has Carol aged in the last two decades?
• Fun catching up with childhood friend Jeff (Simcox!), also in town for Easter.
• Nice chats with Mom while Tristen napped.
• Evenings on the couch with wine, knitting, movies. Very relaxing!
• An afternoon visit with Mr. and Mrs. Renken. Mrs. Renken had made us cinnamon roll coffee cake -- and she had a special Easter surprise for Tristen. So great to see those guys doing so well!
• Roger -- my partner in crime.
• I had a nice chat with Mrs. Cox, too, after a sunny run on my high school route down Union School Road.
• Pizza with all the Alton Marshalls, Iowa Marshalls, and Sharon and Steve, too. Loud, chaotic, fun.
• The elusive Eleanor quit winning things long enough to join us this time. She had a cold, but persevered. Thank you, Eleanor!
• Easter morning: what would the Midwest be without bacon gravy?
• Afternoon walk with Keith. Memories are written in the cursive of tree branches...
• Easter evening at Bo and Dena's -- thanks for letting me fall asleep on the couch in the middle of it all!

And the egg dying, Easter bunny, and egg hunt? Check out the pix below.