Grandkid Time

Betsy and her family were here this past weekend. Rob's family also joined us one evening. So, here is a collection of grandkid photos taken during that time. Since we hand't seen Henry, Clara or Frederick since Christmas, it was good to catch up. Frederick sure has grown! Here he is with his big brother.

I understand his paternal grandfather calls him Bruiser. He is quite the cute, chunky, little boy.

Henry found a special place to read his books.

And I got all three of the siblings to pose together.

The girls found a box of play jewelry, and Penelope tried on several items. When she struck this supermodel-like pose, I of course had to capture the shot. I love this picture!

I used to say I was ready to be a grandfather but that I wasn't getting help with that problem. Now, all of a sudden, there are seven with another on the way. Bring it on!

Clara and Eleanor are into My Little Pony and other tiny creatures and stories.

I taught Fritz a song about teapots, because I thought the "short and stout" part fit him particularly well. Please pardon the "Grandpa voice."

Belated Birthday Celebration

Until Saturday morning, we had not had a chance to celebrate Rob's birthday with him. With illnesses in January, traveling, and other complications, we had, in fact, not been able to be together at all since Christmas. So it was especially nice to meet for breakfast.

Penny was quite the little flirt. I like to think it was just because she had been missing her grandfather.

Eleanor is continuing to work on her detailed drawings and related stories.

Here's the whole family. (Lucky for Rob that Iowa did, in fact, beat Nebraska in the afternoon men's basketball game!)

Garbage Glitch (With Extra Added Attraction)

First...the extra added attraction. During the last half year or so, we have occasionally seen Pileated Woodpeckers near our home in Iowa. Kathie was able to collect this proof last week. Although she didn't have a telephoto lens readily available, you can make out the guy/gal on the side of the branch of one of our trees.

Then, last week Tuesday, we had a pretty good snow storm, leaving our roads covered. This is the day that garbage pickup is done. Unfortunately, the farmer who plows our roads and the garbage truck arrived at the same time. Our roads are pretty narrow. The farmer maybe didn't move quite far enough to the right for the truck to pass. The truck driver maybe thought he had some extra shoulder on which to drive. However, the truck slipped off the road and into our yard, which banks down pretty sharply from the road. Even with chains, the wheels just spun, and so the truck was stuck. I was a little concerned about it tipping, given how steep the bank is there.

The driver called another of the company trucks, which was evidently nearby, and soon we had a second truck available.

Eventually, they were able to get the first truck back on the road.

Of course, it is always necessary in such circumstances for a bunch of old guys to stand around to commiserate and offer opinions as to what should be happening during such an exercise. Here I am with the farmer and the garbage truck driver talking the situation over shortly after everything was back to normal. Not shown is me falling on my butt when I stepped on some snow laying atop glaze ice which was under the snow here and there. I thought our yard might have gotten chewed up by this mishap, but now that melting is beginning to occur, I can see that everything is pretty much as it should be.

New Do

My significantly better half decided, a few days ago, to take the plunge for a completely new hairstyle. I have always liked longer hairstyles, but recently, I've noticed a number of very attractive shorter styles and commented about them to Kathie. So when she suggested she might do this, I encouraged her. Honestly, when she came home and walked in the door, I was blown away. I think she looks terrific and thought you might want to see the results too. In fact, I immediately thought we should have a date, so I changed and shaved and took her out for a nice dinner at our favorite restaurant.

One funny story to share: On her way home from the stylist's shop, Kathie decided to stop to see her mother and share the results with her too. Her mom was playing cards with friends when Kathie walked in. She said, "Hi!" Everyone responded, but then one of the friends said, "Who are you?" Kathie said she was Jane's daughter, at which point her mother turned and said, "Oh, I didn't know who you were either!" Diminished eyesight may have had something to do with this, but I suspect this new, modern look kept her from seeing what she usually expects to see.

Finger Painting!

Maia was excited to see new snow this morning.

Nana wants her to be a true north woods girl, so she helped Maia put footprints, handprints, and her name in the snow.

Then it was time for finger painting, which includes donning one of Nana's special painting T-shirts.

 We start with a little blue.

Then add some green.

Red is always a nice addition.

And finally, some yellow!

What do you think of the masterpiece? It is now drying on the side of our refrigerator.

Snow and Other Fun

The snow has been very pretty up here in Wisconsin. The temperatures have been quite tolerable for crisp cold walks with the dogs or trips to the mailbox. Mostly, it has been below freezing, although the sun on dark surfaces like our deck frequently results in some melting. The birds have been delightful to watch–I've had the feeder filled since we arrived–mostly Chickadees but lots of other species too and a few squirrels.

I've gotten lots of good exercise, including some snow shoveling and lots of skiing and snowshoeing. I've done several trips around the perimeter of the bay in front of our cabin (up to the river, along the far shore, down to the bridge, and back to the cabin). I feel lots better when I'm exercising and look forward to getting out nearly every day.

Tighe likes the snow too. Josey as well, although I don't have pictures of her in the snow.

Kathie took this picture. She says it shows a contented old retired guy. (I might have made part of that up.)

Tighe likes bully sticks. We are told they are dried bull penises. (Really! You can't make this stuff up!)

Jessica and Maia are spending the week with us. Mike will be over in a couple days. Maia gets very excited about the pinball machine. She knows all the buttons to push at the right times.

Kathie and Jess have started a picture puzzle. I may have to help, being the puzzle meister that I am.

This morning, our neighbor brought her grandson Tyler over for a visit. Tyler doesn't get to spend much time with other little people, so this chance to play with Maia was not to be missed. He's a cute little guy just a couple weeks older than my grandson Fritz, who he will have to meet this summer.

Tyler's grandmother is one of his best buddies. We love having such good neighbors nearby.

This afternoon we took Maia out for an adventure on the snow on our lake. I pulled her around in her new sled for awhile. She was a real trouper and seemed to love every minute out there.

Grandma (Nana) was snowshoeing alongside us.

I had to make a snow angel for Maia. A girl who has relocated from Tennessee to Minnesota needs a little instruction in such things. Couldn't get her to try it out, though.

North for Winter

Sad to say, but we just can't seem to get a good, honest winter in Iowa anymore. All we get are wet, sloppy, gray messes, if that, and few really nice cold temperatures. So, our property in northern Wisconsin is a nice place to escape to in the winter, because we do get good snow and cool air up here.

I bought Kathie her first pair of snowshoes for Valentine's Day this year. What a nice, romantic gift you're probably saying! Here she is donning them for her first-ever outing.

She thinks they are quite light and easy to use. I was impressed at how quickly she took to them.

I had been out on mine yesterday for a hike up to the river entrance and back. Today, I did most of the perimeter of the bay on which we are located. I'm a little out of shape and need to re-lose some weight I gained during the holidays, so this has been good exercise, even though my muscles are complaining a little.

Here's Kathie in motion.

I snapped this shot of our place near the conclusion of this morning's hike. We are supposed to get more snow this afternoon and tonight. Looking forward to it.

Christmas 2012 Round 2

A few days after the actual Christmas holiday, the remainder of our family members came to celebrate the season with us. I didn't take lots of pictures that day, but I want to share one of each of the grandkids and offer a few thoughts as the new year begins.

Clara will be five in just a few days. This year she is enrolled in a preschool hosted at her local community high school and which provides the high school students with an opportunity to learn about early childhood education and care. Clara seems to love her time there. I love her affectionate nature and always-charming smiles. She recently asked me to install a mail slot on the treehouse I built for her and Henry last spring, so now she sometimes gets mail delivered there from her Grandpa Bill.

The newest member of the family, Frederick, shares my father's name, so I sometimes get to call him Fritz, as Dad was usually known. Fritz turned three months old on Christmas day. He has lots of fun outfits, including this Mr. Cable-knit ensemble. A very happy baby so far, he is starting to watch everything and everyone and is smiling and talking. We don't know what he is saying, but it is fun to have conversations with him nevertheless! And I'll take all the cuddling I can get too.

The oldest of the lot is Henry, who turned eight just before Thanksgiving. How is that possible? He is showing potential as an engineer, what with all of his Lego fabrications and inventions. Because he reads all kinds of books, I like to challenge him with things like Totally Irresponsible Science and Oh Yuck! The Book of Everything Nasty. It remains to be seen how much his parents approve of the grandfather's selections. I like it that he enjoys baseball and is showing improved skills in that regard. It is easy to be proud of him and to admire the love he shows his sister, brother, and parents.

Eleanor is in kindergarten this year. I love her alluring smile and sweet nature. When she arrived for our day together, she handed me a beautiful hand-made card which reads, "I love you. Love Eleanor." That was good for a whole day of warm feelings and extra hugs. Eleanor likes to read and also to tell stories, especially fantasies involving elves, fairies, gnomes, woodland creatures, My Little Ponies, and other characters. (You may have seen a prior posting of a small woodland home I made for her.) Her artistic skills have become quite detailed and involved–I'll have to get her together with her Great Aunt Paula sometime soon.

Her Pop says she is the happiest little person he knows. Penny is nearly 1-1/2 years old already. Like her sister, she loves to read too. Her favorite book when here is a picture book and story that her parents made for us when Eleanor was just two. Penny asks me to read and reread that book to her when she visits, and she like pointing out all the familiar faces in it. We also play together with the farm set that my sister made for me (specifically designed to help me educate the grandchild about our rural roots). Penny knows all the animals and their sounds, and she seems to be fascinated with our dogs, especially Josey. The way a happy little person like this can warm your heart is quite amazing.

Anders turned four last September. You have to inlcude "Mr. Energy" as a descriptor when thinking about him–he was riding a bicycle by the age of three. He still loves music, especially anything by Johnny Cash (he knows several of those songs by heart), but his interests are expanding. He received a real, tiny violin for Christmas (might once have been his Aunt Betsy's), and I bet he will work at learning to play it. Pirates are another huge interest these days. Last year he was Johnny Cash for Halloween, and this year he was a pirate. Anders has a dog named Kelso (works nicely for singing the song about a dog named Bingo). He likes being at their northern lake property, and he and I have enjoyed time at our Wisconsin home catching fish, snow shoeing, and cross-country skiing. I always receive a big hug when we see each other. We look forward to a trip to Disney World together this spring.

My mother, in her later years, said that grandchildren were God's reward for growing old. She was right! She also once wrote a short story for children called The Most Wonderfullest Treasure which culminates in the reader learning that grandchildren were her treasure. Mom was very perceptive.