Heard Museum

Visited the amazing Heard Museum in Phoenix yesterday, which is dedicated to Native American art, primarily from the southwest.

Started off with a night-day-night glass sculpture.

This is a sand painting!

Later, we met one of Kathie's former MBA students who now works here in the Phoenix area.

David & Donna

We spent two days with David and Donna. Had a great time and found their new home in the desert lovely and the environs fascinating. I liked watching the different birds, coyotes, and other critters nearby. Reading outside on the back patio was very nice, while I remembered the snow and we'll-below-zero temps back home.

Here are a few shots of our time there. Here is David when we visited Biosphere 2.

Donna and Kathie decorated a turtle for their front yard.

And here we all are!

Biosphere 2

We are visiting David and Donna today in Oro Valley near Tucson, Arizona. This morning, David and I went to you the famous Biosphere 2 facility, now owned and operated by the U of Arizona Science College. Here are a few shots of this amazing structure.

I picked up a couple of books to learn more and am eager to find out more about the 1991-1993 "human experiment" that took place then with eight individuals sealed inside for the duration.

Arizona

We are visiting friends in both Scottsdale and Tucson Arizona. Visited the Desert Botanical Garden our first evening. They are featuring a Chiluly glass sculptures exhibit which is distributed amidst the beautiful desert landscape and plants.

Maia's 3rd Birthday and A Catch-up Christmas

Unlike Lake Wobegon, it was not a quiet weekend at our house. It was, however, a very fun and exciting one. Mike and Jess drove down on Friday for the weekend, and Will and Betsy's families also came to town. Today (Sunday) is Maia's third birthday. So, on Saturday, we celebrated the birthday and were also finally able to have everyone here for that Christmas celebration we had intended to enjoy back on December 21st. The entire family, unfortunately except for Travis, was together for the first time in ages.

On Friday, when Jess and Mike arrived, we decided to have Maia open the gifts we had for her birthday. I didn't get a photograph of it, but I had made her a fancy little box for her to keep her treasures. This is what she is opening here.

We were amazed at how much Leo had grown since we last saw him in person at Thanksgiving.

Nana racked up a significant number of points with Maia by getting her this Barbie car, something she had been wanting for some time.

And we gave her an easel that I made, along with an array of paints, markers, chalk, and other supplies.

On Saturday, everyone was here at 11AM for the big party, which had a Hello Kitty theme. One of the events was a pin-the-bow-on-the-kitty game. Here is Eleanor with her attempt.

Many of you know we have eight wonderful grandchildren, and I got my first ever group shot of all of them. From left to right they are: Eleanor, Penny, Maia, Leo, Clara, Henry, Frederick, and Anders.

The big strong arms you see holding up the piñata are those of Will and Rob. This version of the piñata did not involve hitting, thank goodness. Instead, everyone grabbed a string and then all pulled together.

At which point goodies fell from the skies and chaos ensued.

Nana had thoughtfully provided each little one with a bag to be used to load up their collection of candy, little toys, and trinkets.

Frederick was not quite sure what to do. He had started walking since the last time we saw him in November, and so we enjoyed watching him in those rambling red shoes.

There were lots of balloons, including one special Hello Kitty balloon that was for the birthday girl.

They had not all arrived at their chairs at this point, but you can see that the birthday girl was situated at the head of the table, and the cakes, party hats, and other necessary accessories were ready.

Jessica's good friend Melanie and her daughter Emelia were able to join us for the party too.

Although she is a very confident little lady, for some reason, Maia got quite bashful when it came time to blow out the candles. But she did it, getting all three out easily!

We recently bought a fun toy called a Perplexus, which is essentially a maze inside a sphere that you must work a steel marble through. Henry was fascinated with it and worked at it much of the day. One's tongue can be a big help when doing such things.

Anders and Henry did lots of Lego construction too.

Christmas Events, 2013

Weather interfered with our plans to have all of the Decker kids and their families with us a week ago for a day of holiday celebration. Will's and Betsy's families had to stay put due to hazardous travel conditions. However, Rob and his family were still able to be here, and we had a wonderful time. 

Before we opened gifts, Penny enjoyed playing with some of the toys we keep around for our grandchildren to play with when they visit. She discovered some old MicroMachines this time. Penny seems to like things with wheels.

One of the things we gave Eleanor for Christmas was a gadget for making friendship bracelets from embroidery yarn, beads, and such. Grandpa spent a little time helping her get started with it. I seem to have that classic Decker trait of having to hold your mouth just so when engaged in detailed activities. It helps you know!

Eleanor brought a gingerbread house kit along with her. I had never participated in making one before, but I enjoyed it and appreciate Eleanor allowing me to help. She applied her never-ending creativity to the task.

This year, we were also able to host and to enjoy a Christmas Eve dinner with some of our best friends. Kathie set a beautiful and very festive table for the event.

We had decided to exchange gifts, and they turned out to be a fun mix of light-hearted and sentimental items.

Dick received a game to play with his beloved dog, Daisy. Something like a shell game, it allows Daisy to search for a treat. Dick later posted on Facebook a short video of Daisy successfully playing the game.

David received a new "Keep Calm and Carry On" coffee mug.

Donna and Rina each got some new reading material.

I was wildly excited over one of my gifts and used the little finger lights that Kathie put at each of our dinner settings to peer into my package. Meanwhile Kathie enjoyed receiving a coffee house gift certificate.

Canoe Sculpture

Betsy recently posted an entry on her blog which she composed on her iPhone using a new Blogger app. So, I decided to give this a try too. Maybe this will result in more regular postings in the future.

Kathie and I recently enjoyed a wonderful several days in Las Vegas. Saw three good shows (Shania Twain, Jersey Boys, and Cirque de Soleil Beatles Love), had some very nice dinners, and actually won some money for a change. We stayed at the Aria, which we thoroughly loved--we'll definitely go there again. Outside the hotel was an unusual sculpture that we liked. I sent Will and Sandy a picture of it, since they are so into canoes. Here is what it looks like:

Visiting Jessica and Her Family

Since not everyone can be together at Thanksgiving this year, we decided to visit Jessica and her family for a weekend prior to Thanksgiving. Knowing that we would also not be able to spend Christmas together, we chose to bring along some of the Christmas presents too. Maia was excited about opening them.

Each grandchild always receives a US Mint proof set during the holidays. This was a tradition started originally on Kathie's side of the family, and we have enjoyed carrying the theme forward. The sets are a nice way to take note of the years in each life. The older grandchildren are already showing interest in looking at the sets, while the younger ones, unsurprisingly, typically just hand them to their parents and move on to the next, hopefully more fun, gift.

She liked her new PJs and wore them that night.

And she loved her new camera. Now she won't be as tempted to grab her mom's camera all the time, although I must say she has taken a number of interesting keeper pictures in recent months.

Nana taught her how to play her new Cootie game.

Leo is sure growing up. Two months old already, he has doubled his weight and is doing great. He had little to say about the gifting.

Jess and Mike asked me to take some photos of them as a family. Here are my favorites.