In Praise of La Nina and Bush Park

Is Maggie havin' fun, or what?



The crooked house with a map inside



Engineer Porter



Let's give Nammie a heart attach and rundown this giant hill really really fast



Why collect just 1 leaf when a handful is so much more fun.



I'm going to pretend this stick is a snake and scare Nammie. Hisssssss!



Follow the leader



This is Porter's shot of the group.



Dribbling on the Soap Box track



Finn prefers to carry the ball



There was lots of moo-ing going on in this picture



Resting up before headin' home


Today was another gorgeous winter day in Salem. How often do we ever get to say that? Gorgeous, winter and Salem just don't go together. But this year, thanks to La Nina, we have had a sunny December and since then, several sunny days in January and February. Whenever I have the grandbabies AND it is sunshiny out, no matter the temp (today at 9:00a.m. not yet 40 degrees)we bundle up and head outside. Sometimes to Englewood Park, sometimes to Riverfront Park and sometimes just to the backyard. Today, we took on Bush Park and might I just say. YAHOO! The park was beautiful with just a hint of spring in the landscape. The fun playgrounds were just the right size for 3 little ones. The miles of paved paths made pushing Maggie's stroller a joy AND the bathrooms not only were open, but they were warm and clean. And at my age, bathrooms are a big issue. We stayed for 2 1/2 hours and we all had a blast. We walked all over the park and McCullough Field. We ran up and down hills. We petted BIG dogs and played soccer in Mc Stadium. We picked up leaves and sticks and walked over bridges and around puddles. What a great way to spend a sunny winter morning. Thanks Nina and Mr & Mrs Bush. I appreciate you all!

Ride 'Em Cowgirl

As Maggie doesn't talk much yet, the following is my interpretation of her non-verbals.

I think I'll go for a ride.



I love Dakota.



It's alright Nammie. I'm hanging on tight.



I don't care what you say. I'm going to go really fast.



Please stop taking my picture, Nammie.



I SAID, STOP TAKING MY PICTURE!



OK. I'll be precious again.

It Really Is Incredible

Last week, Porter and Maggie and I took a walk down to the lake. Porter rode his bike and I pushed Mags in her stroller. We took a break at a neighborhood water feature because Porter loves the fountains and there was a pair of nesting Canada Geese sitting on the shore. We played and took pictures and ran around the pond. As I was preparing to take one last picture of Maggie, I bent down to get a close up of her and she batted at my hand and slowly but surely my Android Incredible flew in to the pond. The pond is only about 2 1/2 feet deep but it was a cold day and the pond water was freezing. What to do? Leave my ruined phone staring helpless at me from the bottom of the murky water? Wade into the arctic abyss and make the rescue? See this entire event as God's provision and permission to buy an iphone? Or...ask some landscape guys that were parked on the other side of the pond for help. Not wanting to scream across the park at them, I packed up the kids and walked over and asked to borrow a rake. Nice guys that they were, they drove around and fished out my drenched phone. They gave me some advice on drying the phone out and were on their way. The kids and I walked back home and P & M went down for their naps. I took my phone out on the patio and laid it on a lounge chair in the sun. When AJ came to pick his kids up, he took it apart for me and we put the pieces in a bag of rice and there it sat for the weekend. On Sunday morning Al put it back together and incredibly, everything worked perfectly. I was told by several people in the know that their iphones NEVER would have survived. So thanks Incredible phone, you really are!