Flashback

"Some things that happened for the first time, seem to be happening again." - a line from the lyrics to a song I like.

It was a soaker

The northwest coast got pounded last week with an exceedingly wet storm. We got the leftovers in our area which is a lot for us; puddles, spongy grass.
We had little dewdrop jewels on the twigs after the storm.

Doggy Bling

I bought my girl a pink collar with rhinestones. Now she has something 'purty' to wear when company comes. It's juxtaposed with her scarred ear from a tangle with barbed wire, or a nail in a board, or some critter, who knows?
However, she doesn't need a fancy collar to be attractive. I went to the mall today and was browsing in the bookstore when a sweet older gentleman came up to me and said, "Is that your dog in the back of a pick-up in the parking lot?" A momentary feeling of dread passed through me and I said, "Yes." He said she was a good looking dog and wondered what kind she was. I told him about her terrierness and he told me about his schnauzers and then he asked if she was friendly and could he go visit her. I said, "Sure, she would love it." and he walked away. Yes, that's a face that says, "I'll be your friend if you want me to." That is, unless you enter the yard at night. She has developed a terrifying watchdog bark.

Thanksgiving Dinner

B does the babysitting

LL stayed with Uncle B for a few hours in the morning while waiting for Grandma and Grandpa to arrive from Idaho.
A fun cubby hole in the guys' entertainment center.

The Switch is Made

The dining room is the laundry room and the laundry room is the dining room now. The flow is better with the new addition.

The real St. Louis cardinal

If you peer closely on the grassy patch behind the fourth rung to the left of the railing of Rachel's porch, a little red cardinal is looking for seeds or bugs, whatever cardinals eat [The cardinal looks brown]. I took this shot last March when we were there. I was in the house. It was very hard to get a photo of this beautiful bird. They are sharp, alert, and quick. I was always the loser. 'Good inspiration for a baseball team. I don't know how big a fan of baseball Rachel is but one of Luke's favorite songs is "Take Me Out To The Ballgame." On the Cook side of the family is a great tradition of baseball. Grandpa was a big fan. He saw so many of the great ones play; Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig (his favorite I think), Joe DiMaggio. In the old days teams would travel around doing exhibition games. One of my happiest memories of my childhood is Dad working out in the yard in the summer with the San Francisco Giants games being broadcast on the radio. I think the announcers were Lon Simmons and Curt Gowdy. I think I remember when Willie Mays did that famous sensational running backwards catch. If any of my siblings are out there reading this please comment and tell us about your memories of Dad and baseball. I feel like crying right now just thinking about it; happy tears!
When our kids were growing up they weren't allowed to watch television on school nights but the World Series was an exception. Kelsey and Rachel both played softball one summer each. I was Rachel's team coach. She was a dependable batter and I was the worst coach ever. I was clueless and it was horrible and I learned sometimes you just have to say "no" no matter how desparate they are for coaches. And then there was William's little league team coached by Leanord Bay(A terrific kid's coach.) They won the championship one year. William was fast and graceful and gutsy! My heart would stop when he would steal bases. And what could be cuter than when he would slide into base, forward or backward.
And then there was the year Ben made a "resolution" to not strike out once that season in Little League. As the season wore on it was agony each time he got up to bat. I so badly wanted him to achieve his goal. And by golly he did! Cory played in Little League. His team got the 3rd place trophy one year. I don't remember watching him play much, probably because I wasn't there because I was busy with his siblings. (Poor upper middle child) I do remember the summer before Cory got married he was a fit and strong firefighter for the BLM. I watched him playing in a church ball game and WOW when he hit that ball! Jay's experience in Little League wasn't so fun. He only played one year. But he was a strong, dependable batter and had a good arm. He played center field and could get that ball in fast and accurately. My brother Tom had an awesome baseball card collection that he kept in Velveeta cheese boxes. In 2004 Terry coached Sage's softball team to the championship. Uncle Joe (Grandpa's brother) was offered a contract to play for a minor league team based in Twin Falls, Idaho back in those days; the Twin Falls Cowboys. He lived and still does in Erie, PA. What a small world! His oldest son Joe was the baseball coach for an Oklahoma City high school. Ah, such happy memories!

For Samansa

Here is a pic of your furniture so you don't have to worry about how it is doing. In spite of what Tim tells you there are no rips or grape juice stains. Gus enjoys sitting in the papasan.

Excitement in the midwest

Hey Rachel, MLB World Series will be in the midwest!!! The Cardinals beat the Mets in a dramatic finish in the 7th game of the National League series. The Cardinals' young picture struck out one of the Mets' best hitters with the bases loaded in the botton of the ninth. Doesn't the hitter know you never watch the ball go by with two strikes and two outs and the bases loaded?? They will open in Detroit.

Lions & Tigers & Bears, Oh My!

A stroller ride through the deep dark woods of the botanical garden.
It's kinda spooky!
Oh Whew! Grandma's right here!

Sawtooth Valley

As we came over Galena Summit, the valley to the North was covered in fog as far as we could see.


We stopped here to eat lunch. The log fence looks the same as the one Jay made for his Eagle project, only the one he and the other scouts worked on was up the valley about 20 miles.

The Salmon River(The River of No Return) is in the background.

The two x's at the top are pictures that would not post. Anyone else having trouble posting pictures?

Day trip on highway 93

This is an old structure built in the early 19oo's for baths in the hot springs at Sunbeam between Stanley and Challis. It's no longer in use. We drove up to Clayton near here to see a resort ranch that Dad's family is considering for a family reunion in August 2007.
This is one of the hot springs pools people have constructed in the Salmon river near Sunbeam.
We had never seen a sign like this before. This is on the way to Challis. It is a warm dry area in the mountains. I guess wildlife must congregate there in the winter.
Archaeologists have found evidence of bison that were driven off this cliff in the mid 1800's for food for the native people. A Reverend Samuel Parker wrote an account in 1835 about how the bison were hunted. Evidence of a spear point factory are found there too dating back about 1,000 years
Quiz-This is the highest mountain peak in the state. At the bottom of the photo is the crack in the valley floor that occured from the 7.3 earthquake in the 1980's.

Fare thee well our merry mates!

Grandpa's birthday celebration #61
We went down on Friday night and spent the evening at Benjipups and had cake and ice cream for Dad.
This sweet little scene belies the fact that Uncle B was used mostly as a tackling dummy.
Saturday was travel day. This is the beginning of a very long day of checking baggage, clearing security and flight delays. But they are hardy travelers. Thanks for coming to visit! We loved all the fun we had. And I always appreciate the mini-lessons on the computer when any of the kids come home.
We hated to leave the valley before we knew if their flight was leaving so we went up to the bench to the Shoreline trail overlooking the valley for an autumn hike. You may ask, "Why is it called Shoreline trail?" It's because it follows the shoreline of the ancient lake Bonneville of which the Great Salt Lake is a remnant puddle. Yes, #5 child. The experts say that lake really existed.
It wasn't long before we practically stepped on this fellar crossing the trail. Dad spotted it. Even with his botched cataract surgery he was able to see it moving out of the shadows and pointed it out to me. After it registered what it was I jumped back. Then I was relieved to see it was a gentle bull snake. A gentle giant of the snake world. My first thought was of when "Special K" and "Skillum"(aka W) came across a rattlesnake while hiking in this mountain range. And if I remember the story correctly Skillum said, "It made me feel so alive!" Special K wanted to run for her life!
The first autumn colors on the mountains are these maples. They grow in a similar fashion to the scrub oak.
But the scub oak are still green.
After we received the call that they had boarded the airplane we stopped and ate at this restaurant that's on they way home. They raise their own beef and bison. The place is always packed. People appreciate locally grown wholesome food. This is Dad coming out of the restaurant with our leftovers passing all the people spilling out of the place waiting for their turn to eat.
Boy what handsome animals!

Baby,Toddler,Kid

Somebody is getting to be a big boy!
And speaking of big boys, LL explained to me his life history. "I was a baby, then I was a cobbler, and then I'm a kid: but I'm still a cobbler." So, since he is a "cobbler" I got out the cobblers bench for him to play with. However I'd say he is more of a kid now.

Livin' Large with LL

Enjoying a bowl of fresh peaches at the height of the canning season.

All you old timers! Remember the Battleship game? Well, this 21st century kid is playing with his "laptops."
Baking cookies with Mom at Auntie's house. His rallying cry! "Let's get Mixin' "
Nothing noteworthy about this event except that it's touring the city with a three year old so we stop and take time to climb stairs and go up the ramp simply because it's there and it looks fun.
The moms and their boys. It's fun to trade once in a while.
The highlight of a day in the city. Chasing the pigeons. It absolutely cracked him up!


No LL. Don't think about it. Chasing geese isn't as fun.
The gang at an undisclosed location.
Heading back to the car. There is always fun to be had when your three.
Little cousins are soooo cute and irresistable so it's terrible when you have a cough and you can't hug and kiss them. You just have to settle for touching his leg.