Basketball Madness-Bluffton Style

We made our annual trip to Bluffton, Ohio to visit our niece Kelly et al AND WATCH BASKETBALL! And what fun!  Now as we write this blog we're watching Ohio State try to eek out a win over Tennesee.  But I tell you- watching Bailey and Darby play in upstate Ohio beats this game any day. 
But first things first- we arrived in Bluffton on MY BIRTHDAY- So of course this was a good enough excuse for a party!

And it goes without saying that this was a real hit with Anthony!

And our girls, Deseree and Darby (granddaughter and grandniece!) never fail to entertain!

Poor Anthony!  The BIG GIRLS couldn't resist their baser impulses!

But don't you dare worry a bit about Anthony!  Bluffton is THOMAS THE TRAIN HEAVEN!

But enough about the PREGAME FESTIVITIES!  This was about BASKETBALL!

The first game of Saturday was Bailey's- in the semi-finals of the season ending tournament.  AND THEY WON!  What a thriller- but no nail biter- they led the whole game!  For those of you who don't know Bailey, that's her in the red asking for the ball.

And below setting up the inside defense...

Below here going for a rebound

and below shooting...

Bailey was amazing- all over the court- really in the face of the opposing team.  The opposing team had never lost- but then they'd never stood up against Bailey either!

And then we were off to Darby's game!  And that game was a real milestone of the season.  Darby made her VERY FIRST BASKET of her career as a basketball star (like her Grandpa Bill and her Uncle Don)!  And her team won their very first game of the season.  What an exciting day! 

Darby has turned into a tenacous defense player.

And I should not fail to mention that the coach for Darby's team is non other than her beautiful mother- and our niece- Kelly!

  And something that I almost didn't believe, below is Bailey watching Darby's game and just playing around with a basketball.  Then she stood up a held the basketball with one hand.  I worked and worked to do that and finally was able to when I was a junior in High School, three years older than Bailey.

And of course the stands were filled with cheering fans!

Retirement/Vacation Phase 4

Well, if you've been following these blogs you might think our trip to the west took weeks, maybe even months rather than the 13 days we were gone.  But we packed enough in the trip that we might have been gone for weeks... Well maybe not.   I think maybe we just wanted to keep the trip going for a while, and if we had finished these blogs all in one week, it would have been over sooner.  At least now we get to go back and do it all over again in print and pictures.

But before we leave the trip behind we'll finish with the great hike we took with Brandy and Mikayla to Red Rock Canyon just west of Las Vegas.  Will didn't home from his business trip until late on Friday- so he decided to sleep in- go figure- rather than hike the 7 miles at Red Rock.  Don't understand that- huh?  Who would have thought that a 9 month old would be a great hiker?  But then again, her hiking is akin to traveling in a giant RV with all the comforts of home and a staff of servants.  This "backpack" could only be improved by also having a refrigerator built in.

So we packed the truck with the dogs, the baby and lots and lots of gear.  It's amazing how much "stuff" it takes for a little one so, so little. 
And we headed out...

And we just basked in the beauty of the place!  I have to say that people who think the desert is drab or boring, either have never been there or never looked around if they were there.  There is so much to see in almost every direction if one just takes time to look.

Below is the reason they call this Red Rock.  It's difficult to tell from this picture, but these sandstone formations are enormous.  I took this picture from about a mile away.

This was our view at the start of the hike.  Our destination was just about to the base of those mountains.

And I thought you might like to see my view!  It's not that Brandy and I were jogging or anything.  Max just walks at a different pace, usually regardless of whatever pace we had.  I think she just likes to keep an eye on us.

Yep you got it.  I bring up the rear- Always- I just wouldn't know what to do way out in front!

But they would pause- and wait- and wait- for me to catch up!

I caught up!

And then Mikayla needed a diaper change- have no fear- we have gear!  As I said, this "backpack" has everything a kid would need.  In this case it was a fold out changing pad, nice to have to keep her soft tush off those rocks.

And we stopped for a bit of a snack..

But I have to tell you- Mikayla is an absolute doll!  She loves this "hiking" adventure!

This "rear view mirror" is also part of the backpack.  Gotta make sure all is well in the back seat.

And then close to the end we stumbled upon a group of wild burrows..

Don and the dogs...

But then finally our trip had to end- and we boarded our flight to the east.  And discovered that winter was still awaiting us!

Welcome  Home!

On the upside, the parking lot had folks there who helped us clean the car off and get it out of this snow bank that built up around our car while we were gone.  But we did get off the plane with only light jackets totally unready for the 20 degree weather, ice and snow.  But it was good to get home and even better now to finally finish this blog.

Retirement/Vacation Phase 3

I have a "To Do" list- I do, really I do!  But then somehow I do something else. And I've been meaning to finish our story of our adventure west.  Don is waiting- he has started his part. But then I get distracted. But I'm focused.  I promise.  I'll stick with it.  This story will be told!
After the time with Clint and Marianne and our BABES, we were off to Las Vegas- and Brandy and Will and the newest of our BABES. 
This short vacation that Max and I took out west seems to have been significantly shorter than these blog posts that describe it, but then again, I'm retired for now, so what's the hurry?

Twenty-nine Palms is pretty much in the middle of nowhere which isn't so bad for a place where the military wants to train Marines for deployment to Afghanistan.  Our drive there from Las Vegas using our GPS took us on I-15 west and then south for a while and then back east again.  Marianne suggested a more direct route that took us almost straight east to Vegas and directly across the Mojave Desert.  One nice thing about crossing this desolate but beautiful terrain is that there are not many curves in the road.

This road didn't really have curves unless it came upon some of the mountains that rise out of the desert.

But other than these mountains we were pretty much alone with the desert.  I've never spent much time in a desert- much more of a personal history in the "wetter" ways of the land- Hawaii, Lousianna, then to the dryer Oklahoma, and now here in Ohio- where it rains enough to grow the very tall trees that Don so loves.  But the desert- now I've not much experience with the desert.  But oh my does Don ever love the desert! So I always look out upon this world colored by his awe.  I do think probably you can only find true quiet in the emptiness of the desert with it's absolute sparseness of life- both animal and plant. And you start noticing tiny little details- of landscape- and plants- in the absence of the "abundance" of other places.

So we set across the Mojave desert.  Then as we rose in elevation on the Cima Road that crosses this desert we came upon a large Joshua Tree forest; in fact it is the largest known Joshua Tree forest .  It sits atop an enormous dome of granit the rises out of the desert and apparently provides a climate that the Joshua Trees thrive in.

On our arrival in Las Vegas all attention on the terrain was refocused on one little girl, Mikayla.  Unfortunately, our initial introduction to Mikayla was somewhat tramatic.  This little girl was beginning to recognize strangers and suddenly her backseat kingdom in the car was invaded by a strange woman who wanted to be best friends.  Mikayla insisted on formal introductions before any such friendship could take place and subsequently screamed in anguish all the way from the car rental drop to Brandy's house. Now that was one very, very, very long car ride!  As I sat beside Mikayla, her mother started the car and Mikayla started sobbing, deep sobs, sobs with real tears.  And she kept it up the whole way.  I was more than just a bit concerned.  Here I was, half way around the world to see this little one, the little one who had adored me just a couple of months ago at Thanksgiving, and now I was welcomed with sobs.

Fortunately, once appropriate introductions were completed, she very quickly realized that she had this grandmother wrapped around her smallest finger, a situation which continued for the duration of the trip. We got out of the car, Brandy took Mikayla from the car seat and said "Mikayla, your Grama is here to visit" and she looked up at me- eyes still a bit misty and red from all the tears- smiled- and we were inseparable for the rest of my visit!

This is NOT a picture of Mikayla during our ride home!

But this adventure wasn't about sleeping babies...

And Mikayla is crawling- so quickly she'll decide that maybe the cords to the TV or computer or outlets or the dog's water bowl are so, so, so much more interesting than these toys!

And of course there was BATH TIME- the time of unending joy!  I'm with Mikayla on this- I love the long, long, long lingering bath/shower!

And the weather is Las Vegas was amazing- perfect- 65 to 70 degrees- no wind- perfect blue skies!  What a reprieve from winter in Cincy!

And Will cooked an amazing brisket in his smoker!

Daddy and his little girl!