Jeremy and Kristin came for a quick visit to kick off the summer celebrations. I picked up Jeremy from the airport and he was so excited to see me that . . . he promptly fell asleep.
But I took him wine tasting and he was grokkin' on this dog and then had a little bromance going with Todd Taylor. Seriously. It was like I wasn't even there.
Then Kristin and her D's showed up and I played the doting and only sometimes annoyed auntie. See how D2 loves his pizza and veggies?
Cute Ds. The cutest. And if that girl keeps growing up so fast, I am going to scream.
Where's D2? Find Uncle J and you will find D2.
Exhibit A
B
C
and D
Precious. I like it when their mouths are closed.
Do you want me to sit in the back? "WE WANT TO SIT WITH UNCLE J!!!!" Ah. Point taken.
Can't blame them. He's a pretty cool guy.
[i got a new computer and i can't figure out how to rotate the photos and make them stay rotated. tilt your head.]
before the big scary cobra ride, for which devma is tall enough!
said cobra
more excitement going in then coming out.
it's the kind that dangles. they wouldn't let me go on because i didn't check my bag. it's a dumb rule, but so it goes. i would have gotten an 'after' picture, but i busy comforted the rather shaken little girl who stepped off this ride.
D2 is actually a bright kid, despite how he represents.
but he is a little bit of a doofus, just like he presents.
i'll endeavor to rotate the photos in the future. this is D2 showing he is indeed tall enough to ride this ride!
though i'm not sure how happy he is about it.
JBird resurges his baseball career.
for an excellent cause.
why yes, that is a gigantic alligator.
then i took j-bird to the water slides at my gym. he figured out how to go faster and faster.
it's not easy to get a shot of someone coming out the chute of a waterslide.
here are devma's feet coming out.
and then when they were thoroughly exhausted, they all went home. fun couple of days. it took about a week to de-kid my house though.
A little hard to describe why this is so freaking funny. I think I caught most of the story, but the beginning starts off, "did I ever tell you about the worst job I ever had?" And what follows is how this guy ended up as a cook on a wagon train or whatever -- he complained about the cooking, so the cook said, "All right wise guy, you think you can do better? Gentlemen, meet our new cook!" It's from a variety show type thing about the history of Colorado Springs that used to play every summer. I think the funniest thing is that my brother has it memorized, front to back, and the show hasn't played for 10 years or so. I think.
We might not be Peter Paul & Mary, but we sure mean every note, every word, every mis-laid attempt at harmony. This is the downstairs of my mom's house on Feb 8, 2011. It's dark, but my dad is playing guitar surrounded by family, friends, and lots of kids. This is what it is to be a Rowan -- all right here.
You gotta love the little girl who comes up to ask Karen if she's alright, and then sits down next to her.
Over the long weekend last week, I went to LA to visit my grandparents, et al. It was a nice weekend and I got lots of computer help, some good chats, a long giggle (when Gram kept saying "bitch"), and lousy nights' sleep, as usual.
I found out when I got there that my Gramps had somehow broken through the "indestructible" glass of the shower. A shower that was built specifically for him for ease of use. Two contractors came to look at it and both said, "This stuff just doesn't break. It's not supposed to break." Hm.
The glass was still there when I got there, and armed with my gram's gardening gloves, I went to work.
Before:
And after:
Then I spent a few hours at the party supply shop weighing bags of chocolate for candy-making. It was just like I was 8 years old again.
I've been scanning old photos lately and tonight came across this one:
Taken in 1980 on a family trip to the East Coast. A little unnerving.
And this flattering little ditty of my brother at around 10 months. Cute little bugger, in't he? [He doesn't read my blog, or I would think twice about posting it.]
And finally -- it's kind of funny to learn that my parents find funny the same sorts of signs that I do. Or at least, one of them did at one time . . . [if you look closely, you can see that both regular and unleaded gasoline is offered and that gas looks like it's about $1.21/gal. also -- don't miss the name of the place.]
Scanning photos that are anywhere from 38 years old to 20 (or so) years old is kind of a trip. Another time. Another place. And full of people who no longer are. People who never imagined they would be who they are now.
I got to ride with her on a borrowed bike for a little while -- she's speedy and excited. I did, for the record, adjust both of her helmets to fix the issue you see below. She's a pretty sharp kid with a head worth protecting.
I spent a long weekend in Colorado with family and thunderstorms. It was lovely. My sister and I laughed so hard we cried, we made good food, I let Devma go to the ice cream place for lunch (she suggested we eat something 'good for us' first -- I told her it was up to her), I sat in the hot tub, saw old friends, and didn't get enough sleep. Thanks all!
Sitting around outside before a little BBQ, the D's riding bikes, doing tricks, and generally entertaining the indulgent adult-contingent. D2 agrees to show us his somersault (after some coaxing and bribing):
You know you're getting old when . . . You introduce a lovely young woman, college graduate, who has already left one career and is pursuing another, amazingly poised, interesting, and engaging as someone you used to babysit. Sakes alive. What fun though.
All the Rowan sisters babysat for this family at one time or another. Some of us more than others.
KARL was taking so many photos that we ran away as though the paparazzi were chasing us.
Saying goodbye is never fun.
Especially to such sweet faces.
Awww.
Helping with the sunglasses.
Or not.
D2, AKA Superman, wants his mom to fall out of a helicopter. His mom explains why.
Me and my mom at 6 a.m. Very sweet of her to drive me to the airport. What time did she get up? 3:45a. Why? To drive another sister and her big family to the airport at 4a.m. I might not have been the favorite daughter that day, but I wasn't the least favorite either.
Awwww.
And then I got to wait in the security line at DIA forEVER.
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