Future Aggies

Grandma, Lydia and the grandkids went to Logan to get Utah State T-shirts and hooded sweatshirts. Grandma found a pink hoodie for Anna, and after getting back to Idaho Falls, our cute little blond kept telling us it was cold.

It had been well over ninety degrees all day.

And then we realized she wanted to wear the new sweatshirt. Anna makes me smile.

The boys are fun too. They are best buddies and have this incredible connection. They have spent a lot of time together, whether in Disneyland, Idaho Falls or Minnesota. It is so much fun for me to see how the three of them play together.

From a distance, the three kids were attracted to the Asian statue they discovered while in Logan, but when they approached it, they discovered it wasn't like the one that reminded them of their Pop Pop, so they were not as interested.

Visiting Aunt Connie was a must, and it was fun to spend the afternoon there having fun, jumping on the trampoline and eventually seeing Connie's Tommy play in a baseball game.

It was a full day. Everyone returned late to Idaho Falls, and just seeing them made me realize how much fun they had had in Cache Valley, lips and faces and new T-shirts stained with bug juice drinks.

My grandchildren do everything with passion, whether it is playing or fighting or even sleeping, and in this picture of Anna, the latter is obvious.

It has been so much fun having the three little ones home with us.

Laughing at Grandma's Expense

I sometimes wondered why I was so able to scare my kids and now my grandkids so easily when I wanted to tease them. I am glad Lydia took this clip, because now I understand that my "scary eyes," are much too frightening, even for teasing. It even scared me to watch them.

Teasing is very much a part of the family. All my grandchildren do it extremely well, although I think Tommy does it the most. I have to admit, as fierce as Anna's temper is, I would have enjoyed teasing her a lot as an older brother. Like everyone else in the family I know, Anna has another genetic trait--able to tease but not able to be teased. I find it funny, yet as I want to accept the blame for those genes, I realize my own Annie shares that same trait.

I learned a very long time ago not to tease my Annie, unless I wanted to experience real pain. But it is so difficult not to do it sometimes.

Zion National Park in Spring

Zion National Park will always be a favorite memory for me, because I could never hike the trails I once did--especially the steep climbs and the sheer cliffs. First, walking a considerable distance without a chair with me post-chemo physical handicaps is a problem, but secondly, my awkward steps could be dangerous. I am glad that I took the pictures I did on those early trips.

Springtime was always the best time to be there. Everything was green, and on one hike to a small pond, there usually was always water running over the falls.

In my opinion, this area of the park was the most beautiful, although everything there is breathtaking. At Disneyland so-called guides on the Jungle Cruise ride speak of the back side of water. Here it is not a joke. It is beautiful too, although I did not like standing upon a large rock floor with a parallel rock ceiling above me.

Leslie Introduces Our Family to Carolina Blue

When Leslie first visited us in the summer of '03, she hesitated to be in the family picture. I insisted, because I could tell how much Cles cared for her. I knew they would be a couple.
The best thing that happened to Cles in a long time was meeting a blue-eyed Tar heel. The first week she met us first hand was just before I had surgery on my hip in 2003. We had an English Bulldog Guido, who loved pretty blonds even more than Cles. He was cute to us, but to Leslie, she saw this dog who pulled on his leash and dug into the carpet to get to her. He wanted to show affection by licking her legs. When a dog has the face of Quasimodo and is aggressive like that, it is not endearing. And Leslie does not like dogs.

She also saw our bizarre sense of humor immediately, something we inherited from our Welsh, Malad roots. Cles would take the dog outside for Guido's little break every day, and when he returned, Cles asked me, "Dad, how come Guido keeps doing that nasty thing on my leg?"

I was embarrassed, because I had not had the time to break him of the disgusting habit with the bad hip and preparing for surgery. But I had a quick reply. "It's because you're so damn cute."

I will always remember how hard Leslie laughed, and not many people besides me laugh at my jokes. After staying in our home, we loved her immediately.

Their wedding day was one we especially enjoyed. It was so much fun to see how happy our son was.

In December of '07, Cles graduated from UNC Chapel Hill in Asian Studies. Leslie graduated in the spring.

At the end of graduation, it was fun for me to see the rivalry that exists between UNC and Duke. Parents sing the Tar Heel fight song, and at the end, a few in the audience add the lines they normally save for when Duke is on the basketball court there--"Go to hell, Duke!" I loved it.

After the ceremonies and our two visits to North Carolina, our grandkids began wearing Carolina blue. And Ann and I did the same. I even have a blue Santa cap that Cles and Leslie sent me this past Christmas. Cles sent most of the UNC things, but we buy additional things too. We became avid fans.
When I was in Chapel Hill for graduation in '06, besides going to the ceremonies, Cles was able to get tickets to a basketball game. To see a game in Chapel Hill was an incredible experience.

Pop Pop, Tell Me A Story

"Do you know your Pop Pop loves his Jack?"

Jack's eyes sparkle.

"Yeah." The whisper is not staccato style,

neither loud nor brief.

Jack savors the word. His answer sounds

like playful afternoon breezes in early autumn.
"Tell me a story Pop Pop." Jack curls

into the hollow of grandpa's arm.

The boy's eyes hint that sleep is near, yet they sparkle with smiles

like the glimmering surface of a pond under a setting sun.

Jack waits for a Disneyland tale and wants

to imagine the taste of a churro

and feel the grainy texture in his mouth with hot caramel or fudge.

He wants to hear Pop Pop sing songs about pirates.

Jack imagines joyful shouts and screams and laughter.

Disneyland is where trees always cling to green leaves

and where flowers are always in bloom.
But story time is not finished until he hears about light sabers
and laser blasts that light dark corners

of the galaxy: stories about Luke, Han, Chewbacca and Obi Wan.

When afternoon sagas end, Jack always asks,

"Will you finish the story tomorrow?"

Jack smiles, because there will always be

another naptime safe in the hug

of Pop Pop's arms.

Pop Pop's Conversations with His Little Princess

The door yawned at early afternoon sunlight and I heard

her mom's voice. "Anna are you

going to say hello to Pop Pop?"

Two little feet danced on toes quiet as the hours before dawn.

Anna hopped down a hallway. And then she stood and looked at me
like a tiny statue in a forgotten niche.



Blond pigtails rested for a moment.

She swept blond curls from her eyes, allowing her two chocolate chip orbs to be seen.

Anna waited for me to notice her. "Well hello! Do you know you are Pop Pop's princess?" She blinked pure joy.

She let her smile sweep across her face like a tiny white cloud crossing an endless summer sky.

Anna pointed her index finger at three faces on her T-shirt of pink.

"That's Sleeping Beauty. That's Belle. That's Cinderella." Her tiny finger pressed against each princess face.

"Cinderella! That's my favorite." The last princess was the one with hair like the princess who danced before me.

"Pop Pop hasn't seen you for a long time. Can he have a hug?"

Grandpa's princess ran with outstretched arms. Anna accepted one hug and one kiss.

And as quickly as she appeared she disappeared too. But she would look for Pop Pop again, bringing another hug with tiny arms and beautiful chocolate eyes.

Tommy's Trains

A large boxed train was in the chrome shopping cart.

The packaging showed a picture, a locomotive

driven by steam.

Smoke billowed from a smokestack and followed the train

in an anaconda stain.

It chugged through a valley embraced by the Rockies.
Tommy jogged by the cart, never taking his eyes

from the prize. "Toot! Toooot!"

Tommy was too excited to smile.

He played there in his mind by a stream in that mountain valley.

Store customers who forgot that child-like world smiled,

unaware how playing in boxes was once more fun than toys.

Those who remembered shut their eyes,

while they felt the stream's cold chill embrace bare feet.

Grandpa approached the checkout stand. Tommy's little legs sprang

with the grace of a deer bolting amid brush and juniper.


The train would chug about a Christmas tree at Pop Pop's.

Sections of wooden track soon joined hands to form a long path.
Water towers and depots shaped a world, an imaginary island.

Sauropods stood majestically here,

and Pterodactyls hung like springtime kites in a bright blue sky.

A Stegosaurus and T-Rex faced each other here after a sharp curve

from Tomorrow Land to Main Street Station on a trip

with loved ones that Tommy could take with him every day now,

not just on special days when everyone was in Southern California.