Denver Doings

Fast and furious was the pace, but fun and fanciful was the party. Delightful brine-prepared turkey, then turkey sandwiches, then turkey soup. Good sleepover with Izzy and Grady (notice the cookies and hot chocolate bedtime snack), to include breakfast at Hampton Inn followed by a good swim in the heated pool with the whole Parker clan, then a tree lighting ceremony featuring Izzy and her choir, then the movie "UP" on the wall with surround sound, then saturday with football games [yay BYU!!] and finally dinner at Papadeaux where we got to watch Laurel browbeat the service staff into getting us seated and comping our spinach-crab dip.

This video may be a little hard to hear. I think I may have had my finger over the built-in microphone. Whatever, sit back and learn about Thanksgiving folks!

Denver Bound (again?)

Once was a time when heading for Denver meant reliving my mother's life. We lived in Manassa Colorado during my Dad's stationing in Saudi Arabia and then Eniwetok Atoll. A drive to Denver meant getting cool board games, going to May D & F Department store, and maybe Elitch's Gardens--an amusement park. How it has changed. Now it means deplane (there is such a word?), drive through Aurora to the new suburbs of Parker to visit my daughter, her husband and three grandkids. That's where we are bound on Thanksgiving Day itself. Flight back on Sunday, so there's really no time for sightseeing, is there? So much fun to roll around the carpet with the kids, capturing them and having them miraculously escape, eating turkey and turkey leftovers and no doubt singing around the piano in the evening. There'll have to be some shopping done, to save December postage, and I'd love to go to Papadeaux now that I know there is one near Denver. Sleepover for the two oldest grandkids and a wonderful Hampton House breakfast buffet for the four of us! Oh yeah--I'll be sure to take my warmer coat to face les nieve du hier. Right? Jingle jingle, save me some gravy.

Not so bad

There are times when everything comes together--good weather, good company, fun things to do. This is from County Fair time when the fam made a trip to the Pasco Farmer's market. Not too big a deal, Pasco hasn't realized how wonderful this all is.

Brandon or Carol serves as photographer, but where is Dennis? Ah, yes, being the magic grandpa. I have Ade in the child seat and am driving circles around the market, lulling Ade to sleep with my smooth chauffering and cool tunes. Later, I pick up some of the clan and we push on to other exciting (well, for the Tri-Cities) things to do. We love it.

A buccaneer used my bathroom

No, I did not see him
But, he left his buccaneer hat on the back of my toilet
And an almost perfectly round rock next to the soap dish

Other clues

He moved my truck keys from the key bowl to the back bedroom bookshelf
He hid the remote control from the sewing room
He scattered my office paper clips to each room of the house
He left a Tommy Tippy cup in the dishwasher
He left a longing in my heart

He must be a strange buccaneer
I hope he comes again real soon.

Grease is the word

Yes, just when we thought we'd entertained ourselves to death, here comes our annual trek and anniversary celebration in Walla Walla, the home of the coolest outdoor musical theater in the state. Our dear friends, Bill and Laurie Pofahl get the tickets every year (reserved seats $20 each--a deal after the AI concert) and we go out to the finest restaurants available in Eastern Washington that night. On this night we chose to go to a gourmet restaurant in Waitsburg, a mere pimple on the nose of progress here. Oh yum, as the women munched down on lobster ravioli, I had a wonderful Jambalaya and Bill had a seafood etouffe. Not to be found anywhere else this side of the Cascades. Then off we headed for the production of "Grease" on the outdoor stage you see in the photo above. The production did not have the quality of voices one could expect in a Phoenix or Los Angeles venue, but the enthusiasm was there and the orchestra was a rockin' 50's band, so as the subtle burps of Andouille sausage and smoked venison rose to the surface we settled in to the fun of Southeastern Washington, where everyone talks to the people in the rows in front of you and at intermission you buy popcorn you know came from one of those industrial bags cooked somewhere in Stockton, CA about 2 months ago. Oh well, something about "les bon temps rollez!!!" What's next in this whirlwind summer?

Yes we did, we really did

Acting like teenagers Carol and I drove over to Tacoma on Tuesday night to catch the American Idols 2009 road tour at the Tacoma Dome. Actually, it was the Adam Lambert show and that's the reason we went. Amazingly, everyone around us also indicated that's who they were here to see. Left me wondering who the heck made all of those darn phone calls for Kris? Due to that miserable traffic around Seattle we got to the Dome only 12 minutes before showtime. Fortunately, we had anteed up the $25 for premium parking so were within quick walking distance to the right door right outside our section. Anoop was smooth and sexy, Allison rocked the house, and Matt was a fantastic performer (how did we not like him?). After six performers, they even had a 20 minute intermission. Yeah, Allison, then Gokey did well. Everyone then knew the next performer and when the lights went out, they started stomping on the floors until there was quite a rumble. Then, the stage lights started going crazy and everyone got on their feet and screamed their heads off before we even saw anyone! Sure enough, next comes the main riff for Whole Lotta Love and whatever energy we had left was directed to the stage as the most impressive rock star in the last 15 years walks out and starts jamming. It became exhausting for us 60 year olds to pour this all out. When Allison ran out to sing Slow Ride with Adam, I nearly fainted. Okay, so anyway, we all sat down about 8 bars into the follow-up act--oh yeah, that Kris Allen guy. Turns out he was good, too, but the audience declared the real champion. I think Kris can handle that--just two different but both excellent styles. We got up the next morning and drove back to Kennewick, and I was at work around 1 p.m. My office mate says I'm acting like either a 14 year old girl or a 21 year old gay guy. Whatever.....Adam rocks!!!!

McCain Reunion 2009

Every evening, the kids would gather around Carol for "Red Purse" night. This is based on the tradition she has when visiting grandkids--she always has something special in her big red purse. For this vacation she had a bag of treats each of four nights. First night--books for all. Second night--toys for all. Third night--crafts for all. Last night--treats for all. We are convinced we are not buying our grandkids' love--simply giving them cause to express it. Carol is a wise and beloved grandmother.

Okay, here we are in Yellowstone--our first attempt at a Dennis and down McCain family reunion. Pushed and organized by Aaron and Candace, it was a huge hit. We stayed in a large home in Island Park. One person (Candace) bought all the food based on menu suggestions from all four couples (Carol and I, Aaron and Candace, Laurel and Tom, Carl and Devin). Using precise engineering datasheets, the costs of room and board were equitably determined. We hit Yellowstone for two full days, starting with Old Faithful first and the second day the kids focused on Yellowstone Falls walks, while Carol and I drove the big loop from Madison up to Mammoth east to Tower, south to Yellowstone falls, back to Madison.

We saw this buffalo peacefully grazing alongside the road. Sort of a token expression, but kind of endearing