Holiday in Holladay

Whoa, things are so hectic over the holidays that we're a little behind, but definitely not as far behind as some people.

The good news is that we went out to Jim and Grace's (alas, no photos of them, nor of the very attractive Phoebe) in Holladay while in Utah, and ate a gigantic amount of fruit salad and cinnamon rolls. The girls were so excited to see their cousins and the young dog, Killy (named after a skier, not a predilection):

Big Jim (the Cane) and Grambee donated a llama to the Heifer International people; to signify this, as is their wont, they gave the grandkids stuffled llamas.

Some people were more into this very difficult photo opportunity than others:

Grambee/Jim/SLC

After the rigors of the Eastern Coast, and thanks to the limitations of Delta Airlines, we dropped down on old Salt Lake City for a couple days. We also wanted to check on Grambee, whose body goes all temperatures in different parts, and Jim, who is recovering from a broken hip (ladder! judgment!) and has now come home. First thing we did was give them some presents!

Who isn't into Grambee? No one.

The girls scored many amazing things, amongst them these stained-glass coloring books.  Check it out:

Jim?  Oh, he got some stuff, too. And he was repairing better than expected--walking around like a dude with a cane (not a four-pronged one, neither!).  Here he's sitting down, of course, but he did do a fair amount of walking.

Snow?  Pretty minimal, but that didn't stop the girls from making this giant snowman.  They were really enthused to play in the snow!

One of the places Jim walked was the natural history museum, where there were all kinds of fun things to do and play with (note Grambee back there, strategizing):

Not to mention dinosaurs!  Whoa.

Saber-toothed--

It's really not an adventure unless Grambee dresses up as a skunk at some point!

Vining Anthropology

Just spent some really fine days on Euclid Avenue; there's always a lot going on there, and always the prospect of people "going Vining" (quite serene visit, despite Arthur's appearance), but I decided to spend a little time pursuing some Vining documentation, and now I'm going to share it. Young Vining family, circa 70s:

If you know Ella and Margaret, chances are you're a little afraid of them; but look how sweet they were, once upon a time:

For some reason, there are a lot of framed school photographs of Maggie on Euclid Avenue.  Mrs. Vining and Ella thought she looked quite unhappy about this tie choice (11th grade):

Below is also from high school, circa late 80s or so.  I asked Maggie (in PDX working like a madwoman while we all cavort around the eastern lands), and she said, "my mother and grandmother were telling me to get my bangs out of my face ("no one can see your pretty face") and made me promise to do my bangs curtain style."

The percentage of Vining children in framed photos is 80% DKV, 10% MAV, 10% cats, 0% Ella.  Why is this?  Well, for one thing, the sisters say that DKV has been in the habit of giving framed photos of himself as gifts to his parents.  They're all very handsome, and all look quite similar.  Here's an earlier, more candid shot, which I found in a drawer with some knives and nunchucks, etc.

At last, hidden away in the "baby room" with some broken puzzles, I located this lost piece of Ella's childhood.  How cute is this?  (Quite really cute.)

Some digging through various Vining documents, after everyone went to bed, uncovered this document, from AP History:

This was honestly really sharp work, and Ella's grade was well-deserved:

What an excellent family!  I'm sure you've enjoyed this glimpse.

Tiny Trains of the East Coast

So, yes, we drove to New York City ("Imagine that," as Ida would say, quoting Michelle Shocked) to rendezvous with Ella's brother DKV and his family.  First we ate in a diner, to get up our strength.  ANd then soon Ida had hooked up with DHV and they had started running wild in the NY Botanical Garden.

NYC is so exciting!

There's the secret LV and HV, along with SHV (these people closely monitor the web exposure!). And you'll note, here, a very interesting parallel to yesterday's outing:

Yes, miniature trains!  Who knew that my wife Ella has a fixation about tiny trains and would plan various outings in which we could interact with them.  I also wonder if the TIGHTNESS of the east coast, all these people living together and piled on top of each other, makes things become very small in the way, say, that some islands allow giant monitor lizards to bloom (as in one of Ida's books) or elephants the size of cows, etc.  Anyway, HV awaits a train:

Meanwhile, these unrepentant and sincere hand-holders led us away, to a "Gingerbread Adventure"

Miki was down.  She kissed this gingerbread man.

At first we failed to find the gingerbread cookie decorating tent, and thought we'd misunderstood.  "Why," Ida asked me, "Is Mama always wrong about the things that will be at a place?"

Later, she conceded that Ella had been right, after all.

Thanks, V cousins!  An excellent adventure; until next time!

Eastward bound / Haddonsfield! / Morris Arboretum

Yes, we're traveling. Got up at 5; Maggie came over straight from the law office and drove us to the airport. Terrifying.

Soon, we were in Haddonfield.  The trip had its moments of Miki kicking Ella, but mostly it was okay.  And soon Ida had a new whoopee cushion.  Here she's patiently waiting for Grandpa Vining to get off his exercise bike so she can put it on his wheelchair.  Relentless fart noises, here.  And we're driving a Mazda 5, a vehicle Ella has long coveted.

A lot of preparations were made to get ready for Sagami.  Which Ida said was a meal she'd like to have every single night, only she'd choose the green tea ice cream next time.

These people are relentless with their exercise bike, speaking of relentless.

The very next day we all cruised out to the "Morris Arboretum," a sojourn proposed by Mr. Vining long ago.

Crazy walkways high in the air, gigantic nests and eggs....

Extremely dangerous rope something or others...

And then an outrageous train display, capped by Thomas and Percy, cruising around!  (Note, while on the east coast Ella is making our girls drinking two liters of Fanta Orange and Sprite a day, rather than milk or water.)

We even spent some quality, very cold time, in the log cabin that the lady Morris used to entertain in.  Toko-san showed some of her stamping and marching warm-up technique, here.

So, we got  new camera and will document adventures as we have them!  Everyone's delighted:

Maggie says, "it is not my sweater but if it was I'd give it to Ella right away, if she promised to always wear it with a scarf"

More soon from Euclid Avenue, home of the "Speed Hump."