Catch up post 2017 (3.0)

 A really nice thing happened in April when Polina’s parents were able to come visit for about six weeks! We got together with them several times during their stay. One of the activities we did was to go up to Ponderosa State Park and do some walking.

It was so nice to have them here. Polina is back at work now so her parents were able to keep Anna with them for the whole time they were here. 

Jasper with Anna. Anna loves her “sosha”, her pacifier.

Anna had to have her eyes dilated to check for a possible abnormality but she was fine. She wasn’t too happy with the pediatric ophthalmologist though!

Time with Grandpa

Catchup post 2017 (2.0)

 Second post for 2017

Anna continues to grow and develop her little personality. We are all in love with her! Aunt Chelsie loves to hold her and talk to her. It’s so sweet to watch her with Anna.

Anna loves to be on the floor play matt as long as she’s facing up. She HATES tummy time and cries to be turned over.

I’ve started taking oil painting classes at a local art store. It’s really fun and rewarding. The teacher, Fred Choate is very patient and goes through his set up and painting technique every time. His repetition is very important because it’s so easy to get off track. I’m really excited to be learning a new medium. I was so discouraged with watercolors but was intimidated by oils. Fred makes it understandable and doable.

The painting above was one of the first I really liked. And the rooster is my first attempt at painting animals. Annette liked it so much she wanted to have it for her kitchen (which is chicken themed).

I’m on a path that will hopefully lead to my selling some of my work. In any case, I love oils and can’t imagine trying to go back to water colors.

I’ve met a couple of people in art class and feel like this is a great way to make friends. It takes time though. There are many people who come one or two times to class and then never show up again. So the “regulars” don't take any trouble to know you or talk to you until you’ve shown up enough to prove that you’re serious.

It is frustrating to learn a new skill. Fred says that the brain develops an “eye” for what is supposed to be there but the body struggles to catch up. So when you make mistakes, the brain knows it but the body can’t seem to figure out how to fix it. So you get frustrated trying to fix something that is beyond your capability.

2017 catch up post

 Here I am once again and trying to catch up. This is 2022 and the future is here! We are in a brave new world where everything is different and not in a good way. But I digress…

I will be disciplined and stick to 2017 this time. Hopefully I will get back to the future soon.

Our biggest news and life changing event was the arrival of this beautiful baby girl! Anna Bella Gibbons came into our lives on Jan 25th, 2017 and we could not be more proud of her and of Polina and Jasper. They are both such good parents.

The birth was very difficult for Polina. And Jasper was beside himself with worry. They were both exhausted at the end of it and it took several days for them to be able to feel somewhat normal.

We had cleaned their house and stocked up with food so they would not have to worry about that. We were over every day for awhile so they could rest.

It’s so amazing to see your children having children. Jasper has the sweetest way with Anna. I know she is in great hands!

Ladies Brunch and baby shower 2016

My ladies brunch this year was a combo together with a baby shower for Polina. We had all the usual attendees along with a couple of special guests who had not attended before, Kristin and Kathy, along with Kathy’s little girl Genevieve.

We all made little birdhouses and decorated them with Christmas greenery and sparkles.

Then Polina opened her presents and we all had cake! It was a great party and Polina got so many nice things for the baby.

I only wish her mom could have attended. I would have loved to have her here with us.

 This cake was from Nothing Bundt Cakes and I added the flowers and ribbons myself. It was delicious!

 Here is Polina, myself, Chelsie, and Kristin with our little houses in front of the Christmas tree right before Kristin had to take off to catch her plane. She was only down for the day but we are all so happy she was able to come.

Grandma Gibbons and Lainey sat near each other and I love this picture of the two of them! My Ladies Brunch is really the only time I can think of where I can get all  the lovely women in the family together in one room.

I’m really happy that I have managed to keep up this tradition. I hope to be able to do this for many more years to come.

Baby announcement 2016

In the last catch up post I mentioned that Polina couldn’t join us for the San Diego trip because...
Ta Da!!
Polina and Jasper were expecting!
We were all overjoyed at the news and couldn’t wait to meet our new little family member.

The road had been long leading up to this miracle baby and Polina and Jasper weren’t taking any chances so no traveling until their precious little one was delivered safely.

San Diego trip 2016

 In October of 2016, Chelsie and I went to San Diego to meet up with Kristin and Alexis for Alexis’ 20th birthday. We stayed at this cute little boutique hotel on Coronado Island just steps away from the beach, the Coronado Hotel, and lots of great shops!

We had continental breakfast in the hotel each morning and then went out sight seeing every day. Our favorite activity was a harbor cruise we took over to San Diego. We walked all over the place, had lunch, and then cruised back to Coronado.

We watched a couple of sunsets and took pictures, most of which got deleted over the years. But I managed to save a few.

We went to a very fancy dinner at an Italian restaurant for Lexi’s birthday too. We laughed a lot but not too loud, I hope. I think Lexi had a sip or two of wine from her mom’s glass...not sure ;)

We also walked through the Del Coronado hotel and read the historical plaques that were around.

Polina couldn’t join us this time and we missed having her with us.

Mid 2016

 Another catch-up post here. I mentioned before that I am trying to document all the years that I didn’t write in my blog. I skip some things because it’s just too much to tackle but I’m trying to catch the highlights of the things we did so I will have some kind of record. It’s better than nothing and I have enjoyed recalling some of our trips that have been in the back of my mind all this time.
These pictures were taken on Oahu during a trip we took with Teresa and Mom Gibbons. I don’t have any pictures of them this time around though. We stayed in a VRBO overlooking Kaneohe Bay with a view of the Kualoa Mountain range out the back of the apartment.
The apartment was small but very well decorated. Teresa was stuck on the hide-a-bed in the living room :/ But she is always such a good sport about things like that. Mom had a fall inside the house but not injured! We were so worried when we arrived about this one step that led into the bedroom area and I remember thinking and saying that we shouldn’t be staying there with mom. And sure enough, she fell. But other than a bruise on her arm, she wasn’t hurt. We put a chair just above the step to remind her it was there and for her to use it as a support.
My sister Jeri and her husband Jeff were also on Oahu staying at my Aunt Lisa’s house. So Jeri and I took a day and drove almost all the way around the island. We took our time and went to a bunch of different beaches, out to lunch, etc. It was really fun to spend time with her on our own.

 Teresa and I went horseback riding at the Kualoa Ranch and had a great time. We also spent some time at Ko Olina at the lagoons there. We always seem to end up there on every trip to Hawaii.

Fast forward to summer and we are at the cabin again. I took my painting supplies into Yellowstone Park and set up in a campground to paint. Pretty soon I saw some Bison in the field but they were pretty far away. So I proceeded to try to paint the scene.
It wasn’t too long though and the bison had moved steadily towards me to the point that I just got in my car and took pictures instead.
I have tried to paint in the park several times since then but the pictures always turn out poorly. I just haven’t been able to get the hang of painting outdoors yet.

This scene with the huge bison in the shadows of the tree trunks really appeals to me and I want to attempt to paint it at some point.

Early 2016

In early 2016, Polina’s parents flew to Florida and we met them there! We stayed in Key Largo in a VRBO rental. This first pic is Alexander, Polina’s dad. Don’t have any pictures of Kevin and myself or of Elena, Polina’s mom.

We all stayed in the same house and it was plenty roomy enough. It was right on the water. At one point, Kevin rented a boat that the rental agency delivered right to the dock where we were staying. We all went out for the day and explored the small islands and waters around the area. We saw wild flamingos, iguanas, and even an alligator! The flat islands are all covered with mangrove trees and are very dense. Then Kevin and Jasper went fishing the next day and Jasper ended up hooking into a shark. He let it go but it was pretty exciting.

 At one point Jasper, Polina, and Polinka went to a water park and swam with dolphins...this is them before the dolphin experience, all smiles. Not so smily afterwards though...one of the dolphins decided to bump Polina and Polinka quite forcefully twice! Polinka ended up with a big red spot on her face. It was very scary and Polinka was traumatized! Poor little thing. The trainers don’t know why that happened. Needless to say Polinka got out of the water and was very disappointed. We were too! It was supposed to be the highlight of the trip.

But we did a lot of really cool things. We went to Key West and visited a butterfly exhibit while Kevin and Elena went to see the Hemingway House. We had lunch at a great beachside restaurant and watched the sunset from there.

Everyone we met were friendly and the scenes from the house were breathtaking. The neighborhood was great for walking. Every house had a dock out back. The wild iguanas were everywhere. Just a really cool environment.

Over all we would like to go back. Getting there is the hard part. You have to fly in and out of Miami and it takes all day to get there from Boise because there aren’t any direct flights. Once there, you rent a car and fight with traffic and toll roads until you hit the keys. Once you are in the keys, the pace slows down and it’s all lovely.

Just remembered that I took painting supplies and painted some small canvases. I also taught Polinka to paint a little. I wish I knew then what I know now about painting, I might have liked my work a little better. But still, it was a fun time with Polinka.

Addendum to 2014

I painted a picture for mom’s group home as a thank you after she passed away. They still have it hanging in the home as you enter the house. If you will notice, there are fairies flying out of the woods and going for a dip in the pond. Mom loved fairies and willow trees. She loved nature and sunsets.

Another 2015 post

This summer there were quite a few changes to the cabin. We had a porch added (by Richard Bishop) which is so nice! Now we can walk right out from the front door and not have to descend a rickety set of construction steps. We then purchased some wood benches (not shown) for the porch. So it looks really nice when the benches aren’t full of construction project stuff.

Another project was finishing the new garage floor. Kevin painted it with a concrete sealer so it will repel dirt and oil. He dressed up like Walter White (Breaking Bad character) to get it done.

We took some time off of projects to spend time with family. Jasper is showing grandma how Bentley “plays dead” This photo was taken at Mesa Falls on the walking path.

One new acquisition is Kevin’s tractor.
He moves dirt around and makes driveways and other useful things. Our garage is filling up fast!