Close encounter of the turtle kind.

Biker Chick.

I spent the afternoon with the grandkids today. It was the first time that Caysi was able to ride her new birthday bike.

She didn't get a chance to ride it earlier (because relatives were here) and the next morning her tire was flat!

So today I went up there with my patch kit, fixed her tire and away she went.

At first she was a bit wobbly, The bike is bigger than she was used to. Her old bike had training wheels and her confidence level wasn't very high that she wouldn't crash.



Here she is working on mastering steering.



It didn't help that her little brother was chasing her shouting "Don't crash! Don't crash! Don't crash!" hoping she would crash. He's a little jealous of her new bike.



She also had a bit of trouble remembering her brakes were now on her handle bars. Her old bike had coaster brakes.



But after a half an hour or so - she figured bike riding out and now she's a pro.




Much to Gavin's dismay, she didn't crash.





Her parting shot was "I can't wait until you get a bike butt-face!"

-Steve

Its my party and i'll bowl if I want to!

A few photos from Caysi's birthday party at Western Bowl. Everyone had a great time

Special extra thanks to to Jennifer for putting it all together. MOM'S NEVER GET ENOUGH CREDIT!

Kristen also gets credit for a wonderful cake.

Caysi got tons of stuff -- a new bicycle - helmet and pads - a new digital camera - clothes - an ITunes credit card, games and even a gel-padded bike seat to be more cushy on her tushie!

Oh and this blog was a gift too!

Gavin was the winner when it came to bowling. His run up and lob the ball seemed to be the best technique.



Strike!


Caysi puts on the skids!




Cammy's technique: Just walk right up and drop it!





All this for me?




Caysi is now the newest member of the family paparazzi! Here she is looking at her new camera.




Ooooh Ahhhh!


More stuff ...


Hugs are good too!




"The Fly" - Ken Hanson up to his usual antics.



Stay tuned- Caysi will be posting her own photos soon.

Happy Birthday Caysi

Today is Caysi's birthday. She's nine years old. It's been nine years of fun and laughter and I love her more than anything. Happy Birthday to my wonderful, caring and loving granddaughter!

-Grandad!

This is from meemo:

Gavin, Ascher Me & the Turtle

Ascher lives across street.
He is funny.
He is loud.
He is a pain.
He's obnoxious.
And he is my friend.



We found this turtle, but he wouldn't come out to play. I'm guessing it was because of Ascher.

-Caysi

Fun at the pool!

Today we went swimming at my grand-dad's house.

We swam with our friend Ashley who lives at grand-dad's apartment complex.

Gavin got real cold and had to get out when grand-dad tried out some new swim googles with Gavin.

These photos were taken with my new camera that my grand-dad bought me for my birthday!


I'll post more photos real soon!

Enjoy!

-Caysi

Burrrrr! That water is cold!



Glug-glug googles.



Me & Ashley



Just me!



Snorkle boy!

Gavin couldn't swim when the summer began - but it didn't take long for him to learn!

Welcome To My Blog!

Push Play To Bother Caysi

By Gavin.

A report from the scene ...

Caysi reporting on last night's "toad floater" in Potter County.

Caysi's 2nd Storm Photo ...

I went for a nice walk with Caysi after the rain the other night. She's eight (going on nine very soon) and is very smart, loving, outgoing and inquisitive.

She wants to be a photographer some day (like her grand-dad) and loves to play with my cameras.

As we walked and talked, i handed her my Canon Pro-1 and showed her how it worked.

We walked up a county road and talked about the storm clouds we saw flashing with lightning off in the distance.

I pointed out some cloud structure and tried to describe what was going on in the atmosphere. I talked about updrafts and downdrafts and how a storm worked. She listened quite intently.

Topping the hill we saw the beautiful departing storm at sunset. She stopped and wanted to take a photo of it, so I helped her set up the camera on a tripod and what you see here is the result.

Not bad for a eight year old! Heck, not bad for anyone of any age!

I think she has a fine future ahead of her.

Please leave a comment of encouragement.

-Steve Douglass

View her 1st storm photo HERE!