Alex - Asher - Isabelle

Three joys of my life.

Has Alex lost his front tooth yet? Is Asher playing super heroes? Is Belle still sleeping with mommy and daddy? Do they think of Papa and Mama and wish we could be together?

These are the questions that rule the morning. In a little while, my Sweetheart Papa and I will leave for a Mt. St. Helens weekend, but throughout all the fun we'll have and the beautiful scenery and new experiences, questions about our three beautiful grandchildren will be winding their way around and through everything we do, the pictures we take, the conversations we have... everything evolves around our loving, intelligent, sensitive Alex; our smart, rough and tumble on the outside, so loving and gentle on the inside, Asher; and our beautiful, brilliant, dramatic Isabelle. Do we ever have an hour go by that they're not part of our conversation? Maybe some day, but not so far.

And so we'll get things ready for our trip, pack our suitcases, change the beds for Uncle Bill, Jake, and Robbyn who are coming to stay with Grandma and Grandpa, get Grandma settled before we leave, gas up the car, and get on the road...and all through every item packed, cleaning the kitchen, remembering the camera - throughout everything, our grandchildren run, laugh, and sing - memories of sweet voices, whispered special secrets, and pictures of their beautiful faces drift in and out and around and through our minds and thoughts.

And so we'll get on the road and much of our conversation will be about Alex's tooth hanging by a thread, Asher racing to hug us when they arrived at our house a week ago and yelling "Let's play Wii Mama!!!!", and Isabelle showing us her pretty hair and saying something that makes our eyes widen and our sense of wonder explode. We never know what Isabelle is going to say, but we always know it's going to be something that amazes us.

And now it's time to be off getting ready for our big adventure to Mt St Helens and surrounding area. Papa has wanted to go to Johnston Ridge for so long, and we just never seemed able to get there, this will be a very special weekend for Papa (and for me because we get to spend the entire weekend together with no responsibilities), and I'm so grateful to Uncle Bill and Robbyn for taking care of Grandma and Grandpa so that we're able to get away.

Now, we're off!