Do Not

...sit on the sculpture

...enjoy your time in the sun

...buy 2 pairs of sunglasses that look exactly alike.

...wade in the pool

...splash water on your father

...grow up too soon :)

The Bridge

This...

is the stuff of dreams.

Standing atop such a construction...

Spanning a marvel of man...

We have conquered the road...

That is what it is...

...and here I am.

Footprints

Alone in the crowd

waiting to run.

I missed the starting gun...

And yet...

All of the stumbles and falls

brought me here.

to the only race I care to run.

Hand in hand with my little angels...

Balance

I on one side...

They on the other.

Ice cream treats in their sticky hands...

moist towelette in mine.

Years ahead in their eyes...

Reflection and hope in mine.

Them the sweetest...

I...the luckiest.

Tiny Dancer

The arms of a father.

We have all held them

at one point in our lives or another.

As we move on

May we never forget

He who taught us like no other.

Spring Chickens

Hatched...

From the egg.

Pattern on our beautiful sofa.

The rear end of the Shadow.

Sinking...

Into the couch.

Feeling in my stomach.

Fish bowl gravel killed the garbage disposal.

Blink...

Of an eye.

The time went by.

Time to recall the eggs.

Childhood Living...

I look at this picture...

and realize...

Something has changed.

The color of the house?

The structural integrity of my deck?

The lush-looking lawn?

No...

It's Pooh-Bear.

It's the red lady bug who used to occupy my backyard.

Both have moved on.

For the fence was only so high...

And now they are gone.

Sliding through my hands...

Ode to Rice

Dear Rice: it is with pure love that I call you Crazy.

Your scent wafts upon my nose from miles away as a Tom Waits melody drifting through the smokey bar-room air.

Your colorful variety of fresh vegetables blended together dances upon my dreams as Stevie Ray Vaughn's Riviera Paradise.

Your creamy chicken-ness haunts me like the Stone's Wild Horses galluping to a restless beat.

Why oh why, then, are you not served black and white?

Why must you have such a texture to make me want to climb within each of your granuals in search of a lost treasure?

It is with pure love that I promptly rush your leftovers to the fridge each evening.

For tomorrow...our lives begin anew.

Paintings of Wyoming - Day 6, Thursday

Left Yellowstone at the crack of dawn this morning...making our way South.

View down south park entry...very grand...

Stumbled across Harry Sinclair's Oil Refinery Company Town.

Originally named Parco, this small town has a unique Spanish Colonial style to most every building along mainstreet.
Windfarm outside of Cheyenne, WY

State Capitol in Cheyenne...viewed during our late evening walk through the downtown district.

We returned to Lincoln Friday afternoon (Day 7)...putting to close a wonderful trip with the girls and sister Mary.

Till next time...

Paintings of Wyoming - Day 5, Wednesday

Stayed at camp this day...hiking at the adjacent Lewis Lake, playing badmitton, and celebrating my sister Mary's birthday.

Opening gifts...

Centerpiece, courtesy of Madison & Breanna :)

Birthday cookie...with 24 matches :)

Competing for the title: "Ultimate Champion"

Building the campfire of envy...

Paintings of Wyoming - Day 4, Tuesday

Sunrise...as we crawl from the tent into the 40-degree air... Cocoa is in order...

Driving to the north end of the park for the day.

Let's stop along the Yellowstone River to view some bison...

Maddie, not too close...

Madison!

Lunch break at Canyon Village

Yes, we were fortunate enough to stop at the Petrified Tree...amazing...

Undine Falls

Reflecting...

Mammoth Hot Springs

They were mammoth alright...

But hot? Not at all...completely dried up...quite sad...

But there WAS a village below...

...and a bridge to get there...

Tower Falls

Slowly making our way down to the river at the base of the falls...

Too cool to swim in...

Hanging on...

Hiking back up...the fun part...

Mount Washburn

Amazing view from above...

Heading back to Camp...Waiting for bison to cross...

The sun beat us home....