Ron and Nancy Leishman

Grandpa went on a date

2010-09-12T10:10:00.000-07:00

"Oh grandpa you're so funny, and smart and handsome, and..."

I'm a little late reporting this but on August 17 I went on my first boy girl date in over 30 years. This was actually more fun than any date I went on as a single guy. I didn't have to impress my date. My bald spots weren't a big concern, and everything I said, she thought was funny. Very few of my earlier dates had such impeccable taste.

We started with lunch at Wendy's and her lunch only cost me five bucks. Five bucks! Even back in the seventies I couldn't get away with a five dollar meal. Gotta love those chicken nuggets...

We went to see Toy Story 3. We had a great time. I even got a kiss and a hug. On our first date. Woohoo!

We have a second date set for November when we get to go see Tangled.
http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/disney/tangled/

Thanks for showing grandpa such a good time McKenna...

On Guard

2009-03-08T13:35:00.000-07:00

I was doing some scanning of some old slides today and came across this. With these guys on guard we were always confident of our safety. I might add that this is a step up from their earlier days when they wore their underwear on their heads.

Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about...

Hangin' with Melia

2009-03-08T13:18:00.000-07:00

I got to hang with Melia last week for a couple of hours while Tanis and Nancy were off running errands. As with all my beautiful grandchildren, she is perfectly photogenic.

I thought you might like to share in some of her thoughts that day...

Yes I'm cute and don't you forget it!
Oh, and just ignore the drool...

Wow grandpa, tell me again how you saved the free world!

To be honest, mother's milk gives me gas...

Grandpa, you're one of the most fascinating people I know...
Course I only know about 10 people so far.

Near as I can tell, I'd say ol' Buster Bunny is a girl...

Disneyworld

2009-02-12T18:47:00.000-08:00

At the back lot at Disney MGM

So as I said earlier, don't expect my blog to follow any sort of sequence. After visiting Taylor and Kaycee in New York, we flew to Orlando on January 11th to met up with Dale and Lynn and Shayne and Linda. We stayed at our timeshare and had a wonderful time.
If it's any consolation, the weather was pretty cool most of the time.

Aw, what the heck, I'll add a few photos of our time at Disneyworld. If you want to check out al of our photos go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/ronleishman

Nancy and I standing in front of that big round thingy at Epcot

Nancy is such a kidder

Who is she kidding, she has no rhythm

Dale really enjoyed the Expedition Everest ride, right Dale...Dale...?

He loved Space Mountain too

Aaarrrggg, what a handsome group, except for Shayne of course

Looking good ladies...

Surprise Linda!

Someone remind Dale that we're on vacation

We made some new friends

Yes, I'm about 98% sure that's the real Buzz Lightyear

I better get one in of Lynn

Cute couple...

As opposed to these guys

In front of the Animal Kingdom gates

In front of the Tree of Life

Hey Dale, why the frowny face?

Oh, he was just hungry

Nancy got a hole in one at mini golf

Need I remind you Shayne that golf is a serious sport...

The Trip is Over

2009-02-08T12:31:00.000-08:00

Proud grandparents. We're darn proud of all our grandchildren

All good things must come to an end and I guess it's high time I updated my blog from our almost 4 weeks away. Please don't have any wild ideas about things happening chronologically. That would be too easy.
We flew to New York on January 7 (New Jersey actually) to spend a few days with Taylor and Kaycee and their munchkins. Our new addition Gavin is a handsome boy. The weather wasn't much better than it was in Calgary so there was a lot of shiverage when we were out and about. Enough typing already, I'll let the photos do the talking.

Carson and Gavin in a rare moment of tranquility

Did I mention what a cute grandmother Carson has?

Is it just me or is Taylor looking smarter these days?

I can't go to New York without seeing Times Square

We finally made it to the top of the Empire State Building

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think this is St. Patrick's Cathedral: pretty awesome

Taxis taxis everywhere: the ratio must be 5 to 1.

Mmmmm snow.

Kaycee has always wanted to take a carriage ride in Central Park

...and apparently so has Nancy

And of course we did the open air bus tour

It's so good to see my kids grow up to be such loving parents

Denver's Mission Call

2009-02-06T15:39:00.000-08:00

Just back from the mailbox with "the mail"

Denver's been getting the mail every day for the past few weeks and today all that strenuous walking to the mailbox a half block away paid off.
His mission call arrived. He's going to the Texas Houston South mission and reports on April 29.
Here's a link to the mission so you can see the area it covers etc.
http://www.mission.net/texas/houston/south/missioninfo.php

For those of you who are wondering, he's several hours from where Jo and Rob live outside of Dallas.

Needless to say, we're all pretty pumped over here.

Wait for it...wait for it...

We had the whole family present (except for Cam who was hard at work) either by way of iChat or speaker phone. Tanis was already here. Sherilyn came over and Jay listened in on the phone and Jo and Rob and Kaycee were on iChat with Taylor listening in in New York

Thumbs up from iChat

The proud parents

As you can see, Mckenna and Melia were pretty excited too...

WE HAVE AN APPLE STORE IN CALGARY!!!

2008-09-28T19:03:00.000-07:00

Okay, okay, take a deep breath. That's it...breathe in sloooowly. Now exhale...
WE HAVE AN APPLE STORE IN CALGARY!!! WE HAVE AN APPLE STORE IN CALGARY!!!

Did I mention that we now have our own Apple store in Calgary? Oh, and I got a T-shirt.
Yessir the grand opening was on Saturday. Denver and I went with Jim and Connor Muirhead. We decided to be early so we got there at 6:30 am for the 9:30 opening. Denver and I were 9th and 10th in line. There were a couple of geeks who had been there since 5:30 the night before. And no, being there 3 hours before the opening does not qualify me as a geek. What else am I going to do at 6:30 on a Saturday morning? I mean besides sleeping?

At around 9:00, about 50 Apple employees came pouring out of the back of the store somewhere and came yelling and clapping down the mall which got everyone in line (which had swelled to 3 or 400 by then) cheering and clapping. I think they were on a self-induced sugar high or something.
Just before opening they all gathered inside the store in two lines and started chanting and getting pumped up. I'm not sure but I think they offered up some sort of animal sacrifice just before the doors opened.

Then their leader came out and led us into the store where we had to run a gauntlet of screaming, Apple savages, high-fiving us all the way I was a little embarrassed but did my best to be cheerful.

You can see the blue and orange T-shirted gauntlet that I had to pass through, narrowly escaping with my life.

Needless to say, I'm pretty pleased that we have our own Apple store in Calgary. Now I won't have to travel all the way to Dallas or New York.

Denver, looking cool as always, waiting for the big opening.

Do these earphones make my head look big?

Jim Muirhead working as he waits in line.

Like father like son. Connor working too.

Denver's 21st

2008-08-17T16:36:00.001-07:00

Denver turned 21 last week. He's been working out of town for the past month or so so we don't get to see much of him lately. Nancy decided that we needed to celebrate his birthday with him, so we drove the two hours to Sundre and took dinner and a cake (and a couple of gifts of course).

Denver had just got in from work so he hadn't had a chance to shower. Happy Birthday son.

Our bag lady

2008-08-17T16:30:00.001-07:00

McKenna crawled into Nancy's beach bag the other day and of course the camera had to come out.

Notice anything...?

2008-08-17T16:24:00.000-07:00

The couch and chair are done!! For those of you who have grown tired of sitting on foam, Nancy finished her upholstery this week. They look fantastic. Good work Nancy.

2008-08-07T17:36:00.001-07:00

Here's Melia, born at 1:39 am on August 7. Tanis couldn't hold out till 08.08.08.

I couldn't find my camera so I had to take these with my iPhone. Two megapixels just doesn't cut it. I told Denver I'd get these up right away since he's out of town for another week or so.

She's a cutie with cheeks you just gotta pinch...

Dallas

2008-06-24T16:03:00.000-07:00

Taylor and Easton are too cool

I wonder where they get it from?

We got to go and spend some time with Jo and Rob and the boys in their new digs in Dallas. Actually they live in a suburb called Flower Mound. Not exactly a manly name.

We had a great time and had lots of chill time as well as seeing the sites.

Don't be laying around or the boys will pounce

One of the really cool things we did (besides shopping of course) was to go on a Segway tour in Dallas. As luck would have it, Nancy and I were the only ones on this particular tour so we got lots of attention.

Rob and Jo have offered to host a reunion for our family next summer, preferably June before it gets really hot. Sorry everyone, this is for Nancy and I and our kids and their families. Get ready to go Segwaying everyone...

Nancy on her Segway

Nancy on her Segway part 2

Nancy on her Segway part 3

Receiving instruction from our guide Cindy

Oh yeah, Rock and Roll

Disneyland Will Never Be The Same

2008-05-25T16:19:00.000-07:00

Disneyland California. The background is a painted scene. Kevin's real. I'm wearing new pants.

Nancy and I went to Disneyland from May 12 -17 with Kevin and Kim. I guess the Genealogy folks would insist that I include last names so for those folks it's Kevin and Kim James and Nancy Whatshername.

For those who care, yes I screamed like a little girl on the Scream Roller coaster and Space Mountain. One thing I learned is that you don't close your eyes on a roller coater. It gives you a headache. I went to bed sick on the first nite after riding the Screamer twice.

Hard to believe I know but mom tried to cheat her way in to Universal. As it turns out she's actually 49 inches tall.

Such a cute couple.

Kevin's Blackberry never left his side. He managed to misplace Kim several times but I'm happy to report that he knew where the blackberry was at all times. A man has got to have his priorities straight.

Chip and Dale store a lot of nuts in this treehouse. Hey- waaaiit a minute!

Me and my spiffy new Disney hat. Oh and Nancy too...

Is this not a cute couple. That wasn't a question.

This IS the real King Kong

This is also the real Scooby Doo.

And here you have it. Irrefutable proof that we were indeed at Disneyland.

More hard proof, and no our hats are not kissing. We, however, are holding hands.

That's it, we're selling the van.

And finally, this one's for my son-in-law Rob.

Hide Your Children

2008-04-20T19:17:00.000-07:00

Notice anything out of the ordinary?

It would appear that I somehow managed to twist McKenna's pajamas completely around when I dressed her last night. I took a lot of grief over that one but the way I look at it, it was quite an accomplishment to finally get her pj's zipped all the way up. It was a bit of a struggle but I was quite proud of myself when I finally zipped those last few inches.

On the plus side I should add that I've never put my own pj's on backwards. Sure I've gotten them inside out a few times, but who hasn't. Those drawstrings can tickle.

McKenna didn't seem to notice

Typical spring day in April

Looks like another typical April in Alberta. April 19 and we just got a fresh dump of snow. My sister LeeAnne and her husband Mel were up visiting for a couple of days and that car is one that they rented. Extra points to anyone who can tell me the make and model.

California Dreamin'

2008-02-08T09:54:00.001-08:00

Dale's fence has seen better days.

Hello from California. I flew down last Saturday and have been here for a week spending time with mom. When I got here it was windy, rainy, cold and just plain icky. (Can a manly man say icky?)
The sun has been out most days since then and although it hasn't been hot it has been shirt sleeve weather. I even dug up an old cactus for mom yesterday in my T-shirt.

As you can see from the photos, they had a bit of a storm down here a few weeks ago. Dale was without power for several days. Alas the fence that was constructed in time for Taryn's wedding is no more. Just one lonely panel standing all alone. That's the bad news of course. The good news is that for the next wedding, it shouldn't take more than 3 or 4 minutes to string lights on it.

Notice the tarps on the guest house roof.

Postpartum or is that Post Christmas??

2008-01-13T13:02:00.000-08:00

Here's the traditional family on the stairs shot...
Thanks for smiling Sherilyn.

Gosh, it's been a few months since I've added to the old blog. Christmas has come and gone and we're well into the mid-winter blues.
Christmas was great having Jo and Rob and the twins visiting from Texas. The only tough part was having to share my toys; and the diaper surprises of course. How can such little boys pack so much into a diaper is beyond me.
I can't forget having Jay, Sherilyn and McKenna over for Christmas too. I think the best part of Christmas is always the kids.

One of the highlights was having the kids walk on the treadmill. Whenever they got cranky Rob would force them on the treadmill, crank up the speed, set the incline and force them to walk to the theme from Chariots of Fire. Oh the pain...

Mine, all mine!

Okay you got your picture. can I open my present now?

But I wanted an iPhone like Uncle Taylor...

This is better than an iPhone. See it's got pretty lights...

Who you callin' four eyes?

I'm too sexy for my hair...

What do you know about sexy?

Going skating at Lake Sundance...

McKenna The Duck

2007-10-13T19:30:00.000-07:00

Me and my duck

We found this really cool duck costume for McKenna for Halloween and we couldn't resist. It looks a lot like the chicken costume that Carson wore last year.
Tanis took these pictures at Lake Sundance. At one point she decided to walk out into the lake. She got two or three steps in before I could catch her. Boy you put her in a duck costume and she thinks she's a duck. You kow what they say, "If it walks like a duck, and it talks like a duck..."

Gotta love those duck feet

Cleaning her feathers

Mere moments before she decided to walk into the water

Angel duck

McKenna's Saturday

2007-10-04T18:49:00.000-07:00

Checking out grandpa's tools of the trade

I'm finally getting around to this post. On Saturday, September 22nd Jay had to go to work and Sherilyn was occupied as well as Nancy so guess who got to watch McKenna all day? Sherilyn dropped her off at 8:30 am and we were on our own till Nancy came home at 3:30 at which time I allowed her to take over till Jay picked her up at 5:30. Oh, and I also permitted her to change a dirty diaper.

McKenna was delightful as always. Not one tear out of her all day. We played in the leaves, and played on the outdoor gym across the street. She was quite the tease, climbing to the top of one of the platforms and toying with me when I would approach from one side.

McKenna can be a little intense at times

Checking out the leaves

And I thought just the boys liked playing with rocks

The Eyes of Texas are Upon me

2007-09-30T11:01:00.000-07:00

It's Sunday, September 30th and here I am in Texas with Rob and Jo and the twins.
Rob invited me down to go to a Texas A&M football game on Saturday.

It was a very cool experience. It actually started at midnight on the eve of the game with what they call the Midnight Yell. That's when all the students go to the stadium and practice their yells for the game. It was very ritualistic and I believe they sacrificed some virgins at the end of the Yell but I couldn't be sure in all the commotion.

Rob was cute as a button in his little Aggie T-shirt

Glad I brought my hat and T-shirt. Everyone was in maroon

Saturday at the game I was in the student section with Rob, about a gazillion students and a few bewildered older folk like me. The students stand for the entire game! Not only do they stand, but they stand on the benches. Our bench just happened to insist on wobbling back and forth the entire time so it was 3 and a half hours of balancing in 34 degree Celsius weather. Please inquire about my much improved core strength when you see me. It had such an effect on me that when I got up later in the middle of the night to answer the call of the wild (I know it should be the call of nature, but trust me, when I get up it's the call of the wild) I was quite wobbly on my feet. I was sure I bounced off a couple of walls before I returned to the safety of my bed.

And of course the twins have been delightful. We really should do something about all their smiling. As with all my grandkids, I got a big kick out of just observing them play and dismantle everything within their reach.
Saturday nite we went to a traditional barbecue eatery.

Bring on the grub y'all!

Yeah y'all bring it on eh!

This here corn's mighty deelishus!

Ditto y'all!

It wasn't easy getting the boys to sit still long enough for this picture but we did it

Well now I've completed one of my goals of going to an NCAA football game. Now I just need to go to an NFL game and get court side seats at an NBA game... Get working on that will you kids? Thanks for the game Rob.

New York New York

2007-09-12T15:59:00.001-07:00

Carson and Taylor at camp

Jolanda's been after me to update our blog since our return from New York and our visit with Taylor and Kaycee so I better do it I guess.

We flew in on August 30th and the next day we drove up to Palmyra passing through Scranton, PA home of The Office. I strained as hard as I could but I couldn't see Steve Carrall anywhere.

We were able to tour the Visitors center at Cumorah as well as visit the Joseph Smith home and the Sacred Grove. Interestingly, there isn't a designated area in the grove where the first vision took pace. It's a large wood with several paths leading through it.

Carson checking out his shoes

Carson checking out the food at camp

In front of the Joseph Smith home

The grove was really quiet and peaceful

One of the paths leading through the grove

I liked this shot of Kaycee and Carson with the sun streaming through

Another fun shot

Standing on top of the Hill Cumorah

New York City is enormous. The things I most wanted to do were to go to a Yankees game, visit the Apple store and see Times Square at night. Mission accomplished.

Nancy and Carson on the ferry to New York that Taylor takes every day

Denver on the Staten Island Ferry taking pictures of the Statue of Liberty

On the Staten Island Ferry

In the nose bleed seats at the Yankees game

Can you tell which one is Derek Jeter?

Nancy in awe in Times Square

Note Carson insisting on helping to push his stroller

The signs in Times Square are something to behold

Times Square was worth the visit

Me and My Red ...er Yellow Corvette

2007-08-24T10:18:00.000-07:00

Not sure what's sexier, me or the car? Nancy is a given of course.

Grab the testosterone meter, we're off the board with manliness now. As you can see a Corvette is a babe magnet.
Dale flipped me the keys to his Corvette and Nancy and I took off for a few hours. Wish I'd done this years ago when I could have felt the wind in my hair. Wind in your scalp just isn't the same thing.
Needless to say, we had a great time and my head got some sun. Gotta remember a hat next time.

This one's for Sherilyn

California

2007-08-17T11:38:00.000-07:00

Here we are in California. We're staying at mom's house. First nite here we went to Lynne's brother Brad' s house for a barbecue to celebrate Taryn's, Brenden's and someone else's birthday. I better find out whose it was. As you can see, Taryn doesn't like her sweetie to get mosquito bites so she wraps Brenden up.
Brad has a really great pool and I took advantage of it. Unfortunately I don't have any photos of my incredibly lithe body gliding through the water.

McKenna Reunion

2007-08-17T11:08:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it was really a Pilling reunion in Montana at Faust's farm from August 9 - 13. I took over 300 photos but I think about 290 of them were of McKenna. Sorry. I couldn't help myself.
We had a good time. Nancy's brother Mark brought everything including the kitchen sink (I'm not kidding). We're glad that Sherilyn stuck it out the whole time with us too.

Even Manlier Still

2007-07-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

This is my sexy look taken as I was eating a piece of pie

Nothing says manly like a beard and a silly hat. These pics are from our recent Stake Youth Conference. I went as a discussion group leader as well as photographer. I thought Nancy would like to see the beard she talked me into growing for the event. Please note our nifty branch banner as well. As you can see, some of the youth in our group were kinda shy.

A Manly Man

2007-06-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

I finally replaced our old front gate that was rotting and sagging badly.
Needless to say, I'm feeling very manly today. In fact, the community had to issue a testosterone alert as levels were very high in the immediate vicinity.
Note the very manly beard as well. I should also mention that I took this photo while standing in the rain at great personal risk.

On Friday, I went with Denver, Jay, Sherilyn and Mckenna and Jo and the twins to Lake Sundance. I can't go to an activity without getting shots of McKenna. She's toooo cute. Her lower lip was trembling like crazy with the cold water but she had no intention of getting out.

Of course now that the twins are here, I can't go without taking their pictures as well. Apparently the grass is softer here than In Texas. Taylor had no problem crawling. He went everywhere.

Easton developed a special "bear crawl". He didn't want his knees to touch the grass so he moved about on his feet and hands. Try it, it's pretty exhausting.

Il Divo

2007-04-19T09:44:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to see Il Divo at the Saddledome. Our wonderful kids bought tickets for Nancy for her birthday and she let me go with her.
It was an amazing concert. Their CD's are great but when you hear them in person it gives you goosebumps.
When they did their encore, they sat on the edge of the stage and dozens of women rushed to the front of the stage to touch them and get autographs. One woman was particularly aggressive pushing others out of the way and groping the singers. I told Nancy if she ever did that again she'd have to go without me...

On stage at the Dome

You can see the big screen behind the group

McKenna's Visit

2007-04-15T18:37:00.000-07:00

McKenna came to visit last night. Oh, and she brought Jay and Sherilyn with her. One of her favorite activities to do is to walk around the ottoman in the family room. She probably does 20 or 30 laps a night. And despite all the toys we keep on hand, her favorite thing to play with is our coasters.
I'm not sure what we'll have left to give to our family when we're gone but if McKenna wants the ottoman and the coasters, they're hers. No discussions necessary.

McKenna and grandpa with her treasures

Okay enough of the photos already, I've got laps to do...

Next time McKenna comes I'll make sure to shave

Spring Discovered

2007-04-11T11:55:00.000-07:00

As you can see, we've rediscovered spring in Calgary. I expect the grass will be covered in white again before long though. Inspired by Taylor and Easton we decided to check out the grass. Alas, no fire ants or spiders to report.

Note the concentration abilities of Papa Ron as he discovers grass for the first time

A little vinaigrette and I think we have a winner

Our inspiration

Spring is Here - Yippee!

2007-04-09T12:49:00.000-07:00

I've been getting pressure from the family to add more to the blog. It's just that my life isn't all that exciting. I get up, shower, shave, trim my nose hairs every day as usual. Actually sometimes I let the nose hairs go for a week or more until they're clearly visible. Wild abandon I know. As I get older I find it useful to conserve my energy for more important endeavors - like making sure my socks match.

I did take the following picture last week from my front door. April 4th to be exact. Depressing.I thought spring was supposed to be here by now.

Don't you just love springtime in the Rockies

Okay, it's hard to stay depressed for long when McKenna is around.

2007-02-12T14:06:00.000-08:00

Checking Out The Grandchildren

Okay, so now that Nancy and I are grandparents I think the focus of this blog will pretty much be centered around our wonderfully gorgeous grandkids. After all we're kind of boring. Well, at least I am. I do have an envelope full of navel lint though, but that's another story for another time.

I'm posting some of our favorite photos of them below. So enjoy darn it!

Grandma and Grandpa orchestrating the boys

Steadyyy, steadyyy... Oh forget it!

How do you define "cute"?

Carson actually sitting still...

One of my favorite shots of Carson

You don't think this melted Grandma's heart?

Im sure "Princess Carson" will thank me later

Carson and the lovely Mckenna

McKenna all bundled up n her firt stroller trip with Grandma and Grandpa in November

One very cute Halloween leopard