McKenna Reunion

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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.