Update on having a grandbaby

Not much new to report on there just suddenly being a grandbaby/nephew (!) around here now. It is a little strange to think that a few short weeks ago there was no baby being passed around at every Sunday dinner--and now there is. But, perhaps because babies have been both so recently and for so many years a part of the rhythm of our lives, nothing feels drastically strange about a little baby being in the mix again, and Goldie herself has taken to mothering without much trouble at all. (She was always the one who perhaps most loved endlessly sitting and holding her baby siblings). She's sleep deprived for certain but doesn't seem overly overwhelmed; mostly just happy. 

I highly recommend a smooth transition (and with very little gap) between having your own babies ... and having grandbabies placed in your arms. 

And if anyone else highly recommends such a course, it would be Isaac's aunts and uncles--as Goldie truly gets pretty nearly zero time holding her baby when he is here. (It's fun to see how long the kids can gather around simply watching a sleeping baby.)

Although I will admit that I often find myself somewhat confused about where I fit these days. I'll be talking one moment with a group of older women about the details of wedding planning and how many grandkids we have. And the next, I'll be chatting with mom's who can't even imagine teenagers (much less adult children!) about the new elementary school bus routes and who the best second-grade teachers are. I feel simultaneously linked and ... completely different from each of these groups of people (as it really just isn't that common for women to be raising young children while welcoming grandchildren these days). I'm left a bit uncertain of where I fit. Perhaps nowhere? Or, to spin it more positively, perhaps I fit ... everywhere? :)

Labor Day Weekend 2026

After neglecting the cabin and Bear Lake in general nearly all summer (I blame the goats and Pig), not only did the kids get to go for a day at the beach with Abe, Kenya and Daisy in late August; but we took them all again just a week or so later for the long Labor Day weekend.

Because Mike loves me, he made sure, when he stopped to get groceries for us on his way up, that I didn't have to go a full weekend without the almonds that the kids all claim I have a legitimate addiction to. I'm sure I can stop at any time. ...

You can always tell if a photo was taken on a Sunday evening by the presence of white undershirts on several of the boys. (A sure sign that they were wearing a dress shirt earlier that day and discarded it.)

We've taken so many walks around the dirt-road loop by our cabin. 

We tried a new hike at Mike's suggestion. Afterwards he told me he'd likely have to wait for me to post about it on my blog to know what I really thought about it. 

Well. There were a lot of torn-up trail parts that were nearly impossible to push the jog stroller through -- much less walk past, but, luckily for Mike, it's been long enough already that I only vaguely recall those tricky parts and otherwise mostly remember that the weather was lovely and it was pretty. 

We stopped at Utah State's creamery on our way home.

The End