Super Bowl madness - two two-year olds, Kalib and his cousin, Gracie, visiting from the Navajo Nation, tear up the home turf

A couple of two-year olds were coming out to the house to take in the Super Bowl, so Margie and I headed to Carr's, to buy some Super Bowl food. Here's Margie, passing by some of our locally-grown Alaska pineapples as she takes the Super Bowl food to the counter.

Here's one of the two year-old's right here: Gracie, with her mother, Laverne, who is Lavina's sister. They traveled all the way up from Shonto, Arizona, on the Navajo Nation so that Laverne can help Lavina out with the new baby, which we hope will be born very soon.

Jacob and Kalib dropped these two and Lavina off and then headed back to Piccolino's to pick up pizza.

The game has already started and the Colts have taken an early lead.

Jacob enters, with pizza and Kalib in hand. Kalib holds a football, but quickly hurls it.

Gracie comes up with the football. Yet, she soon spots something of far greater interest to her...

...a black cat! Jim, to be precise. She goes chasing after him.

Gracie catches Jim by the back door window. Before she can put her hands on him, he will leap over to some magazines atop a nearby end-table. If I had been shooting with my DSLR's, I could have got that leap, but the pocket camera is just too slow to recycle quick enough.

Still, I love the pocket camera. It is not only small and light, but much less disruptive.

There, Gracie reaches out and touches him.

Gracie is very pleased. Jim licks his chops.

Readers who have been here long enough will remember that we did not get around to putting up Christmas decorations until almost the last minute. We still have not taken down the lights by the front room window. Most of the time, we leave them off, but we turned them on for Gracie.

And on the screen, the Colts and the Saints battled on.

Kalib did some showing off for his cousin. He pretended to know all about this bicycle tire pump and how it is used. He showed her how to push down the handle, and then he pulled it up to push it down again. This time, Gracie helped out.

Gracie takes in the game. For the moment, Margie and Jacob occupy the living room couch. Originally, Laverne and Gracie did, and then I was there, too, but Gracie forced me to leave when she went off to the places pictured above and did cute things with Kalib.

There was a great deal of musical chairs going on. For the moment, Kalib and his parents occupy the living room couch.

Then, the two year old cousins disappear and I watch a couple of minutes of football. The Saints battle from behind to take the lead, but the score is close and the game could go either way.

Next, I hear commotion in the back room - the one where Jacob, Kalib and Lavina used to sleep.

Pulled away from the game once again, I go back and this is what I find. The big person bouncing is Lisa.

Gracie watches in awe as Kalib demonstrates his well-honed bouncing technique.

Then the two cousins play a game where they repeatedly dash off down the hall, then come charging back, one at a time, past Kalib's grandma. Here comes Gracie...

...and here comes Kalib!

They collapse, laughing, upon the bed. Most of the time, these two cousins are separated by 2400 miles. I hope, though, that things work out that they can always know each other well, that they can be close cousins and good friends.

It is a joy to see them together. They get along well.

Next, they go into my office to feed the fish. Kalib considers himself to be the expert here, and lets Gracie know how its done.

One of these days, should I succeed at keeping this blog going and building it into what I want it to be, I will post the history behind the German Messerschmitt that hangs on my wall, alongside an American Mustang - but no British Spitfire.

It is a painful, tragic story, but one of great import to my life.

It is a story that I must tell. I had imagined making a book of it and maybe I still will, but maybe I will blog about it, first.

My working title:

Two Airplanes on The Wall

To be quite honest, I saw very little of the Super Bowl - although I did see that moment when the Saints beat back the Peyton Manning drive that almost kept the Colts in the game. Instead the Colts fell, 31-17, to the Saints. I'll bet no reader knew this before coming to this blog.

Shortly after, Gracie put on her hat and then she, Kalib, Laverne, Lavina and Jacob all left.

"It sure is quiet in here now," Margie said, afterward.

I know. I changed the tense again.

I don't care. This ain't no English class. 

This is my blog and if I want to change tense, then I damn well did.

Comments

[twain12]

the children are adorable and the food looks yummy

[Ash]

The cousins are adorable and I hope they will keep in touch over the years to come.. When I was a kid, during summer vacations, at least six of my cousins would come over to our place to stay.. We would play at home, go out exploring, pick wild mangoes and cashew, climb trees.. In short, have a whole lot of fun.. but slowly, all of us became busy with college and jobs.. Most of my cousins are married now and it's getting harder to keep in touch.. It's sad to know that those carefree summer days will never return but I'm glad to have the memories.. :)

[LisaJ]

I love that photo of Kalib as he comes walking by Margie. He's got the look that says 'thats right, I'm one cool dude'.Awesome!

[aview999]

Everything about your family is adorable. No grandkids here yet and dont see any coming soon. It's just another reason I like coming here.
Thanks Bill!

[dafatherofgracie]

Thanks Bill, very nice photos of my family and yurs as well. Looks like Gracie is gonna have another cousin coming into the world here soon. I'm very excited and happy for the Hess family. In time I'll get the chance to say my, welcome wishes and a fair well journey on this Road of Life to the newly born baby, whatever his or her name will be. It is always a Blessing to carry on that tradition whatever Faith we hold dear to ourselves and the values that goes along with it. May the day be Bless with Love and Happiness. Good day to you all. And I miss my 2 lovely ladies already. I know it's just been 4 days or so. Love you and miss u. Take care and be safe.

[ruth z deming]

bill, until you wrote the score of the game, i hadn't known it. a substantial win. scott and i were watching the movie truman about the former prez. scott said when he was a kid he loved watching foorball. he said to his dad, Can we watch the game where the men fall down?

and it is so like men for kalib to brag to his cousin about his prowess w/the fish or bike pump. that's what men do when you first meet them. brag about their accomplishments. i don't mind at all. i brag to people that i'm an award-losing poet.

[Susan]

great pictures of the children ...

[Wasilla, Alaska, by 300]

twain - yes they are and it was.

ash - did the monkeys ever steal your mangoes? It's good that you have such memories.

Lisaj - Yep. I wonder what his teen years are going to be like?

aview - maybe one day, about the time you've almost given up on the idea, one will come. That's what Kalib did.

dafatherofgracie - We loved having your two lovely ladies here. We wish they could come out everyday.

ruth - some judges somewhere just didn't get it.

Susan - thanks