Don’t Give Up the Fight
Well it was a tough game for the Kansas Jayhawks, but they never once gave up the fight. I was so proud of our boys. Another thing I’m proud of is our fans — they never bad-talk our team or turn on them. It’s a united crowd of full support, always is and always will be. It’s not fun to lose, but at least we got to play in the championship; very few have that opportunity through the years. We knew it would be tough.
And what a gracious team and coaching staff we have. What if we all handled our tough days and losses with that kind of poise, determination and fighting spirit? We should learn a lesson from these fine young men! And yes, Bill Self is deserving of the title he was given this year: ”National Coach of the Year.” What an impressive and class act he is!
In honor of our school, I will share some of my favorite Jayhawk pics!
Paul and I were both at the football game in 1971 when Baby Jay was hatched from an egg! We were playing our biggest rival, K-State. They wheeled out this giant egg at half-time and we stood there wondering what in the world? Out jumped Baby Jay! It was exciting and memorable, and the original costume is now in the Kansas Union.
Here I am being lifted up into a Jayhawk during my college days. Somebody had to flap the wings for this Homecoming display! What do you think of those bell bottoms?
Here is Sarah’s photo in front of Strong Hall when she was a freshman, as a new fourth-generation Jayhawk. Only one wing of the building was in place when my grandparents attended school here.
Sarah designed this great t-shirt for the Aerospace Engineering Department while she was there.
Here are some fun pics from the 2008 Orange Bowl that we won.
Finally, here are 3 proud Jayhawks at graduation! As one of these former “Baby Jay’s” said on Facebook this week, “Forever a Jayhawk, crimson and blue, through and through.”
Missing Family
I’ve been sharing photos of some of the people I loved the most, and who have passed away. I mentioned my in-laws, John and Shirley. Here is one of my favorites:
This was one of the last photos of the kids with John and Shirley before she passed away on Christmas Eve, 1988:
This year we also are missing Paul’s brother, Ed, shown here with Paul and John:
Ed and Eric came to visit us one summer and I always liked this photo we took together before they headed back to Kansas:
Ed passed away last December and will always be missed too.
Missing Grandfather
I miss Paul’s dad so much. What a kind and fun person to know! He was always upbeat and positive, even when his wife died on Christmas Eve. Here is a picture of John with Chris that Christmas Day after Shirley died, which was also the occasion of his 80th birthday:
Sometime that spring after Shirley passed away, we all went on a road trip to Corpus Christi. We had the best time with Grandfather!
Just look how cheery John looks in this photo (click to enlarge) — I can still remember his “chuckle” clearly. The kids always enjoyed seeing Grandfather.
We had so many memorable holiday meals at their home, and Grandfather took his seat at the end of the table every time. Usually he would slip a little snack to his dog, Laddie, even though he knew he shouldn’t. His heart was just too big to resist giving a little treat.
John, you were one-of -kind — generous, funny, considerate, thoughtful and kind! You are missed greatly!
Missing You Too
I had the best in-laws, and I miss them so much, especially during the holidays. Today I will share some photos of Paul’s mother, Shirley. She passed away on Christmas Eve in 1988 — she, who had cooked so many wonderful meals for us through the years. It was sad to see her go. Here are some of my favorite pics of Shirley.
Chris and Grandmother:
Both of the boys with Shirley:
Grandmother with all three of the kids:
Shirley could brighten any room by her presence. She was always cheerful, generous, playful, loving and thoughtful. I miss you Shirley!
Missing You
I have been thinking about many people that lost loved ones this year, and miss them most during the holidays. I have several on my list, too, and will be sharing photos throughout this week.
My Mother
It’s hard to believe she’s been gone ten years now. She always sent the best gifts for Christmas. She knew what I liked, and took care to discover what the kids were interested in. She was always willing to sit down and play the dumbest games with the kids, even though she wasn’t a big “game person” herself. I even recall playing games with her as a child. She is greatly missed every day. Here are some of my favorite pics:
Jeremy with his grandma:
Chris and Jeremy taking it easy with Grandma:
Two of my favorites of Sarah with my Mom:
This one was taken of Jeremy with my parents at one of his concerts at the University of Wyoming, just a couple of months before she passed away.
I’ve shared this before, but this is probably the last one taken of me with my Mother:
I miss her this holiday season!
Guest Blogger — Me!
Check out my guest blog post on the Compassion Blog today! It was fun to write this post in collaboration with two of our kids, Sarah and Chris. Click the photo below to see the blog post.
What a Great Campus
One of the other things I got to do this summer was return to the University of Kansas, my Alma Mater. I always love to see this beautiful campus, known for its red-roofed buildings!
When our daughter graduated a couple of years ago, she was a 4th generation Jayhawk.
Here are some photos of my grandparents, K.C. and Fern Harris, at KU about 1922.
I don’t have a photo of my parents’ graduation, but here is their wedding photo which was taken the same summer of ’49.
And here is our own graduation photo with our mothers in 1975:
When my grandparents were at KU the library looked like this:
It was a lot bigger when we were there, and I loved hanging out in the stacks of books:
But my favorite place to hang out was the WW II Memorial Campanile, because I often played the 53-bell Carillon that it houses. I will write a post about it later, because it was a special privilege for me.
One of the largest buildings on campus is Strong Hall:
I always thought it was fascinating that when my grandparents were there only the West wing of Strong Hall was finished:
I thought it was hilarious to imagine KU Basketball games taking place in Hoch Auditorium in my parents’ day. We had many large classes in the auditorium, and my mother had practiced music in the small rooms above the front door. But by the time Sarah was there, most of the building had burned to the ground due to a lightning strike and only the front wall was saved. I’m glad they were able to preserve this part of the building, and to incorporate it into the new impressive Budig Hall, complete with high-tech lecture halls.
Another building that was preserved in a beautiful way is the Humanities Building (note the steam whistles in the background that still blow loudly to signify the end of hourly classes).
The nine arches across the front are the original KU powerhouse — the history of the 1890 powerhouse can be read here. It’s quite a story — note that they decided to discontinue its use in 1922, and that on many occasions through the years it was nearly destroyed. Instead, they managed to incorporate brilliantly a two-story building of 14,000 square feet, including a 90-seat conference hall, seminar room and offices. I love the photo I took of it in the evening — isn’t it a wonderful building? I don’t know of a better campus than this — so many beautiful places!
Snorkel Mania
Although I prefer a real reef, I didn’t mind seeing the beautiful tropical fish at Discovery Cove. We thought the snorkels were pretty funny though, so we couldn’t resist taking these goofy pics.
It was fun, too, swimming with the stingrays, once I got over my Steve Irwinian fear. Sarah explained to me that the encounter that killed “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin was especially sad because these creatures are not aggressive or out to stab you at all; it just accidentally pierced him in his chest. There is some controversy about his death, though, and it’s interesting to read about it at this site. Here are some pics of our encounters with the stingrays, which we were able to touch as they glided by.
And now, back to the goofy pics for your entertainment.
Funny Creatures
Here are some pics of the animals we saw at Discovery Cove. Some of them were pretty funny.
We also saw some sharks — it looks like we were swimming with them, but they were actually behind glass, which was just fine with me.
This one was behind glass, too, for whatever reason:
But the stingrays were right in the pool with us, and they were huge. It took me a long time to get used to them and not freak out every time one came near me.
I will share some more of our snorkeling pics next week, but for now here are some of the birds we got to examine up close.
We also got a close look at this funny creature — a sloth. He was hilarious!
Swim With the Dolphins
One of the things Sarah and I did while in Florida was swim with the dolphins. We have some great photos of each of us with the dolphins but since they are copyrighted, we can’t share them here. But we do have some of our own taken at Discovery Cove.
Sometime after this photo was taken I decided to trade my swimming vest in for a wetsuit, just so I could see what it would be like to wear. I also told Sarah I wanted to look like a professional diver — after all, everyone else wearing them looked cool. What do you think — do I look like Jacques Cousteau?
Discovery Cove is fun — they have an artificial reef (not nearly as pretty as real ones, but the fish are beautiful), a river to swim in that has a realistic current to pull you along, a bird sanctuary, and the dolphin swim area. All the supplies are included with the cost, which is steep but all-inclusive: snorkeling gear masks, vests, wetsuits, snacks, breakfast, lunch, towels, sun screen, lotion, shampoo, unlimited snacks, specialty drinks (including alcoholic), birdseed and food, lockers, rafts and water toys, etc. We really enjoyed our day there. It was an experience we’ll never forget.
Gulf Jump!
After spending the day at Busch Gardens in Tampa, we decided to go to the beach. Since we had very little time before sunset, we decided to get sandwiches and side dishes to go, and we found a great restaurant.
Soon we were having a make-shift picnic on the gulf!
And, of course, we had company.
Then Sarah snapped some great photos of the sunset.
And, as you may have guessed, the kids decided to pose for some jump pics.
The Busch Scream
As you know, Sarah and I went to Florida for the Atlantis shuttle launch. It was wonderful to see!
But we also spent some time at Busch Gardens Amusement Park in Tampa, and Chris was able to fly in for one day to join us (as a pilot, he can fly on standby).
I’m usually terrified of roller coasters the first time I get on them, but once I know what to expect, I love them. They have several great roller coasters at Busch Gardens.
I know — it looks insane, but I learned from my daughter that if I keep my eyes open it isn’t half as scary, and I’ve actually learned not to scream (as much) as I used to do. In this next photo you can see Sarah in the upper right-hand corner; Chris got cut off unfortunately.
I rode all the roller coasters with my kids, although I admit I did not want to return to a couple of them from the 70′s (they were bumpy and jarring, unlike the newer ones).
One thing we loved about this park is that it is also a zoo, so we enjoyed seeing the funny animals.
One of the most interesting demonstrations was seeing a young cheetah that has been raised with a puppy. Since it was rejected by its mother, it would not have been able to bond with the other cheetahs. The two are best of friends, although their personalities and natures are obviously very different:
I also enjoyed seeing interesting footprints all over the park.
We certainly left our footprints behind as well!
Atlantis Soars
Words cannot describe what it feels like to see a space shuttle launch. From three miles away, you can feel the earth rumble, as well as the intense heat, and certainly hear the rockets. It’s powerful!
I could not help but think of the loss of astronauts on the two previous launches we had gone to see — the Challenger and the Columbia. We visited their memorial at KSC:
For the launch, we had chosen to stand on a grassy slope near the speakers that were relaying messages from Mission Control and the astronauts. We were also close to the countdown clock.
Suddenly, Sarah noticed the people next to us and whispered, “That guy’s name tag says Glynn Lunney!” I had no idea who that was, but she did. Glynn Lunney is a retired NASA Engineer and was a flight director during the Gemini and Apollo programs. If you’ve seen the movie “Apollo 13,” you may have noticed that Gene Kranz was the Director of the White Team for that mission. Glynn Lunney was the Director of the Black Team for Apollo 13, and came on shift one hour after the oxygen tank’s explosion that put the crew’s lives at risk. They all worked to bring the crew home safely, and he is certainly one of our heroes (in the movie Glynn Lunney was played by Marc McClure). It was a thrill to meet him, talk to him about the events, and watch the Atlantis launch right beside him. He’s a very special and kind man, and took a great interest in Sarah, who has a degree in Aerospace Engineering as well.
One other thing happened that was rather comical, we thought. Who should come walking through the crowd just at the last moment, but this guy?
Geraldo Rivera! Forgive me if you’re a fan of his, but he seemed just as “loopy” and “spacey” (no pun intended) in real life as he does on TV. He sports a huge, friendly (or cheesy) grin! I was only trying to get a photo of him as he went by and his “handler,” if that’s who she was, asked if I’d like my photo with him, so I readily agreed. I’m glad I had “my day in the sun” with Geraldo Rivera!
But after the launch he actually interviewed Sarah for Fox News. I have no idea if it was aired or not, but it was fun to watch (he interviewed the Lunney sons and grandchildren, too, so I have a feeling they would have pre-empted our place on the evening news)!
It was certainly an interesting, historic and wonderful day!
A Banner for Astronauts
Sarah and I enjoyed the final launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis three miles from the launchpad. It was a powerful and exciting moment! We are grateful for a friend at NASA that was able to get us VIP tickets at the last moment. We were one of the first ones to sign a banner for the astronauts.
By the time we went back later in the day, it was covered with names, but our spot in the middle of the “B” was still legible!
The Kennedy Space Center is such a fun place to visit — there’s lots to see and do.
This is the Apollo 14 Space Capsule (the famous Apollo 13 one is in Hutchinson, Kansas, at the Cosmosphere)
Here is a mural of the International Space Station:
And — well — we just had to have some fun with some of the displays.
Shuttle, Here We Come!
Sarah and I are heading to the final shuttle launch today (the launch is planned for July 8th). We were so excited when our NASA friend informed us that she’d been able to get VIP tickets for us again! To see the account of our previous visit to a shuttle launch, click here or on the photo below.
I enjoy traveling with my kids. Sarah and I went to Jackson in May and couldn’t avoid stopping to take photos. I don’t know when I’ve seen the snow this high on the pass — well above the car.
We saw this moose in the willows at the side of the road.
And we fell in love with these funny mules and horses. They sure make a funny braying noise. I don’t know how to describe a whole chorus of them talking at once, but it was funny.
We especially liked the one fellow that put his head down in a sad and pitiful way.
This barn gets more decrepit every year when I see it, but I think it’s wonderful.
One of the best sites of the day was the Ten Sleep Canyon in the mist.
We sure have fun driving across the countryside together, especially when it’s as beautiful as this day was.
Jackson Stops
I’ve been in Jackson Hole (at my Dad’s home) over the weekend, and here are some of the wonderful sights in the area. These photos were taken earlier in the summer when Sarah and I went there for the weekend.
The mountains were a bit misty, but beautiful as always.
This is how much snow was left on the mountains when we were there in May; the trails were not very negotiable yet. Sarah is seen here with some friends that stopped by for a couple of days, both in Buffalo and then in Jackson (Zoe and Katie). They were headed to Montana, where they will be working on forest trails all summer for the Conservation Corps.
As you can see, it was still a bit cold at that time. But the sunsets were gorgeous:
And it’s always fun to have a moose walk through the yard:
No One Would Ever Guess
In addition to all the zany things we were doing on this last morning in Hong Kong, we stopped a couple of times to see if we looked very conspicuous. Do these two look like tourists?
We hated having to say good-bye to Betty, but it was time.
I loved seeing these charitable donation containers in the airport — full of money from all over the world.
Finally we were off on our long flight back to Colorado, after which we would drive several hours to get home.
The one good thing about saying good-bye to foreign friends in other countries, is that you get to greet your own family members upon your return home. Jeremy was waiting at the Denver airport to pick us up, and this is what he saw:
Do we look like we’ve travelled to the other side of the world and back?
We certainly collected a lot of photos, memories and keepsakes. I had no idea when I started writing that it would last for a year, but I’m glad I covered it in detail. It was an amazing journey! I highly recommend travel to other countries to visit friends and sponsored children!
Where in the World
One other thing we decided to do before leaving Hong Kong was to film the following video, which is a take-off on Matt’s funny site here. You get a few strange looks when you’re doing something like this, but I suppose foreigners expect it of Americans. Hope it brings a giggle to your day.
Jump! Hong Kong
After a whole year of blogging about our trip to Asia last May, this is the final week! But I guarantee these last three posts will bring some giggles.
We couldn’t miss the opportunity to take some great photos of Sarah and Betty before we left the Hong Kong harbor. Who knows when (or if) we will see Betty again? We had such a great time together.
Sarah took a nice panoramic shot of the harbor (click to enlarge).
Then I managed to get this classic “jump” shot of the three. Don’t they look great?
A Good Harbor
Finally we came to the main viewing area of Hong Kong Harbor. It was a perfect day and the view was spectacular (although most of these were taken on the previous cloudy day).
This is the nearby Tsim Sha Tsui Clock Tower:
Two more pics that we took on the last morning:
Finally, I took a video of the harbor, although you really can’t get a feeling of the size of it without traveling around by bus and seeing this sight multiplied many times over, in various parts of the city. Immense!
They Ship Here
We had bought some breakfast pastries the last morning in Hong Kong so we would have some time to visit the harbor before going to the airport. This is what our breakfast looked like (and it was good):
We saw so many pretty areas of the city as we rode around on various buses.
One obvious fact about Hong Kong is that they do a lot of shipping in and out of this harbor, so I thought I would show you some of the thousands of containers we saw. It was on such a huge scale, like nothing I had ever seen before.
We saw these loading areas in many different areas, but we also saw some spectacular views of dozens of ships coming in at once:
I’m glad we got to see this beautiful city!
Dinner on Dry Ice
Our last night in Hong Kong we entered this beautiful door to find a delightful restaurant.
We sat on tiny round stools at a tiny round table and enjoyed a wonderful meal together.
Here are the plates that came to our table — sweet & sour chicken with pineapple, duck, noodles with pork and bar-b-q ribs with strawberries:
Everything was so good and we quickly shared it all around with each other.
But the best surprise was yet to come. The kids ordered some exquisite desserts, like we have never seen before.
Tapioca/Mango Ice Cream
Then this bizarre dessert was brought out and placed before Chris:
Strawberry Tofu on Dry Ice
Both were great and we managed to finish them off very quickly.
What a great day it had been with our friend, Betty! I’m so thankful we had this time with her, and we still had a little time together the next day.
Harbor Light Show
Now we really had to rush to get back to another part of the harbor for the evening light show. We jumped on the bus again and headed to the right area, and had to run to catch a ferry because we wanted to see the show across the water.
The timing was just perfect (after all that running) and we saw it in all its beauty!
Here are the normal lights of the city:
And here is the light show (as taken by another photographer):
We took a lot of photos of our own, and they turned out pretty good too.
The building on the far right with the arrows was constantly changing color.
Some of the boats had their own light shows going on.
It was a wonderful sight to see, and we were thankful not to have missed seeing it.
Dogs That Speak Chinese
One thing we saw often in Hong Kong was dogs, and I kept reminding my kids that these pets speak Chinese, not English.
We had seen this dog in the window of a shop on Cheung Chau Island.
Apparently, her job was to model the specialized clothing and furniture they sold for pets.
She was certainly doing a good job of gaining attention for the shop.
Notice the three dogs in this photo of a cafe.
It was common to see pets dining with their owners.
But do these dogs really look like they would speak Chinese?
Sheep Fold