Crawfords and Sand

25 November 2007 - An 80 degree F Thanksgiving is not exactly what we are accustomed to but it was very special as we were able to spend it with Matthew and his extended family. The Florida Crawfords and the Traveling Crawfords were invited to share the day with Lori's Uncle Tom and Aunt Sharon here in Florida and the food was much too tasty (for my weight control program). I did manage to try the delicious food only one time around and am doing damage control for the rest of the week. Thanks once more to Tom and Sharon for sharing their home. They had hosted the rehearsal dinner for Dave and Lori's wedding a couple of years ago and it was good to see them again.

The only thing missing for Becky and I was our 'Missouri Kids' - James and Missey but at least we managed to share the holidays with both of them during our last couple of years in Lebanon.

The photos:

Lori captured Matthew's first Thanksgiving, took the obligatory Three Dave's photos and captured Matthew in a very alert pose which is becoming much more common these days.

They are followed by two more Sandcastle photos which I thought worthy of a post.

Hope all of our friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving and had as much to be thankful for as the Crawfords did - and remembered to give that thanks!


 
There is no such thing as a 'bad' photo of Matthew.

 

There were three Dave Crawfords born in the 20th century (the first just barely missed the 19th century) and now the first one in the 21st century. Please note that Crawford the Middle is not sharing Crawford the Younger with Crawford the Elder.

At least there is an improvement in looks in the younger generations (more to be thankful for!).


 

Matthew is really growing now. Notice how intent he is watching Becky and how much longer he looks! Now if he will only meet us at the door!!!!! (just dreaming)

 
Indian Brave

 
From here to Infinity

Sleepy Time

18 November 2007 - As our little Matthew is one month old!!!! we captured him in his favorite sleeping position. As if he was not already small enough he likes to get in his 'football' (as in no bigger than) pose to sleep. He does the same thing when laying on you as he sleeps but it is much more obvious when he is in his bed.


 
Don't bother me when I'm 'In the Zone'.

Matthew Rules!

13 November 2007 - It is once again time to show off our grandson, Matthew. He continues to do well and is changing almost every time we see him (sometimes 2 or 3 days go by without a 'fix', can you imagine?). Mom and dad continue to report interrupted sleep and periods of fussiness but don't ask Becky and me for verification on that!!!!



 
I have noticed that you might be excused for thinking Matthew was actually a 'pumpkin patch' or 'stork' baby so thought I better post a photo with mom so all could see where he gets his good looks and beautiful personality. For those who don't know, this is Lori who continues to be so good about sharing her bundle of joy. Thank you again, Lori.

 
Notice how he is already paying close attention to grandpa and trying to follow along on one of grandpa's long answers to the most simple of questions. Finally someone who appreciates me!!

 
Well so he can only handle so much of a good thing. Perhaps as he gets older.

 :
Grandpa, can you go over that last bit just once more?

 
This is actually a sneeze coming up. Faces always come with the hiccups and sneezes.

 
WHATEVER!

 
His eyes are SO much more open and alert these days. Excuse the 'knees' with scars but Matthew and I like this position as he has support, is sitting up somewhat and I can watch his expressions.

 
Time for a nap. He always looks so small when he curls up and is wrapped up for his nap

Sandsculpture in Ft. Myers Beach, Part Two

11 November 2007 - The sculptures were clustered in two groups behind two hotels which were about 1/4 mile apart so you not only got to enjoy the sand sculpture but got your exercise at the same time!!!

Now that I have the reader accustomed to seeing the comments above the photo, I will put them on the bottom of the photo since that is the way most normal people do them.



 
Welcome to to Ft. Myers Beach Sand Sculpture Contest
 
This guy/gal must have really been a fast worker as they were not currently working on their piece and, as you can see, it is not exactly a simple one! I did not notice it had a bit of a 'lean' at the top when I took the photo.

 
Another shot of Disney theme.


 
The back side of the Aviator - this being Veterans Day weekend, this artist honors our country's vets.


 

Wild Kingdom. Although I am not sure what all this included in the final look, the alligator and elephant were well along.

 
Perhaps we could call this one 'Let Sleeping Bears Lie'. She had certainly come up with a design that eliminated working at any height!

 
Back to another shot of the Disney piece. He had a lot of characters in his work.

 
It amazes me how sculptures come up with designs which 'blend' parts of the work to provide structural support. Wonder if all sculptures have to have a little bit of engineer in them? Well, perhaps a lot of engineer come to think of it.

 
This artist has used a theme just for us. Becky particularly enjoyed this one and had me send Glynda a copy.


 
The other side of our Indian and his horse.

 
Finally, a real CASTLE - moat and all!!!!

 
A symbol of our existence surrounded by Infinity.

 
Who would have thought you could work with such small detail in SAND!! I still don't know what holds the little fellow up. The finishing touches make the sand VERY smooth.

 
Every castle needs a dragon, right?

 
It may not be Mt. Olympus but they did have Greek God/Goddesses.

 
If you were going under you would probably have YOUR mouth open too!!


 
Abandon ship!!! This was done in honor of the Lifeboat Crews along the coast.

 
These are Greek god/goddesses. Notice the grandmother goddess looking on.

 
I never figured out how this artist managed to do all of the upper work as I did not see a ladder anywhere. Perhaps he just started at the top and worked his way down?

 
This was an 'Infinity' symbol depicting a 'Here to Infinity' theme.

 
Don't let the baby fall off!!!

 
This one was most notable for how perfectly round it was and how they achieved the smoothness of all the surfaces.

 
This one depicts two pirates at the 'negotiation table'.

 
Here is is putting the legs of the table in with great detail. Hope you enjoyed the work!!!!

Sandsculpture in Ft. Myers Beach

11 November 2007 - It is time for the sand artist to do their thing so Becky and I decided to have a look at 'work in progress' and have a look at how it was done while not having to fight quite all of the weekend crowds. We made our visit on Friday and here is what we saw. The artists all work at the same time(s), take a break at the same time and finish at the same time. This was our first experience of this and it is amazing what some people can do with only sand as their medium. They do use a spray bottle a lot!!

Lou, we thought of you as we were looking at these works. Any sand in Denver?


Along with being the first sculpture we looked at this was also one of the more impressive. For that matter so was the artist!

 

 

 

Apparently you could either start right on the beach or you could have a platform as we saw both. Not sure of why or why not and we forgot to ask!

;

 

You need to be pretty intense apparently to do well at this hobby and this guy certainly qualifies!

 

 

 

Here we have an aviation sculpture and the artist has done a really good job I thought.

 

More of the Aviator sculpture.

 

Of course we have to have a little bit of Disney!
 

Perhaps one of the more involved sculptures. I was fascinated by the artists as we watched them create their pieces. All were very intense.