When Reagan and I were in Salt Lake, I had the great privilege of photographing my grandparents, at their house. When I was very small, I lived next door to these grandparents. When I was younger, I didn’t realize how fortunate I was to have known all of my grandparents. Living so far away from them now, I certainly appreciate the time that I have to visit with them, a lot more.

^—This is my grandfather’s infamous work room. Many a fine piece of steel jewelry was crafted on the bench grinder.

^— I really liked this shot, because I feel like it captures what happy people they are.

^—–This is my cute grandma, showing us her canning storage. The majority, if not all of the items contained in those jars, were grown right in their own garden.

Tuesday evening, Reagan’s parents drove us to Kolob Canyon, which is in the northern end of Zion’s National Park. It is only about 20 minutes from where they live. It would be a spectacular sight under any circumstances. But, the way it was lit up in the evening, with the patchy clouds, and contrasting trees/snow, made it absolutely gorgeous.

^—Reagan’s hair dancing around in the wind.

^—Photo by Joe Baker

More photos of Kolob here.

It has been a pretty amazing seven days. We have had a blast hanging out with our families. Monday night we took a trip to the Cedar City bowling alley. Reagan’s parents took us bowling with her brother and sister-in-law. The shot above was Reagan’s idea, since one of the best parts about bowling is the awesome rental shoes.

Before the bowling session, we were able to wander around town with some of Reagan’s friends and hit some thrift shops, etc.. We also dropped by Reagan’s old hair school, to say what’s up. It was beautiful weather, all day. The temperature was in the 50’s and the sky was as blue as can be.

Here are a couple other of my favorite shots around town:

This is the part of vacation that is kind of a bummer. It is that part where, although you are still on vacation, it is hard to enjoy yourself, because you know it is almost over. And, the stress of the logistics of traveling back coupled with the stress of having to catch up on real life again start to weigh you down. Maybe I’m wound a little too tightly. Hehe.

Nothing caps off a mini-family reunion like family photos. It was a pretty miraculous ordeal, considering all of the logistics. Highlights included, watching a huddle of moms try to position all of the grandkids:

Kelton’s awesome face, during the huddle:

And last but not least, my brother Pete bribing my autistic sister Laura to be in the group photo. After everyone had tried their hand at coaxing and pep-talks, cash money spoke the loudest. Genius move, Pete.

Yes yes. How many times have I thrown up photos like this one before? Right? As I mentioned earlier this week, my Nike Plus sportband died on me, again. This is the third time it has happened. My cousin Liz suggested that I just abandon the sportband and go with the Garmin. I am almost to that point. I probably would have done just that, if it weren’t for the ever smooth and adept Nike customer service team. That, and the super cool staff at the running store in my building. I called Nike, who quickly trouble shot my watch with me and determined that it was a dud. They suggested that I try returning it where I bought it, before  sending it back to Nike. So I called Urban Athletics, who told me they would trade it straight across, for a new one. So, here we go. Sportband number 4 (pictured above). Treat me right, baby.

Switching gears completely, Reagan and I will be flying out west tomorrow. We have not been to the land of Deseret (yes that is Deseret, not desert), also know as the beehive state, since 2008 for my sister’s wedding. Since that time, one nephew and two nieces have joined the family. We have not met any of them yet. So, we have been anticipating this visit for quite a while.

Reagan and I were having a lot of anxiety about being able to go, because of Piper’s condition. But, it seems like she is on a pretty good plane, at the moment. God willing, things will continue that way, at least until we can return. Additionally, some of our amazing friends have agreed to take care of our car. Our lovely friends, the Alaska/Hofstra missies will be keeping an eye on our pad for us.

We will be taking a notebook computer with us (mostly so Reagan can play the cake building game). But I’m not sure how much posting we will get done over the next week. So, if it tends to be sparse, that is the reason.

^_____Reagan, waiting for the A after our Piper visit on Sunday morning

Now that January is officially over, I’m starting to come to terms with the fact that 2010 is really here and well underway. February is going to be a big month for us. First of all, it is Reagan’s birthday is on Thursday. Woo hoo! Apparently, she is getting pissed off about people telling her that she is entering her “late twenties.” So, if you talk to her about, try to avoid that characterization.

Piper will most likely be moving back to Blythedale in the next couple of weeks (possibly next week). We are pretty excited about that, and what it represents, as far as her recovery from this illness that she has had.

Mercedes Benz Fashion week is also this month, starting next week. I’m already booked for one event, but hoping to get a couple more things lined up. There are a few possibilities in the works, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

At the end of the month, assuming that Piper is in good shape again by then, we are planning to make a stop out west, to visit our new little nieces and nephew. It will be a really huge thing for us, since my entire family will be there (except Piper ), even the ones from Alaska.

Finally, for something completely random: Check out this slide that I found on the sidewalk, over the weekend. I haven’t seen a slide in ages! Some people pick up change. I pick up this (someone’s trash). Hehehe.

I had some surplus vacation time to use up before the end of the year. As a part of it, I’m taking a vacation at the end of every week this month (for those weeks that don’t already end in holidays), starting last Friday. It was really fun to be able to go up and see Piper on a week day.  Our friend Andrea came with us on Friday. Piper enjoyed cuddling and playing with Andrea.

^—–Andrea and Piper, reading the bellybutton book.

^——Piper zoning out while Reagan gets Piper ready for her lunch.

It was bitter-sweet, to leave Brazil yesterday. We really had a great time there. We were initially planning on just having a casual Sunday and gearing up for the flight home, while lounging around the hotel, or something. Instead, we ended up having an action packed last day. We initially set out to photograph some of the more historical parts of the center of Rio. But when we arrived there, it was pretty apparent that it was a sketchy time to be out. Even thought it was daylight, it was Sunday morning, and there weren’t a lot of people around, except for the really seedy ones. So we got back in the cab, and decided to checkout Sugarloaf, instead. It was very cool. I’m glad that we did it. Even the the second peak was totally covered by a cloud, when we were up there, the tram ride had some superb views.

^— Descending from the highest point.

^— Looking up, from the lower peak (timer shot).

^— Reagan, on the way up to the first peak. PS, I love this shot.

After Sugarloaf, we headed back over to the Lagoa, to kill some time. We did another bike ride, rode the paddle boats, and even did a little bit of skating. Hahahah. We were watching these kids skate this bowl, at the lagoa. I decided to ask them, if they minded if I borrowed a board and took a turn. The kid was totally cool about it. Reagan snapped a couple of pics. It was a lot of fun.

^— Me, in a 5.0 grind at RJ.

Follow this link for a few more shots from our last day in Rio.

We stared out the day with a bike ride around the lagoa, that sits about 6 blocks inland from Ipanema. It was a really fun ride. The outside perimeter of the lake is about 8 kilometers. It is great to see how many fitness minded Cariocas were out running and biking. Nike plus had a tent set up to stretch people out and distribute Gatorade. After the ride, we took a hike to the Rio Botanical Garden (which is the photo above, btw).

The Botanical Garden is right across the street from the stables of the horse track. There is a huge wall around the stables that is completely tagged up. It is amazing. I was ogling it, the whole way to the garden entrance. I almost tripped a few times, because I was staring across the street, instead of where I was walking. Below is a shot looking across the street from the front of the garden.

The garden itself was incredible. There was every type of tropical plant that you could imagine. It was also full of tropical birds and reptiles.

This little area with the columns, below, is the reason that Reagan wanted to see the gardens. There was a photo of it, in one of the little information books that she bought when we were planning the trip. It is pretty cool in real life, too.

Here for more photos from the bike ride and Botanical Garden.

Reagan and I were both kind of sad to leave Buzios. We are now back in Rio, this time staying on Ipanema Beach. It is really nice here. It is a good spot to wind down and get ready to go home. It is going to be tough to go back to the grind, after we have had such a good time here. We are both pretty anxious to see Piper again, though.

Here are a few shots from our last day in Buzios. It rained like crazy all night, Thursday night. It was actually still kind of sprinkling Friday morning. We took a trip to Praia Brava, which has a pretty good break. Reagan found this crab in one of the tide pools.

As we were walking on a path around the bay, we saw this place where the shore break was shooting into the air, when it hit the rocks. Reagan said that she wanted a shot, like Arial, from The Little Mermaid, where the water is shooting up behind her. Hahahaha. Of course I obliged.

After Praia Brava, we went back to Ferradura, a very chill beach that we discovered earlier this week. Reagan made this little sand sculpture of Piper’s name.

Below is the finished product

This one is of Reagan wading around looking at the sea turtles, in front of our apt.

Here is one final shot of Buzios.

Click here for more shots from Buzios.