My daughter Robin, son-in law Jeremy, and two grandchildren Autumn (8) and Isaiah (6) visited us for a week in early June, Saturday through Sunday June 5-13. It was a long anticipated visit. The last time Robin and her family had been at our house was Thanksgiving 2018. Frank and I had planned to visit them in OKC, flying out St. Patrick's Day in 2020, but had needed to cancel due to the COVID-19 travel advisory.
Saturday, June 5th: Arrival
Their flight departed OKC at 6:19 am so they had to be at the airport at the butt-crack of dawn. Autumn and Isaiah rolled out of bed and stayed in their pajamas for the trip. Suitcases and coats were set out by the front door in readiness but all were so bleary-eyed that all the coats got left behind. They needed to visit Target while here for replacements, not expecting California to be as cold as it was. Arriving after lunch CA time, (mid afternoon OK time, having had a two hour time adjustment) they were hungry and tired. We had lunch and then enjoyed being couch potatoes. I do not recall what was so fascinating on the TV but it did not really matter.
We recalled childhood stories. Robin and her younger brother Dan have the same age spacing as Autumn and her younger brother Isaiah. When Robin and Dan were little Frank, used to like seeing them on the school playground. Robin would run across the asphalt and fling herself down on her hands and knees. Dan would them climb onto and stand on her back to drink from the water fountain. Robin and Isaiah are demonstrating the technique.
We went in two cars to the bowling alley for our weekly expedition with Alex. Autumn, quite the fashionista, dressed and posed for the outing.
We bowled seven to a lane so the time between turns took a while. But everyone stayed engaged, for the most part, and even when not actually up at a lane rolling a bowling ball, each bowler congratulated the others on the pin count, even in the absence of spares and strikes. There were lots of high-fives floating around. And you can see the smiles even behind the masks.
Monday, June 7th: Dueling, Pancakes, Park
Everyone was content to stay around the house Monday and so I brought out a collection of wrapping paper tubes I had been saving for sword fights. The action got a bit wild and so had to be moved outdoors. Snoopy initially looks on tentatively.
Tuesday, June 8th: Kindles, LEGOS, Art
In the morning everyone was eager to take it slow. A family gathering in the king-size bed in the guest room with Kindles and electronic devices was the first "activity" of the day.
Autumn kept extremely busy with her art work. My refrigerator was already full with photos and other artwork, so the side wall of a cabinet in the family room served as another display location.
Later, when the weather had warmed up, some we went to Sunset Park again. Autumn had made a couple friends there the evening before and wanted to see if they were still there. In chatting with other playground moms and nannies, we learned of a bigger, better, newer park in Livermore, so we planned to go there later in the week. Everyone seemed content with our several casual days in the backyard and the neighborhood; but, since, but we had not ventured out of Livermore in four days so planned an outing for the next day, Wednesday.
So glad you all finally got to reconnect! It’s so sad that COVID has taken years away from grandparents and grandkids seeing each other, especially when the kids are young and changing so much.
ReplyDeleteRobin and I have opposite early-morning travel techniques. I bathed our kids the night before our 6:50am cross-country flight and put them in their clean clothes for the next day. When they woke up, they went potty, brushed hair and teeth, and got into the car without having to get dressed. I keep a note on my phone of all the things I need to remember before we leave and check it as we’re walking out the door to make sure I have everything.
Wow, what a post! When it comes to commenting, by the end I have forgotten the beginning - I am so glad we got out there, though. And it does seem like our timing was pretty perfect, post-vaccination but pre-delta variant... I do feel like that photo of us all zoning out to the TV really captured the spirint when we got there, though... If I had to guess, I would bet that we are all watching "the Mitchells vs. The Machines".
ReplyDeleteSunday Bowling was great, and I'm so glad Dad wore his shirt - you're right, I was burning the midnight oils something fierce to get it done, since I think it'd also been 2 years since he'd had a wardrobe update by me! It was nice to see him wear basically everything I've made him, though - except for the Christmas stuff :-)
Autumn does continue to be an artist and, at times a fashionista, although now she drives her mom crazy by being mostly a t-shirt and Jeans kind of girl - even in 100-degree weather, apparently. She is even more Oklahoma acclimated than her Colorado-born father.
The wrapping paper battle and the pancakes were definitely two highlight from the trip. They wore out the grandkids AND photographed well, which is a win for us bloggers! I had forgotten how afraid Isaiah was of Snoopy at the beginning. Autumn is SUPER into dogs right now, so we'll have to remember to keep an eye out for Isaiah's comfort level if we end up caving. Those were some tasty pancakes, and I'm glad you got a taste of one of my Sunday morning routines with Autumn. Isaiah getting to make the batter was new, but I'm glad he did not spread it all over the kitchen!
Those California parks were, in fact, fabulous, as were the mornings spent lounging at Grandma and Grandpa's - I'll admit we do the pile-into-one-king-bed thing at our house, too.
And thanks again for all the Legos - Isaiah has definitely grown leaps and bounds in his ability to follow instructions and do a small lego set by himself - and he still has those Avengers Assembled (ha!) so he can play with them. All in all, a pretty great first half of the trip!