Postcard from California

Dear Aaralynne,

Here I am in California without you. I am visiting your Aunt Kari and your cousins. I miss you a lot and wish you were here, but I am having a wonderful time. I am so excited to spend a week with my grandchildren that I haven't seen in over a year!

Aunt Kari picked me up from the airport and it was only 10:15 CA time. The kids were in the back seat but I got a kiss and hug before we got going. We decided to go to La Jolla for lunch.

Afterwards we walked around the area to see the beautiful cove. People were swimming and some were scuba diving. We even saw some seals in the water in a protected cove. After our walk we went to get ice cream. Yum!

We saw some seals playing in the cove. If you look closely, you can see the head of one sticking out of the water. We actually counted about 6 of them but they like to be underwater a lot so I only caught one in the picture.

We planned to visit my sister in Arizona while I was so close. We drove there on Friday morning and boy, it was hot! We drove through the desert to Arizona and it was over 110 degrees!  Here we are still at Aunt Kari's house and your cousin wore her Cinderella dress today. Notice Gus Gus (the dog) in the background. We saw acres and acres of windmills on the drive to AZ.

We arrived around 2:00 and we stayed inside the house for the afternoon. Their house is beautiful, so we didn't mind (I took the house pictures the next morning so the kids are still in their jammies).

My sister made a delicious dinner and, as Aunt Kari put your cousins to bed, she and I went for a ride in her golf cart. It was almost dark and we drove on the path through the desert to see her activity center and the whole complex. My sister said she thought it was cooling off, but when I checked the temperature it was still 105.

In the morning we were excited because cousin Lindsey and your second cousin were coming from Phoenix to see us. It was hot again and we had thought of taking the kids to the splash pad to play. But everyone was playing so nicely in the house, so we just visited and played.

After lunch it was time to head back to Aunt Kari's house. It was a short visit, but I was so happy to see where my sister lives, and her new house.

The drive home seemed longer than the drive there. We stopped for a break and got ice cream for the kids. It was a little messy!

Aunt Kari read us a story, too.

On Sunday we decided to go to the beach at the ocean. It has been warm here in Oceanside, warmer than usual, so we enjoyed the cool water and the nice breeze. The beach we went to is a secluded cove near the marina on the Marine base. Your cousins love to play in the water and in the sand.

We ate lunch and then I took a walk on the sea wall and saw beautiful views of the marina on one side and the beach on the other side.

There were surfers competing on the beach and it was fun to watch them in the water. They are the colorful dots in the water that you can barely see.

I took a picture from the seawall of the cove where your cousins were swimming.

We went back to the house and cleaned up and then went to dinner. I had my first taste of sushi that night. It was tasty, and I am glad I tried it.

Our dinner was early, so there was time for us to go swimming at the neighbor's house after we got home. Your cousins had a great time and we all cooled off before we went to bed.

On Monday we went to Disneyland. It's only about an hour away from Aunt Kari's house.

I know you would have had a good time. We saw princesses, fairies, Buzz Lightyear, and we went for a ride on a boat.

Your cousin likes to look at the Princess clothes and all the accessories when she goes to Disneyland. She tried on some glass slippers, and loved looking at the dresses.

It was hot because it was such a sunny day, and there were a lot of people there, too. We had to stand in line and we just parked the stroller next to the lines like everyone else.

We ate lunch and later had a strawberry popsicle. They melted fast so we had to eat them quickly. We tried to find any shade we could to keep cool.

Your cousin talked to the fairies, Fawn and Tinker Bell and I took a picture of her with each of them.

We had a great time, but it was time to go home. The kids were hot and tired.

On the way home we stopped at a Lookout point for some beautiful views of the ocean and the mountains.

 
We were pretty tired that night and we all went to bed early. Aunt Kari read stories to the kids.

Tuesday we stayed home and it felt like a normal day. Aunt Kari fixed your cousin's hair in french braids and she looked so beautiful.

We went to the store and came home and had lunch. After lunch we went to the neighbor's pool across the street and went swimming. It's a warm day again and the cool water felt so good. Your cousins loved swimming and we stayed about 2 hours. It was very refreshing. Aunt Kari's neighbor is very nice and we all enjoyed visiting with her. Just before we left, Aunt Kari's next door neighbor came over with her 2 boys.  We had fun and it was a beautiful day.

Your cousins like to play out of the water, too. There were some toys and they had a good time.

We all were pretty tired so I sat down to read a little before dinner. Your cousin fell asleep and I held him so Aunt Kari could fix dinner.

Uncle Thomas surprised us and offered to put the kids to bed so we could go to a movie. It was a good movie and we had a great time together.

I flew back to Michigan on Wednesday. I already miss these little darlings.

And my darling daughter, too.

I got home very late at night and went right to bed. I was happy when I finally got to see you the next morning when we all drove to Kalamazoo to say good-bye to Uncle Adam as he left on Friday for Boston.

I am glad you like the things I brought home for you, your Princess ears, and I'm glad Woody had breakfast with us. You like to hold Woody like he was a baby.

I'm starting to save up for next year's visit because I love coming here so much. If things go well, maybe I can bring you, too.

Love, Grandma

Hot July

This summer has been one of the warmest I can remember. Northern Michigan is not noted for very hot weather. That's why people from downstate, Chicago or Ohio come here for summer vacation to escape the heat.  Oh sure, everyone knows, and we count on the week of Cherry Festival to be pretty warm, and even the week after. But we consider warm to be at the most the mid-80s. Most summers we may have 3 or 4 days of 90 degrees or higher, and even last year we only hit 90 twice.  I read in the paper that we have had 10 days of 90 or higher this July alone.  11 is the most number of 90 or higher days in the month of July.

So we have tried to keep cool as best we can. We go to the beach with Christine's family as often as we can fit it in our schedule. We still take our walks, even when it is so hot. A. loves to watch the go carts at the Adventure Park. You can see the sweat droplets hanging from her hair.  She can be hot but will never complain. We just have to have plenty of water with us.



So that day we came home and I turned on the sprinklers and she cooled off.

Poor grass was so parched. Thankfully we have had some rain recently.

My oldest son is moving to Boston to take a new job. He has always lived within 3-4 hours of us and hasn't lived outside of Michigan since he began living on his own. I'm very excited for him to be going on this new adventure. He is cleaning out his apartment and packing up his things and there are some items that were family "heirlooms."  So Christine and I, and the 4 kids, took a road trip to Kalamazoo last weekend to pick up a couple of items. We had a blast. We got there at noon and went to lunch as the kids needed to be fed. Of course, we were then ready for ice cream and found the Coldstone shop.

The kids had fun on our road trip, and always enjoy being around Uncle Adam.

My oldest grandson rode with us and got to experience A.'s ability to talk constantly for over 6 - 7 hours while in the car. We made it home close to bedtime. After a day in the car, A.'s hair was a big mess the next morning.

A. has a friend from pre-school who loves to be with her, and she loves to be with him, too. It must come from deep in their souls, like they are drawn to each other, soul mates. I remember when he first came into A.'s class. I dropped her off each morning, and he would follow us around as she was taking off her coat, etc. Whereever she was, he was right next to her. 

We all got together last week to play. It was so cute to see him push her on the swing.

He rode his bike when we went to the park, but then wanted to walk with A. They walked holding hands like it was natural.

On our walk back to our car, her friend's older brother held her hand, too, while her soul mate put his arm around her.

Here is a picture of the lilies I planted long ago. Whenever I went to Indiana to visit my Mom, she would love to get in the car and go to different places--whether it was to the grocery store, dollar store, or Kohl's--anywhere. Of course the one place we never missed was the "boats" or the casinos. There are several in the area and we would try a differrent one each time hoping we would find luck. 

On one of my trips, we found a package of summer lilies. We split the package and Mom probably planted hers in a pot. She was always planting something. I'd often call her and ask her what she was doing and she would tell me she was working with her plants.  I planted mine in the back near the pine trees. There are 3 plants and this one blooms last and is by far the most beautiful. Every time they bloom, I think of my Mom. It makes me happy.

When A. is in school, I plan my errands & grocery shopping while I am alone. Of course, in the summer we go together. We have our rituals--like putting the babies in the "rocker seats" and checking out the baby toys.  We used to have to go down the vacuum cleaner aisle, but not anymore. Recently A. discovered the motorized horse and wants a ride every time. It's only a penny, so of course she gets a ride. While we are in the check-out lane, she keeps a watch on the horse to see if anyone else is getting a ride. She is still learning to share and gets a little upset if someone else is riding when she wants to. On this day, Baby Kimmy got to ride with her, too.

I cleaned up A.'s bedroom and came across one of those tatoos that kids wear all the time. She never would let me put one on her, but consented this time. The minute I put it on, she wanted it off. These tatoos don't come off as easily as I thought. As of today, it's been on for 5 days and shows no sign of wearing off.

Our walks are still very important to us, even though we can't go every day. On this day, it was hot and we forgot to bring her water. Luckily there is a bathroom and a water fountain at the Adventure Park, so we always make sure to take a pit stop, which we did this day. We found the baby carrier the other day, so today Baby Brittany got to go for a walk with us in the baby carrier.

Hot July is finally over, but the hot weather is sticking around this first couple of days of August. We'll see what develops.

I'm remembering the first year I moved to this area and we lived in Suttons Bay on the bay. Hot weather waited until July to show up, and then it was more typically warm weather, nothing like this year. By the middle of August, we had our first frost. I learned that year to enjoy the warm weather when it comes because soon enough the snow will fly.

I am not complaining about the hot weather, just reporting it. We will continue going on our walks, going to the beach when we can, and of course just playing outside. We are embracing the warmth, for sure. And I have a trip to California in my future. I am so looking forward to holding my 2 grandchildren and just spending time with my youngest daughter's family. She has a few adventures planned for us, so I know the time will go by fast. 

Enjoy the rest of the summer!