Family

I’m not the best grandmother in the world. I live far away. I don’t visit often. I don’t remember the names of friends and pets and favorite sports teams. I don’t keep up with fashion trends and I don’t always give the best gifts. But that hasn’t kept me from having the best grandchildren in the world! And this summer I’ve had the rare privilege of seeing all three of my grandchildren in the same week! It doesn’t get any better than that.

My favorite grandson, Austin, has grown tall and lean. He loves sports and writing and is a very creative, thoughtful young man. He presented me with a book containing a story he had written and illustrated. It was a school project and when I read “Dedicated to Nana” my heart leapt with joy.  It is so satisfying to know another member of our family has the urge to put words down on paper. Of course Austin isn’t perfect- he does have that wacky sense of humor that runs in our family. But I think his mom can handle it after years with Robert!

Hope has grown into a lovely young woman. She is bright and talented and sweet. She also loves sports and writing. We spent hours reading books when she was little and I ‘m so happy that she still enjoys reading. Believe it or not, she is currently considering which college to attend. She drives, and has a job. I can’t believe the years have flown by so quickly! I’m looking forward to watching her graduate from high school next year.

Taylor is the youngest grandchild and the one I’ve seen the least, but I think we spent some quality time together during vacation. She showed me her favorite nursery and pet stores. I had the privilege of watching her play golf, I met her pets, and we strolled the beach together. We both love the ocean! Taylor is learning to cook and she loves to dance. She also rides her bike, roller blades, and is learning to play volleyball. I don’t know how I ended up with such coordinated grandchildren- they must get that from the other grandparents! But Taylor also loves to read and write and she showed me some of her excellent school reports. I’ll take a little credit for that. She also painted some wonderful projects for me.

Of course I wouldn’t have wonderful grandchildren if they didn’t have good parents. I’m proud of my girls! They have both overcome some difficult times and it is so good to see both of them settled in satisfying careers and doing well. They are both providing good homes for their children and seem to have their priorities in good order. They both have a network of supportive friends. That’s vital when much of your family is far away.

Karen has moved since our last visit, so I’m happy that I got to stay with her and see where she lives and works and plays. I had to laugh, and she groaned, when we realized that some of our decorating tastes are the same. However, she is a GREAT cook and I know she didn’t get that from me- it came straight from my grandmother!

Katrina and I didn’t get to spend nearly enough time together, but I did get to see her for a few extra minutes when we arrived at our house. She is a busy, busy woman and she was here for a weekend reunion with her classmates. She stayed with her brother while she was here- I expect there will be some stories from that!

We also visited with Gary’s brother while we were in Fresno. We haven’t seen him in years! We talked for hours and got caught up a bit on each other’s lives. He is “career Army” and showed us slides from his time in Kuwait. Seeing them brought back memories of his letters and emails from that time and gave me more understanding of his experiences there. We’re trying to get him to visit us, but I made the mistake of mentioning snakes, scorpions, and spiders during our conversations, and now he isn’t too sure. These city people! Lol

I’ve uploaded 1000 photos from our cameras and I’m working on sorting them. I’ve included a few here and created an album – look in the left column. During the next few days I will be sharing more of our vacation with you. Tomorrow- The Underground Gardens!

Comments

[Megan]

Great pictures. I didn't realize that you basically enjoyed a family reunion in California. How wonderful! That was totally worth all the pain from Uncle Gary's broken bone, right?