Pictures from North Carolina Trip

Daniel, Samuel & Esther Mary

Daniel peering down from the second floor. He was the only one of the kids brave enough to venture out in these.

William had fun dressing up in this dragon costume and "performing" on the stage.

Alex didn't want to do anything but build, build, build.

Carl and Esther with "their" creation.

Daniel playing paramedic to "patient" Esther.

Nathan had fun "fishing" from the side of the boat.

Visit to North Carolina

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Since Monday was a holiday we decided to take the opportunity and drive down to spend a couple of days with Carl and Kimberly and their family. Friday was a half day of school so we were able to get on the road by 1:00 p.m. and headed south. It was nice just driving along with time to chat and just relax. We stopped to eat at a Ponderosa in Virginia at about 4:00 p.m and arrived at Carl's home just before 9:00 p.m. The kids rushed to the door to meet us (being grandparents is so good for the ego!) and we had a chaotic welcome. Even Samuel, who hadn't seen us since Thanksgiving when he was seven weeks old was happy to see us and greeted us with a big smile. Of course, we stayed up late visiting. Esther, as always, graciously gave up her bed for us and slept in a sleeping bag on the floor (I had to move her several times during the night because she kept scooting up close to the bed and I was afraid I would get up and step on her).

The next morning I heard a little voice outside the door saying, "NiNi, NiNi--you in dare?" Daniel at 2 1/2 has become quite vocal since November. Carl and Bill cooked us a big breakfast (actually they each cooked more than enough for a meal) Carl made scrambled eggs and toast and Dad-Dad made his special "Dad-Dad" pancakes (containing M&M's). The only M&M's Carl could find in the kitchen were shades of pink left over from Valentine's Day. Of course, this made Esther happy to have pink pancakes. We stuffed ourselves and then headed into Raleigh to "Marbles". This is a children's museum with lots of play areas.

The first floor is "Our Town". Esther's favorite area was the grocery store where she could take groceries from the shelves and put in a cart and wheel to the check out. NiNi and Esther took turns donning a Lowes apron and being the check-out person. Next to that area was a big kitchen with a refrigerator--the freezer section really got cold. There was also an area with an ambulance you could get in the back of and play doctor or patient, a boat you could get in and "fish " off the side, a dress up area where the kids could put on costumes and then go on a stage with a curtain that opened and closed and put on a performance and lots of other sections.

Upstairs there were areas with different building materials and the kids spent a lot of time there. Esther and I built a "house" out of cardboard bricks but it was quickly demolished when another visitor, a little girl, thought it looked like too much fun to kick. Later, Carl got in the act and, of course, you know what his creation would look like--built by a perfectionist engineer type. There were also areas where the kids could create artistic things and a room with musical instruments. That was Daniel's favorite area. I wish I had gotten a video of him making music and dancing to the rhythm.

We left the museum at about 4:00 p.m. because Carl and Kimberly had a banquet to attend that evening. We got to spend the evening with the kids--getting them all bathed and ready for bed was fun (really!) I was a little nervous about having Samuel as Kimberly would be an hour away. He woke up about an hour before they got home but was happy as long as Bill or I were holding him and talking to him. He just smiled away!

Church on Sunday morning. We always enjoy their church services, although we missed their pastor who was home sick. But we enjoyed hearing his father, who is now the pastor emeritus, preach. The music there is always wonderful. We came home and enjoyed a corned beef dinner which had been cooking in the Crock-Pot and gave Alex, William and Carl their birthday gifts. We gave Alex and William big puzzles and William spent the evening putting his together. He sat and put a 200 piece puzzle together in about an hour without stopping. Carl and Kimberly had choir practice so we stayed home with the kids while they went there, returning after evening church service.

We decided to leave that night since we wouldn't have much more time to spend with them anyway. We left about 7:30 and drove to Ashland, which is just north of Richmond, VA and spent the night in a nice Quality Inn. We arrived at about 11:00 so we pretty much just fell into bed but it was nice waking up the next morning and being able to relax and have a leisurely breakfast before heading home. It was such a beautiful day that we stopped at the Inner Harbor and had lunch at a Spanish restaurant, La Tosca. It started raining as we walked back to our car and we were soaked by the time we got there but it was still fun. We got home in time to spend the evening with Popdaddy and have dinner with him.

I will post more pictures of our trip on another post as it is not letting me post anymore here.

Catching Up

After almost three months of not being able to post--I am back online. Suffice it to say that we had a very eventful end of the year. Our third granddaughter, Saige Danielle was born the day after Christmas and was the highlight of the month and made for a very interesting Christmas!

There is just too much to try to catch up everything so I am just going to jump right in with what is happening now and reviewing recent grandchildren visits.

Shawn completed his studies at the University of Maryland School of Nursing, has received his diploma, taken his board exams and is now a registered nurse. He begins his his new job at U. of Md Shock Trauma on February 25 with orientation.

Ryan's Basic Training in the Army National Guard has been postponed because of some foot problems that he needed to get taken care of. He goes back in a couple of weeks for the army to check him out and give him a new date for Basic. So we get to have Ryan around for at least a little longer. We are happy about that because we rely on him so much both at school and at home. He is always willing to pitch in where we need him, especially in helping with Popdaddy.

Popdaddy is definitely getting weaker, spending more time in bed but he is still in good spirits and we love having him here. Because of his decline in strength, I have decreased my work hours so that he is not home alone for any length of time. I am enjoying being home more although it was stressful at first as I was trying to get accomplished the same amount of work in the office in eight hours less a week. It helped a lot when I figured out what things I could do from home and actually it has been a blessing as I am able to concentrate more fully on projects at home while Sherry is able to graciously greet people in the office and on the phone. And I am able to make phone calls from home and more able to concentrate on the person I am talking to than when I was in the office. God is so good--He takes even what we see as bad and makes something good of it! I just love Him!

I had the joy of having Mason, Clark and Reid spend the day on a recent Wednesday. The weather had been icy and although Bill had gone in to school, later decided to not to open school that day and so he was home for part of the day with us. We did all kinds of fun things. Here the boys are putting together puzzles, one of their favorite activities at NiNi's house. They also enjoyed just playing on the floor of the dining room with Playmobile and our train set. Reid and I even baked chocolate chip cookies together (I promise I didn't let him lick the bowl, Tara!). But they didn't get to eat any until Eric and Tara came because Mason was concerned that his dad didn't want them eating too many sweets! Later in the day, a ceiling light was broken when a ball went a little wild and I although I carefully swept up the glass and even mopped the room to get up all the little pieces, Mason got a sliver in his knee as he was playing on the floor. Happily, Uncle Shawn was home and was able to get the piece out and was going to apply a band-aid but decided to have a little fun. Dad-Dad got into the act and this is what greet Eric and Tara when they arrived.

Of course, they all thought it was funny. To add to the drama, Bill had Clark and Reid kneel on the floor with their hands on their heads as Eric and Tara walked in. I think Tara was more concerned about that then about Mason. Mason had too big a grin on his face to make anyone concerned about his injuries! Eric and Tara brought KFC for dinner and Mason was able to make it to the dining room (without the use of the walker!)

Keep watching this site. I will have another update tomorrow on our recent trip to see Carl and Kimberly.