Wow... it has been quite the week. Gracie and I had a great trip to Texas, but it has been nice to be home for a few days before we leave again (this time to the coast for a few days with our girlfriends).
I feel like there is so much to write about, and I am not sure where exactly I should start. I guess the beginning... Real quick, here is a picture of grandpa's house, and the surrounding area. To get a better look (if you care), click once on the image and it should pop up for you. When I put this together it had arrows pointing things out, but hopefully you'll still get the idea.
Now we begin... We flew to Dallas on Wednesday morning at 6 am. Merrick got us checked in and said goodbye at the security check point and was back on the road heading to work by 4:30 am. There was a very nice TSA lady who helped me through security since my hands were very full. I got a kick out of the fact that they had to x-ray Gracie's size 2 shoes... like I could have hidden a weapon in them if I had wanted to. I also get a kick out of the dummies that try to "sneak" liquid through. It seems to be pretty common knowledge that gels and liquids are no longer allowed through security, and yet the woman in front of me in line had a 32 oz (unopened) water bottle in her carry on. Really? Well, we move on.
Ironically, my cousins John and Carrie were flying to California on Wednesday. Through the wonderful world of blogging I found out that they were also going to be at the airport at the same ungodly hour as Gracie and I, so we were able to connect with them and visit for a bit. It wasn't long, but by the time I said good bye to them and walked through the terminal to my gate, our flight was boarding. We got our stroller checked at the gate and headed to our seat... almost all the way at the back, and a window seat. I was totally trapped. Well, right as the doors were closed a very nice flight attendant came and asked if I wanted to move up to an aisle seat. YES! And, lucky for us, there was an empty seat in the middle. Much more room for Gracie and I to sprawl out. I nursed her as we took off, and she slept for about an hour and a half. It was, after all, 6 in the morning. I think she would have slept longer, but my arm was asleep so I was trying to shift her around. She woke up and decided it was time for breakfast. I didn't have a whole lot for her,
but I had packed a bunch of snacky foods. She had freeze dried fruit and some pasta which seemed to hold her over until we landed. My 3 am bowl of cereal was quickly wearing off, and I must admit that I dug into her snacks after finding out that American Airlines no longer gives you anything to eat on the flight - not even 12 tiny pretzels in a little foil pouch. It was nice to have the empty seat because Gracie was able to sit there and eat her apple sauce and pasta. I took a picture because she kept looking at me like "see me mom? I sure am a big girl here in this seat!" It was cute.
The remainder of the flight was uneventful. I nursed her again on the decent, and she once again fell fast asleep in my arms. Once we were on the tarmac I laid her on the seat next to me and she curled up in her usual sleeping ball and rested while I gathered our carry on items from the overhead bins and seat-back in front of me.
My dad was waiting for us oh-so-patiently at baggage claim, and as luck would have it, mine was the second bag off the carousel (behind a very nice miniature backpack with rainbow bright on it). We scooped up our suitcase, loaded everything in the rental car, and headed north to the raging metropolis of Leonard, Texas.
We got to my grandpa's house in the early afternoon, and spent a few hours there just visiting. It was fun to watch Gracie interact with him - she seemed to understand right away that
grandpa was special... they sort of just connected. She hasn't ever been picky about strangers, but I was so pleased when she went straight to him and was just content hanging out in his lap.
Wednesday is church night, and church is an hour drive from their home, so we packed up around 5 and hit the road again. Gracie slept most of the way in the car - a much needed nap. My dad was asked to sing at church, so we had to go a bit early for a sound check. When we got there, one of Joan's sons (who is also the music pastor) was there to greet us. It was fun to finally meet Charles, Jamie and two of their daughters, Rachel and Angela.
**A quick interlude - here's the background... 7 years ago my grandma died and the next summer my grandpa was re-connected with an old friend and married her. Joan's husband had died the year before my grandma. Now my grandpa lives in Texas, where Joan has lived for quite a while. She has three sons and 7 grand kids. I guess they would technically be my step-uncles and step-cousins, but I just refer to them all as "grandpa's Texas family." For six years now I have heard about these people, but never met them until this trip. Okay, back to church...**
The church service was very nice, I was amazed at how friendly everyone was, and my dad did great on his song (I have a copy of him singing, but I think he might kill me if I posted it). Gracie seemed to have fun with new friends in the nursery, and had a lot of fun crawling around the sanctuary during choir practice. My grandpa sings in the choir, so we stuck around and listened to them practice. Gracie would crawl from one end of the sanctuary to the front, climb up the stairs, and then stand up on the top step to make sure that everyone in the choir (as if they needed this extra distraction) would stop and notice what a big girl she is. She was very pleased with herself.
By the time the singing was done, it was late, and we hadn't eaten dinner yet. We swung by a little place for some Mexican food on the way home. The food was good, and Gracie devoured her rice and beans. I was reminded how nice it is to live in a state where indoor smoking is not legal when a man walked in and lit up a cigarette at the table behind us. I can't remember the last time I ate surrounded by smoke. Yuck. I packed up the girl and got out of there quickly - not wanting her to be exposed to the smoke.
The drive home was long, but uneventful. I was so exhausted when we got home, that I couldn't wait to crawl into bed. Because Joan's house is fairly small, she had arranged for Gracie and I to sleep next door at the neighbor's house - who also happens to be her son, Charles. (This picture was taken looking out my grandpa's front yard facing Charles's house - it was about a 30 second walk.) Dad and grandpa drove me over and helped me unload our stuff. Rachel was so sweet and gave up her room while I was there, so Gracie and I had our own little space. It wasn't long before we were both in our pj's and I was fading fast. Gracie, on the other hand, had a different idea in her mind. She decided to scream ALL NIGHT LONG. It didn't matter what I did. I put her in her pack-n-play - SCREAM.
I put her in bed with me - SCREAM. I turned on the lights, put her on the floor with her toys - MORE SCREAMING. I was so frustrated I wanted to put her out on the porch with the barking dogs. I am not exactly sure when she stopped, but I think I looked at the clock at about 2:30, and don't remember much else after that. I had woken up at 3 am to catch my plane, and then my sweet baby decided to scream until nearly 3 am the next morning. I was in a house of (almost) strangers, and I was sure they could hear everything. I couldn't help but get angry, and yet I kept thinking how thankful I was that she didn't scream in the plane, she loved her great-grandpa, and she had been SO good at church all night long. All things considered, she had a GREAT day. I just wish she could have had a great night too.
I think we slept until about 10 and I would have kept on sleeping, but I didn't want to waste away my precious time with grandpa. So, I drug my exhausted self out of bed and headed next door. We were met with a delicious, calorie-loaded breakfast. I love walking into a house that smells like bacon! Yummmmmm. We had a nice relaxing morning helping grandpa plant some roses (I took pictures of Grace, none of the finished flowers), we watched the American Idol finale from the night before, lots of talking and playing with Grace. She seemed to really enjoy the hot sun and the wind that was whipping through the yard. She played and played, then took a nice sweaty nap (see pictures).
Grace seemed to really enjoy her time with her grandpa too. We see my folks fairly often, but not for extended periods of time. She had his full attention for three days - I guess that was a dream come true!
It was so hot and humid that it was hard to stay cool and dry - even inside. She would fall asleep nursing under a blanket, and when I pulled her out, she would look like this. We then put down the blanket and she would sleep soundly on the floor.
The view from the front yard was beautiful... nothing but fields of hay as far as you could see. Charles owns 50 acres, but the neighbors pastures all connect so it seems to go on and on for miles. The first few days were very windy, and the hay would sparkle as it swayed back and fourth. I took some video of it, and might post if I have time next week...
Okay, back to Thursday... We decided to head "into town" for dinner, meaning driving nearly back to Dallas. When you live in Leonard there aren't many options for eating out. We stopped at a few places on our way and were able to meet Joan's granddaughter, Crystal, and Joan's oldest son, Lloyd. Joan's daughter-in-law, Jen and her kiddos Jessica and Jacob met us for dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse. I guess this is a good time to talk about how great the Darling family is. I am so glad to know that my grandpa is loved and well cared for there... it helps just a bit when we miss him so much here. It was fun to meet everyone and know that they were all sort of my big extended family. They were warm, welcoming, and very friendly to dad, Gracie and me.
Friday was another semi-low key day for us. We had another huge breakfast, and then were able to spend most of the morning visiting with Rachel, and hearing all about her life and dreams. We headed into Leonard for just a bit, mostly to pick up a few groceries, but also so I could see the three sites... the grocery store, the drug store and the hardware store. You laugh, but I'm not kidding. And, yes, we did stop at all three! It is right out of the movies. Grandpa walks into the hardware store and the workers stop what they are doing, look up and say, "Hey Bob!"
I didn't think towns like that were for real.
Before Gracie's afternoon nap she spent some time out on the porch with grandpa watching and waving to the cows. Should couldn't get enough of them. She would hold out one hand - like a papal blessing - and say "oooh, oooh, oooh," hoping that would draw the cattle nearer. Needless to say it didn't work, although every so often one would stop and just look straight at her. It was fabulous.
Joan invited the whole family over for a BBQ dinner on Friday night, so I was able to meet most of the remaining people that I wasn't able to meet the rest of the time. We had a delicious meal, and then spent time visiting and being entertained by Jessica (4) and Jacob (2).
Neither Gracie or I slept well on Friday night - probably a combination of too much action and it being WAY too hot and humid that night. She slept, but tossed and turned all night, which is another reason that I kept waking up. We were up and packed by 9:30 and headed to grandpa's house for our last Texas breakfast.
Gracie kindly unpacked our bags as I finished eating... she really wasn't ready to leave. (Notice her standing all by herself. What a big girl!). We spent a few minutes taking pictures on the porch - I wanted to make sure we got a good 4-generation picture. Charles and Jamie walked over to help us load up and to say good bye.
It is never easy to say good bye because I am never sure when I will see grandpa again. I grew up seeing all of my grandparents a few times a week (we all lived in Lake Oswego for most of my childhood). I miss having him around here. I miss seeing him often. I miss dinners at their house that would turn into playing cards until the wee hours of the morning. I miss going to movies and Portland Beaver baseball games. I miss making banana splits (that he shouldn't have been eating, but it was a treat for us kids). I miss the road trips we took and the Holidays spent together. I miss that my Gracie won't know him they way I did. I just miss him... a lot! And yet, the time came and we did say goodbye - tearfully. Like I said before, I am just so thankful that he seems to be in good hands and I am glad he isn't alone.
We took off from Leonard at 11 and headed south to Dallas. We dropped off the car, checked into our flights, and went on a hunt for lunch. After eating, my dad had another 30 minutes to kill, so we walked around the terminal and let Gracie explore. She seemed happy to not be held or strapped in her car seat. Dad left at 2:30 and then Gracie and I had another 2 hours to kill before our plane boarded. I really wanted to keep her awake so she would hopefully sleep on the plane. She is so close to walking, so to practice (and burn energy) I stood her up holding on to the back of the stroller, and let her push it through the terminal. We walked for quite a while - drawing much attention everywhere we went. One TSA man even said, "Ooooohhhhh. I was wondering why in the world you were walking so slow. Now I get it."
At 4:15 we boarded our flight and once again were in the back next to the window. The lady sitting next to me on the plane was flying standby, so her and her husband were not sitting together. I offered to move so he could sit with her, and lucky for me he was about 8 rows up and on a aisle. I didn't have an empty seat next to me, but I did end up sitting next to a nice four-square pastor from Reedsport and a gal my age who works for YWAM (youth with a mission). They were SO nice and friendly and even let Gracie crawl all over them during the flight. Oh, that's right. In spite of all our walking and playing, she didn't sleep on the plane - at all! She was, however, very well behaved and made all sorts of friends. One of the flight attendants even took her for a bit. She even sat in Amanda's lap (ywam girl) for the landing. I think she liked looking out the window at the trees and buildings whizzing by.
So, we are home safely. Other than her one bad night in Texas, she was an awesome traveler. We missed Merrick, and of course would have loved to have him with us, but all our prayers were answered and Gracie did so well. We can't wait to continue traveling with her and exploring the world with her. Thank you for thinking of us while we were gone. Sorry this post has taken two weeks to get up... there was just so much to remember and write about.
Playing in the street before the run and parade started.
This is Grace lounging - and yes, my daughter is half in the street.
The Brownlees.
The Riders.
Silly Sophia peaking through her giant pretzel.
Happy girl.
The newest Jr. Portland Police officer.
The starlight run (a fun 5K) is always right before for parade. It is fun to watch people go by, especially those in costumes. This guy was running as the village people (not a great picture, but my camera was slow). There was another guy running as the Brady Bunch, and that might have been the best costume we saw. Another favorite was a pregnant woman who ran by totally barefoot. Get it? Barefoot and pregnant...
Watching the floats go by.
The Budweiser Clydesdales.
Clap, clap, clap... this is so much fun!
