Barbara L
Traveling Welcome Wagon
Well, I got back yesterday. I already miss my daughter, grandkids, dad, and sister! I don't miss the higher prices (like gas 40 cents a gallon higher than ours).
Highlights of my trip:
Andrew's 10th birthday. I moved back here before either he or Hannah were born, and I have never been there for one of their birthdays.
I got to see him play in one of his Little League baseball games that day, and we had a little family party later.
I got to see Hannah (6 3/4 years old) learn to ride a bike. She's riding like a pro now. That same day, I finally learned how to crochet.
We went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park. I hadn't been in so long, and there were a lot of changes. We all had such a good time. Afterwards, we stopped by my dad's store, in Escondido, then we went across the street to Filippi's Pizza. I have been dying for Filippi's Pizza ever since I moved back here.
Reading bedtime stories with Hannah. Hannah has taken to reading just like her brother, mom, and grandma (me) did. You should hear her! She read to me much of the time, and sometimes we went back-and-forth. She was reading words like "harvesting," "stethoscope," etc. She didn't know what some of the words were, but after we talked about them, she remembered them later. Like "sigh." The way she read with feeling really surprised me. Most of the 4th graders I taught didn't even do that.
Hannah and I started a little thing one night when she was reading (I think) "A Bug's Life" to me. Someone in the story sneezed. Ever since then, if I kiss her on the nose, as soon as I kiss it, she gives a little, "Choo!" It is so cute!
We got to go up to Riverside to see my aunt and cousins. We had a great time there.
We played tons of games--board games, Farkle (a dice game), Uno Attack, Guestures, Malarky, etc. Andrew beat me several times at Stratego. When we decided to play checkers, Andrew said, "I'm going to beat you!" I mopped the floor with him and said, "You learned to never say 'I'm going to beat you' to someone you haven't played with before! He did win the 2nd game.
I got to go to my home church for Easter. It was a really nice service.
We went fishing on the Oceanside pier. Nancy's boyfriend caught a couple before we got there, but I was the only one who caught one after we got there. It was very tiny (I said, "I found Nemo!") and went back of course. The interesting thing (for which I was glad) was that the hook didn't even go into the fish's mouth. He was just holding onto my bait!
Nancy, my sister, and I went to one of the Indian casinos one night. My sister had been before and had gotten a coupon for a free buffet, and Nancy and I got a free buffet for signing up for a player's card. It was the BEST buffet I have ever seen in my life. New York steak, crab legs, sushi (I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was really good), stuffed avocados, chocolate fountains, great salad ingredients, --you name it, they had it. Everything was so fresh and perfectly prepared.
After the buffet, we hit the slots (We each planned on spending a set amount and the card games had too high a minimum--our money would have been gone way too quickly!). I played the penny slots and left $100 ahead. Unfortunately, for Nancy and Diana, they came away with lighter pockets. But we all had a great time, and the meal was spectacular.
Nancy babysits a little boy, and since his 11-year-old sister was off for spring break, she was there too. She wrote a really cute play, and she, Andrew, and Hannah performed it for us. Andrew wasn't really into it, but he did a good job. Hannah is a natural actress! She was amazing!
The best part of the whole trip was just talking and being so close to Nancy and the kids. It was one of the nicest two weeks I have ever had.
I will put some pictures up in Member Photos as soon as I can.
Barbara
Highlights of my trip:
Andrew's 10th birthday. I moved back here before either he or Hannah were born, and I have never been there for one of their birthdays.
I got to see him play in one of his Little League baseball games that day, and we had a little family party later. I got to see Hannah (6 3/4 years old) learn to ride a bike. She's riding like a pro now. That same day, I finally learned how to crochet.
We went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park. I hadn't been in so long, and there were a lot of changes. We all had such a good time. Afterwards, we stopped by my dad's store, in Escondido, then we went across the street to Filippi's Pizza. I have been dying for Filippi's Pizza ever since I moved back here.
Reading bedtime stories with Hannah. Hannah has taken to reading just like her brother, mom, and grandma (me) did. You should hear her! She read to me much of the time, and sometimes we went back-and-forth. She was reading words like "harvesting," "stethoscope," etc. She didn't know what some of the words were, but after we talked about them, she remembered them later. Like "sigh." The way she read with feeling really surprised me. Most of the 4th graders I taught didn't even do that.
Hannah and I started a little thing one night when she was reading (I think) "A Bug's Life" to me. Someone in the story sneezed. Ever since then, if I kiss her on the nose, as soon as I kiss it, she gives a little, "Choo!" It is so cute!
We got to go up to Riverside to see my aunt and cousins. We had a great time there.
We played tons of games--board games, Farkle (a dice game), Uno Attack, Guestures, Malarky, etc. Andrew beat me several times at Stratego. When we decided to play checkers, Andrew said, "I'm going to beat you!" I mopped the floor with him and said, "You learned to never say 'I'm going to beat you' to someone you haven't played with before! He did win the 2nd game.
I got to go to my home church for Easter. It was a really nice service.
We went fishing on the Oceanside pier. Nancy's boyfriend caught a couple before we got there, but I was the only one who caught one after we got there. It was very tiny (I said, "I found Nemo!") and went back of course. The interesting thing (for which I was glad) was that the hook didn't even go into the fish's mouth. He was just holding onto my bait!
Nancy, my sister, and I went to one of the Indian casinos one night. My sister had been before and had gotten a coupon for a free buffet, and Nancy and I got a free buffet for signing up for a player's card. It was the BEST buffet I have ever seen in my life. New York steak, crab legs, sushi (I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was really good), stuffed avocados, chocolate fountains, great salad ingredients, --you name it, they had it. Everything was so fresh and perfectly prepared.
After the buffet, we hit the slots (We each planned on spending a set amount and the card games had too high a minimum--our money would have been gone way too quickly!). I played the penny slots and left $100 ahead. Unfortunately, for Nancy and Diana, they came away with lighter pockets. But we all had a great time, and the meal was spectacular.
Nancy babysits a little boy, and since his 11-year-old sister was off for spring break, she was there too. She wrote a really cute play, and she, Andrew, and Hannah performed it for us. Andrew wasn't really into it, but he did a good job. Hannah is a natural actress! She was amazing!
The best part of the whole trip was just talking and being so close to Nancy and the kids. It was one of the nicest two weeks I have ever had.
I will put some pictures up in Member Photos as soon as I can.
Barbara
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