This month's calendar                                                    Archives                             

March 18, 2011

IT'S FRIDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!!

We started the week with preparations for our trip to Arizona to visit my sister, Jeanne. Our master plan was for us both to drive our cars into West Linn on Tuesday to meet up with our two oldest granddaughters, Ashtin and Paige who were coming along with us. I had to attend my Master Gardener's class all day on Tuesday and Dave had a Blazer broadcast the night before. It worked out perfectly and on Wednesday morning we were off to the airport to catch our flight. We checked in one bag at the ticket counter because I had packed a lot of "liquid" stuff that I knew would not make it onto the flight as a carry-on with all the TSA restrictions. As it turned out, much to my surprise, Ashtin and Paige had brought along in their carry-on a large container of shampoo, conditioner and toothpaste that didn't make it. If I had known, it would have been packed among with my stuff before I checked it in. Oh well, replacing those items was no big deal once we arrived in Phoenix.

Dave brought his cane along so he could weasel his way aboard the plane first. However, it doesn't work for standing in line to check in my bag and go through security. But it helps to get on the plane first so we could find our seats and space for our carry-on luggage and settle in for the 2-1/2 hour flight to Phoenix. Speaking of flights, can anyone please tell me why someone will go to all the trouble of snagging a window seat on the airplane and then close the curtain while they sleep for the entire trip? That's what happened with two people near us and of course, when they close the window curtain, none of the rest of us gets to see anything! We did manage to spot the Grand Canyon from above and that was about the only highlight of our trip down. Also, stepping off the plane to 85 degrees wasn't bad either. After getting our rental car, we set the GPS for North Phoenix where my sister lives. She had a wonderful meal all prepared for us and we all headed for bed early.

We may have been a bit unfair to the girls when we were preparing for this trip. Knowing that they were going to be seeing cousins for the first time - or in the case of Ashtin and Hannah - for the first time in nine years which amounts to the same thing, we kept telling them how much fun they were going to have with Hannah and Lia. To their credit, they did enjoy each other's company, but there were a couple of times when being together 24/7 wore a little thin. Still, I think they enjoyed the idea of meeting new cousins and I know they were not ready to come home when it was time for us to leave.

We had a sleep-over with Hannah a couple of nights and she enjoyed going with the grandgirls to the Coasters and Castles amusement park where we played miniature golf and rode on crazy rides all afternoon. They wanted to go on this other aquatic park called "Wet n Wild" but that was a little spendy, it was the park's opening day and we knew it would be super crowded and we didn't think we could go on any of the slides in the park. We didn't want to just drop them off at a park without supervision. They ended up spending some time at Hannah's grandmother's place swimming in her non-heated pool. Although it was 85 degrees out, the pool was about 50 degrees and they got cooled off in a hurry. No surprise, but they decided they didn't want to swim again after that!

Another thing we did with the girls was to take them lemon and orange picking. My sister has a friend who we always try to visit so we can pick their fruit. We wanted the girls to know that oranges and lemons actually grow on trees and not at the supermarket. They had a lot of fun picking fruit and afterwards were fed BBQ hamburgers and hotdogs. We brought a sack of lemons and oranges home with us for everyone to enjoy.

We had a wonderful trip with the grandgirls. Because of their schedules and our schedules and the hundred miles between us - we just don't get to see them nearly enough. This past five days and been a great opportunity for us to bond. As an afterthought, if you're looking for a relaxing vacation, don't plan to spend it with active 11 and 8 year-olds. We were busy every day trying to keep them occupied. We knew that was what we were going to be doing from the beginning, but the baseball games, amusement parks, swimming pools and general socializing kept us all running! It was a great trip and everyone had a good time.

We left Phoenix with 85 degrees and sun and we arrived back in Portland on Monday to 45 degrees and rain! I drove back home so I wouldn't miss my Master Gardener's class. Dave drove the grandgirls back to their place in Silverton. He stayed in Portland an extra day as there was another Blazer broadcast on Tuesday night. That gave me a chance to get caught up on the laundry and go through a mountain of mail. So it is back to normal once again. Even though it is fun to "get away" it is always nice to get back home.

Incidentally, we happened to be in Phoenix when the earthquake and tsunami occurred in Japan. I was awakened by Dave's cell phone giving us the notice to evacuate because we live on the Oregon coast and they were afraid the tsunami would ripple across the Pacific. When I saw the message on the cell phone, I couldn't believe it and before I woke Dave up to alert him, I checked the Internet. After I woke him up, we both sat up all night to watch the incredible pictures that were taken of the disaster. I really felt helpless because I am a neighborhood captain and Red Cross volunteer and felt like I should be at home helping with the evacuation. At the same time, I felt lucky to be in Arizona. As it turned out, we had minimal effect from the tsunami in our area, so we really didn't miss much - other than a night's sleep while we were watching the drama unfold on the computer. I was also worried about our dear friend, Tetsuo Koyoma and his family who live north of Tokyo. The minute I got back home, I e-mailed him to find out if he was safe. Luckily, he and his family survived the earthquake and the tsunami but there is still a great concern about the nuclear fallout from the reactors. Please keep my friends in your thoughts and prayers as they go through this terrible ordeal that they stay out of harms way.

We are back in West Linn as I write this. Dave had his final appointment with the neurologist on Thursday and she told him he's doing so well that she didn't need to see him any more. He told her there was nothing personal, but he'd just as soon not have to see her any more either! Dave will continue to see the cardiologist until they can get his blood pressure and cholesterol under control, but being done with the neurologist is a good thing! Since Dave has broadcasts on Thursday and Saturday, we'll just stay in town until Sunday.