getting outside

 It has helped.  Yesterday they fought.  And fought. And,  yeah.  Ugh.
 Today was better.  Everyone was in a better mood.

 Mud pies:

  The weeds are down around the creek in the easement.

 Normally there's so much thick brush, can't even see the creek.  It's about a foot deep, meandering current. I'm sure it's much more after a storm.

Love, Grandma

a long couple weeks

Spring break took a weird turn this year, as everyone knows.

There are five kids home, three college students and two high school students, and none of them really want to be here.

James and Aaron are finishing up and graduating in May.  This was not the ending any of us pictured.

Kari is back home again college sophomore.  Tim and Julia are doing high school distance learning.

They've all been very patient with each other and with us, very peaceful and patient, which is all about what good sports they are.

Jay's been cooking delicious food.   We've been making malts and air frying shrimp in the evening.  It's nice to come together in the kitchen at the end of the day and share a few laughs.  Nobody eats that much, but it's nice to be together.

I miss my grandkids.  We all miss each other. 

But the tulips are peeking out of the ground, one reliable thing.

March?   You've been interesting. 

Love, Val

not sure what to think

 I ordered these two acrylic racks to put literature in at my real estate listings.  All good.  They're just fine.

But they were sent in a box bigger than a cooler, just a gigantic box:

 With another box inside, and all this packing foam. 

I'm glad they didn't break, true, but this seems like vast overkill.

Anyway, not sure what to think.

Love, Val

today

This was a long awaited day--the day Julia received her little retainer which would fill in the congenitally missing laterals in her smile.

We didn't even thing it would happen because Corona.

But the office called and said they could meet in the parking lot and see if it fit, and if it did, good to go.

How kind.  How incredibly kind of them.

So here we are, after years and years of Invisalign, which I do love, but it's been YEARS.

There you go, Julia.

And here is your very bored niece crafting pony tails, tower pony tails that involve the new mini-backpack that came in the mail today from her other grandma.

Onward.

We're on it.  Love MOM aka GRANDMA

art

 Someone, a long time ago, pointed out to me that boredom is not the worst thing. Time and space allow unexpected creativity. 

They worked on make up creations, very beautiful.

An unexpectedly beautiful collage:

You girls.

So much love, MOM

down syndrome awareness day

Events were cancelled, but the day went on anyway.

It's been a good winter for our baby.  She's standing now by the furniture and crawls everywhere like the wind.   She's been healthy all winter, and she's been doing well in swallow therapy, enjoying eating with her family.  And her therapists are both absolutely sweet and lovely. She can't drink thin liquids, but otherwise she eats fine, loves her baby puffs and macaroni and cheese, cooked carrots cut up small.   It's fun.

Hoping for a great future, and so much love,  Grandma

leprechauns, 2020

 The Leprechauns threw their candy around and left a mean note.

The kids are pretty big for this, but this has been going on since the late 1980s, over 30 years.

And who doesn't like candy and a mean note?

Plus, it's at that point of the year, where spring is right there, a day this way or that.  It was warm and sunny today, but may snow on Thursday night.

Are we isolating?  How do you do that in a family like this?  I don't even know.  I take care of a two year old and a baby day by day--stay six feet away?  I mean, seriously.  Not possible. My house is full of people with everyone home from school.  I love having them here, but that's not an infection control solution.  It's all quite confusing.

Hoping for the best, trying to keep level, and hoping everybody stays healthy.

Love, Val

singing to james

 We never sang to him.  On March 10th he was still at school, and this weekend, we didn't think of it.

Well, then I did.

He was a good sport, willing to eat cake.

Look at the fire on that ice cream cake:

 There you go--

Happy Birthday again, my beautiful James.

We love you so dearly,  Mom and Dad and Everybody

painter working

She painted for hours, many, many beautiful, soggy paintings.

Love you, Grandma

birthday party!

 The party was postponed a week due to the stomach flu going through the family.

Gosh, good times.

Ugh.

 But today was a great day, loved ones all around celebrating and having fun.

You my dear, are a delight.

I hope NINE is a great year. 

Happy Birthday with so much love, Grandma and Grandpa and Everybody

a week ago

 A week ago, Kari came with me for the day babysitting.  We had a great time.  That little girl popped out of a nylon kid tunnel and told us, "That kid was rude at me!"

A cute kid peeked out and made a scary face.

"See??"

It added to the drama and they chased each other in the tunnels for a while.

Then we stopped at the grocery store and bought lunch and this bouquet of St. Patrick's Day flowers, very festive.

It feels like it was about a year ago.

What a week this has been.

So much love, Val

and this happened

 John and Dannell moved and we were able to be helpful last Sunday for the afternoon. Above you will see a child with a huge sandwich.  My dad baked those little loaves of bread, one for each of them, and the child took his brother's beef jerky to use for the filling.

Good LOR-ed.

No, he did not eat the whole thing.  Shortly an ice cream truck drove though the neighborhood and I gave them a $20, and they all ran away chasing after the ice cream truck.  I stuffed this sandwich in a zip bag and tossed it in the fridge.

 My camera's batteries are dead and my phone storage keeps announcing to me that it's full so Dannell sent me these two pictures from the day. There they are on the front steps with their ice creams.

Below they are beating up on each other at basketball in the back yard.

John?  Dannell?  All of you kids?  I hope you will find as much happiness at your new house as you did at your old one.

Nothing but love, MOM and Dad.

who is 23?

 Yup, that little pipsqueak in the middle has a birthday today.

James?

You've always been adorable.

 This is one of my favorite pictures of you. It captures everything about what you were like as a child.

It's been such a pleasure.

Thank you for all the happiness you've brought us.

Happy Birthday, with love forever, Mom and Dad and Everyone