Kyra Graduates!

Today was Graduation Day for our Granddaughter Kyra Anne here in Salem, Oregon. She was one of a class of 400 (though she says they started with 600). The graduation was held at a field house in the fairgrounds. I don't know how many it seated, but it was full.

Kyra and her friend left a little before three along with her bio-grandparents and Granddaughter Havela to save seats for the rest of us. We left at four for a five o'clock ceremony. It's a good thing the others had gone earlier as the stadium was rapidly filling up.

It took over an hour for all of the graduates to parade across the stage to receive their diplomas (at least the covers for them!). The speeches were short and sweet, the air conditioners were working. It was as pleasant a graduation as we've ever attended. With three sets of grandparents, her parents and Sister Havela and Kahlyn, we pretty much filled up a row.

We returned back to the house for the leg of lamb and pork chops that Todd had smoked. As we finished eating, my Sister Roxy and Rich arrived to be here for tomorrow's party. Talking with Brother Pat, we discovered that Nephew Nick was in the ER with possible appendicitis, thereby interrupting Pat and Cindy's trip south!

It was another busy day, but a good one, filled with love and laughter.

Babysitting

I am one tired lady tonight. Havela and Kahlyn arrived about 10 AM this morning with Kahlyn still in her jammies. She helped me eat my breakfast bagel, then was quickly back to exploring every inch of the motorhome.

Havela had an appointment at the clinic this afternoon, so we got to have Kahlyn all to ourselves for several hours. She is such a busy little girl! After a couple of hours of playing, she fell asleep sitting on my lap. she just needs to hold still long enough for her eyes to close and she's out. After her nap, she shared a cheese stick and half an apricot with GGrandpa.

Later I gave them each a ginger snap cookie. It puzzled the little one for a bit until she figured out she couldn't break it with her fingers, she had to bite a bit off. Then she thought it was funny.

After Havela returned, we moved the baby's car seat to our car so that GGrandpa could take Kahlyn over to Daughter Dawn's house while Havela and I took her car to the grocery store to pick up some vegetables for supper. We also picked up some juice and treats for little Kahlyn for when she is at our house. Then we too headed for Dawn and Todd's for dinner.

Todd's parents, Jerry and Janny had arrived this afternoon from Idaho, so we had a chance to visit with them while enjoying dinner. It was another very good day!

A Quiet Day

It was twenty degrees cooler today than yesterday. It rained during night sometime and the front that came through chased out the heat.

We definitely needed a rest day today. There is definitely a reason that people in their seventies do not have babies! But, the house was awfully quiet today without either grand-children or our great granddaughter.

We did go for a short walk this afternoon, but that was about the extent of our activity. I did a bit of house cleaning and Forry took the garbage over to the dumpster and that was about it.

More Family Time

After getting my banking done online this morning, we made a quick trip to the grocery store to replenish our supply of water and Pepsi - and to get some Popsicles. When we got back to the RV Park, Granddaughter Havela and Baby Kahlyn were out on the grass waiting for us. Since Mom and Dad were both at work today and her brother and sister were in school, they came to hang out with us this afternoon.

Kahlyn is SO busy! She is never still, just a very busy little baby! Havela closed the sliding door that goes back to the bathroom and bedroom, so we pretty much had her confined to the living area. I think she explored every inch of it. There was a lot of putting various things up out of reach - and some discovery that our idea of "out of reach" doesn't necessarily meet with reality! She's very smart and quickly learned that she had to stay away from the steps.

Kahlyn is fascinating to watch as she explores her world. At only ten months, she knows that if you swipe your tiny finger across an iPad, you can make the pictures change! And if you play with Mama's phone, you can get music to play. She recognizes the music from Big Bang Theory and dances to it. It's a whole lot of fun to get Grammy's little table pushed over so that you can slide it across the floor - and even climb into it.

And of course, everything goes in her mouth. Cheese sticks, bagels, cookies, cherries, Hershey bars and Popsicles. Anything Mommy's eating needs to be shared! She even thought sun flower seeds should be shared. She loves water bottles and will chug the water down - you have to tip the bottle down to get her to stop long enough to take a breath.

Are we fascinated and enamored of our first great grand child? No! Absolutely not!

She finally fell asleep in my arms as she was looking out the window and playing with her toes. She got in a good half hour nap before she and her Mommy left to go for a swim with Auntie Kyra at the Croc Community Center pool where Ky works as a life guard.

What a lovely way to spend an afternoon!

Sailing

Mondays are pastors' days off, so Todd invited us to go sailing with him today. He picked us up at about 10:30, along with Granddaughter Havela and Greatgranddaughter Kahlyn, and we drove about an hour to a reservoir near Eugene where he has his sailboat in a slip. This sailboat has quite a story. For our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, Forry organized a trip for us to a sailing school in the Virgin Islands. After some initial training, we went on a two weeks trip around the Islands on a forty foot sailboat. When we got back, Forry started looking for a boat of his own and found a 23 foot San Juan sailboat and trailer in Oak Harbor, Washington.

We sailed that boat during the years we lived on the ranch. Then we moved to Spokane when I went to work for the AHEC at WSU Spokane. We parked the sailboat on its trailer in the driveway of the Spokane house with the intention of looking for a nearby boat slip so that we could use it. But life got busy, Forry found other interests and the boat sat in the driveway for 18 years! Finally, he gave it to our son-in-law, who completely rebuilt the trailer and the inside of the sailboat, repainted the outside and re-rigged it. Now he and his family are enjoying it.

It was a lovely day for sailing. There was a nice breeze and it was very comfortable out on the water. Kahlyn was not real happy about having to wear a life jacket, but she enjoyed playing in the cabin. We made a loop pretty much around the reservoir, getting a bit of suntan in the process. It was a wonderful day.

Kahlyn has been a bit skeptical of her Greatgrandfather and his beard. Forry's spent enough time with her the past couple of days that she's decided he just might be okay and started making up to him. She is just a little character and we are enjoying her immensely. She is a good eater and game to try anything. She shared ice cream bars with her mother and I on the way home and I think she ate more than we did!

Another Good Day

It was HOT again today. We went to Salem Mennonite Church this morning where Son-in-law Todd is pastor. The church was quite full as today was ordination day for one of their members who was ordained as a chaplain. It's always fun to sit by Granddaughter Havela and hear her beautiful voice. We got a few snuggles with GGD Kahlyn before she went to the nursery to play with the trucks.

We went back home after church while Dawn and Todd and family attended the potluck at church and then went to a Graduation  Open House for a friend's child. After watching another disappointing Mariners game and a nap, we rejoined the family at their friends' house near Canby. Mark and Hallie had prepared a feast. We had ribs, potatoes, corn on the cob, grilled asparagus and Bolivian tomato salad. So good.

With horses, pot-bellied pigs and dogs, GGD Kahlyn had a ball. For only ten months old, she is extremely agile and active. She takes five to six steps at a time before she tumbles, she'll walk, then drop to hands and knees and just go. She climbs steps and backs back down. She's a very busy little girl! She's fun to watch, but I could use a bit of her energy!

Grands and Great-Grands

Granddaughter Havela and Greatgranddaughter Kahlyn flew in from Illinois this evening. When Todd and Dawn asked if I wanted to go along with them to the airport, there was only one possible answer!  Kahlyn was born last summer after Forry's back surgery and there was no way I could leave him to go back for her birth - and there was no way he could travel. So this was my first chance to meet her in person!

Oh, we talk on the phone and she chatters to us on Skype, but it's not quite the same. They had taken the bus from Bloomfield to O'Hare in Chicago this morning. They had a several hour wait for their flight (thanks to TSA), then the long flight out here that arrived a bit after eight this evening. They evidently had a tail wind as the flight was early. They were waiting at the curb when Todd pulled up.

Kahlyn looks so much like her mother did when we met the plane bringing Daughter Dawn and Havela from Bolivia! Her hair is not quite as dark, but she has the same chocolate eyes. I did get a few minutes of holding her before Grandma Dawn snatched her away!

We stopped to feed Havela and Todd supper, then came on to drop me at the RV park and introduce Kahlyn to her Great-grandfather. I don't think she knew quite what to make of the beard...
Havela was exhausted and Kahlyn hadn't slept on the plane, so it was off to bed for both of them.

Another Friday

Another relatively quiet day. We took showers and I did laundry. It's the third of the month, so I spent part of it paying bills.

Son-in- law Todd called and said he was barbecuing chicken for supper if we'd like to come over.  He made a quinoa side dish and a strawberry spinach salad to go with the chicken. Daughter Dawn got home from her job at the health department a few minutes after we arrived. Grandson Micah was at a Magic Card gathering and Granddaughter Kyra was at the pool working, so it was just the four adults -- and Sparky, the dog.

Family Time!

Granddaughter Kyra Anne got out of school early this afternoon and wasn't scheduled to work (She's a supervising lifeguard and teacher at the Croc Community Center pool), so she came over and spent the afternoon with us. So nice. I was able to ascertain just what model she wanted and we ordered the coffee & cappucino maker she wanted for her graduation present.

Turns out Grandson Micah had a band concert tonight. His Dad took him to the band potluck which started at five. Dawn came by after work; we enjoyed guacamole Kyra made as well as some fat marinated shrimp; then Dawn and I went to the concert which started at 7, while Kyra went home for an early bedtime.

The concert actually didn't get started until almost 7:30 (they were giving out awards at the potluck), but it turned out to be well worth waiting for. Micah's freshman band did well, then the rest of the music mostly focused on the graduating seniors. It was very enjoyable.

Dawn dropped me off at home where Forry was still listening to the Mariners game! It had started before we left! The Mariners came back from a ten point deficit and won the game 16-13!!!

Family!

It's been a good day. Daughter Dawn came by for lunch in the midst of her work day for the Health Department. It was so good to see her!

I texted with Granddaughter Kyra Anne. She was already at work at her job life-guarding at the Croc Community Center and had a Senior Banquet this evening. Maybe we'll get a chance to see her tomorrow.

We drove the twenty-five miles to Wilsonville to Camping World mid-afternoon to pick up some of the blue packets for the gray and black tanks. They are the only thing we ever use in the tanks and they have always done well for us. No reason to change anything that "ain't broke!"

Son-in-law Todd called to see if we'd like to come over for dinner since Dawn had a meeting tonight. I told him I had been thinking about making Gruyere cheesewiches for supper and suggested he and Grandson Micah come and join us. The two of them did. It was good to see Todd and our no longer short grandson. Micah turned fifteen a week ago and is now a good six feet tall - with a deep voice to match!

They stayed and watched a few innings of the Mariners game with us. After the 17-4 shellacking last night in Seattle, the Padres are returning the favor in San Diego and are leading the Mariners 11-4 in the 6th....