Sunday April 29, 2012

Sunday April 29 and it is a beautiful spring day in MI. This is my first blog since April 16. On Tuesday April 17 Nancy and I got up at 0400 and got ready for our ten day trip to CA. The amazing thing is that we left GR at 0600 and arrived in CA at 0900. We picked up our rental car at Dollar and were at Steve's house by noon. Today is Alessandra's 3rd birthday. It would also be my dad's 106th birthday. We stopped by a grocery and bought some ice cream bars to take to Alessandra' day care. Nancy passed out the ice cream to all the kids. The day care is within easy walking distance of Steve's house. Alessandra would not return to day care until April 27th, the day of our departure. Steve picked up Lucas from school after work. For the duration of our stay Nancy and Bob drove Lucas to school and picked him up. We had a lot of fun and we even developed at routine. After dropping off Lucas at school we would stop at McDonald's for senior coffee and then would either run some errands or take Alessandra to a park. After school we would pick up Lucas and then stop at Jamba Juice or Baskin and Robins. On two days we took Lucas to baseball practice. It was great to be able to spend time with the grandkids. Nancy and I are always amazed at how much energy it takes to watch over the kids. Child raising is a young person's game. On Thursday night Debbie arrived. Saturday was the big day. Alessandra birthday party started at 1500 and Lucas had a morning baseball game. Steve and Veronica were dynamo's today. They had to set up for the party, pick up the pizza, sandwiches and ice cream and cake. They rented a jumper which was the hit of the party. I got on top of the porch roof to hold the rope holding the piñata. Steve was on a ladder holding the other end. Every kid got a swing and it took some effort to break the piñata. The kids were given bags to collect the candy. Piñata's are fun. Sunday morning and everyone slept in. Alessandra opened her presents. Today was also my birthday so we celebrated. Nancy found a store that sold Springbank scotch and she bought me a bottle for my birthday. Springbank is made in Campbeltown, Scotland the birth home of my GGF McTavish. I took a two hour bike ride in the afternoon. I rode along the LA River trail to the beach bike trail. I rode the beach trail for about an hour. The weather was cool but the beach was crowded with folks enjoying their day off. Debbie returned to Santa Clara this afternoon. It was great spending time with Debbie. For the rest of the week we settled into a routine. I would walk to Starbucks for coffee and to read the LA Times. I got home in time for us to take Lucas to school. We then would take Alessandra to a park or a library for story hour. On several days we were successful in getting her to take a nap. On Tuesday I got in the rental at noon and drove to San Clemente to visit one of my best friends from Alpena, Tommy Collins. It has been over 55 years since I had seen Tom. He lives in a gated retirement community in the hills above the city. We sat on his patio overlooking the hills and drank several beers and talked about the good ole days in Alpena. We shared many memories. Tom look exactly like his Dad. It was a very enjoyable visit. On Thursday Steve had to take Lucas to school and Alessandra headed back to day care. Our plane left at 1400 and we arrived back home about midnight. Friday morning and we slept in and then we both headed to the MAC. I did my routine at 50%. After the MAC I pedaled to the Kava House and read my papers. When I got home Kim was cleaning windows and Ms P was back. Kim said she enjoyed her time at her house. After a quick lunch I got out the lawn mower and started cutting. It has been 2 weeks since the front yard was cut and three week since the back yard. The grass was long. I put the grass catcher on the mower and picked up all the cuttings. Ms P was out with me and I must have thrown the ball 50 times to her. After the grass was cut I showered and then Nancy and I headed to Panera Bread for dinner. Saturday morning and it was cold. Temperature in the low 30s. I had breakfast at Bill's and then I pedaled around Reeds Lake. I spent the rest of the day reading mail and paying bills. Nancy and I met the Horlings at the Flat River Grill in Lowell for dinner. The place was jammed. We had an enjoyable time talking with Karen and Hal. Sunday morning and we are up at 0700. I did take Ms P out at 0600. We went swimming at the MAC and we both swam 1050 yards. Nancy fixed her world famous scrambled eggs for breakfast. I took my afternoon nap. After the nap Nancy, Ms P and I took a 1 mile walk. After this walk I strapped on my GPS and took a 2.25 mile walk. I averaged 19'30" per mile. Tonight we are having burgers. We will watch 60 minutes and get to bed early. We still have some jet lag.