This year was supposed to be the
year that our kids come home but nobody does that anymore. Sarah and Sam hung
on the longest and for several years were the only ones who came home but now
with his job as a Highway Patrol officer it is difficult for him to schedule
holidays off. Lately however Alycia and Trevor have been coming home and they
were planning on coming this weekend. Unfortunately with Covid some of the
places they wanted to go to while they were out here are closed.
The one place they really wanted to
see was Legoland and when they learned that it was closed they decided that it
would be easier for them to just stay home and fly us out there. They suggested
that we get together with Brandon and Serene and that would allow us to see ten
of our seventeen grandkids. We figured it was a pretty good deal.
We arrived at Brandon’s place late
on Tuesday night, visited with Brandon and Serene for a bit and then hit the
hay. The next morning I was lying in bed when all of the sudden a bunch of kids
piled on top of me.
I had my head under the covers and
apparently they thought that was kind of funny. I then suddenly jumped up and
grabbed which ever kid was closest and gave them a big hug. I think I scared
them to death. It’s been a while since I’ve seen these guys so it was great to see
them again.
Before the day got too busy Brandon
and I went to his gym to work out. He about killed me and I’m still feeling my arms
and shoulders this morning. I think I like running a whole lot better than I
like working out in a gym.
My first order of the day was to
make a couple of apple pies. I’ve always had a kid or two willing to help me
out but it’s been a long time since any of them were home. Now I’m able to talk
my grandchildren into helping me out and it is great. Haley made one pie almost
entirely by herself and Sydney made a good portion of the other pie. They tasted
delicious.
Later in the day Alycia and her
family arrived and we were able to all visit with each other. It was my first
chance to see June since she was born and boy is she a well fed child. She is
also a very content child and usually quite happy.
Friday we visited the Stock Yards in
Fort Worth. We’ve been there before but it was a lot more fun now that the kids
are getting bigger. That was probably the best part of the whole trip.
Sydney
and Hayley are truly young women now and it is so fun to have a grown up
discussion with them.
At the stock yards we watched the
cattle drive and after that we saw a gun fight. We then went to the Fort Worth
water gardens which were pretty cool. I wasn’t to hip on that but they
were taking Sydney and Hayley. I love being with all the grandkids but I really
enjoyed being with the older kids so along I went.
Thursday we had thanksgiving dinner
and the Quinn’s. They had a good crowd over there and it was good to see them
all. It was fairly late in the day when we all headed back to Brandon’s but we
left Brandon behind.
He had made earlier arrangements to go on a trip with Paul
Quinn and they left right after we did. They went lawn Bowling in Arkansas.
Saturday Lisa really wanted to go and
see the Magnolia place in Waco.
The stores at Magnolia are not child
friendly so I played outside with the little kids while Lisa and Serene checked
out the shops with Sydney, Hayley and Rosalie.
It was not my choice of things
to do but it was still fun.
After Waco we headed straight to the
DFW airport and following a tearful goodbye Lisa and I were on the plane. It
was a bit of a whirlwind trip but it was wonderful. Thank you Serene for
hosting us and thankyou Alycia and Trevor for getting us there.
