Fun in California

I was able to fly to Ca. for a few days and surprise the kids. It was fun to see each of the kids reactions when the realized I was there. Jen had told Sammy, Mary and Joshie they were going to go get a surprise. As they drove by the airport Sammy saw me waiting at the curb and was excited to see Grandma. It was fun to see his and Mary's reaction when they found out I was the surprise. When it came time to leave Sammy didn't want me to go, so I told him I'd surprise him again sometime. So he was happy about that. We went to Spring's classroom to help out. Her reaction was pretty funny. You could tell she wanted to get up and give me a hug but she has a substitute teacher and wasn't sure if it would be OK or not. Her teacher told her she could give me a hug but she was a bit embarrassed so I went over and gave her a hug. It was fun helping in her classroom. We told her not to tell Thomas so I could surprise him after school. We picked them up and I hid in the back seat of the van and when Thomas opened the door I said boo. He said, "Grandma" and just about flew into the van. I was able to be there for Halloween and it was fun helping them with their pumpkins and seeing them all dressed up for the Trunk or Treat. On Sat. Spring had a soccer game and afterward I took just Thomas and Spring to lunch at McDonald's to spend a little time with just them. Boy did they talk. It was so much fun to just sit and visit with them. On Monday night we went to see "Where the Wild Things Are." It was a fun movie and I was glad we could do something they normally don't get to do. Then we went to dinner at a buffet. I had a great time visiting with them all and spending time with each of the. I enjoyed the time I got to visit with Jen. I'm amazed at how much she accomplishes with so many little ones. I think I finally masted the car seats, I'm still slow but I can hook and unhook them. (that's an accomplishment for me) I ended up sleeping in Spring's room with Thomas and Spring both. We slept crosswise on the bed so there was pleanty of room. My feet hung off the bed a bit but it was worth it. After a couple of nights Spring was banned from sleeping in the middle. I thought Alanna was a wild sleeper when she was younger, but I think Spring has her beat. I'm surprised Thomas wasn't black and blue from getting kicked by Spring. :) He didn't seem to mind and most of the time slept through it. It was sad to say good bye as it always is. It's hard to live so far away from all our children so we have to make the best of it when we are together.