05 Aug A Midwest Family Visit
A couple weekends ago, we visited my mom’s Ohioan side of the family. I think swimming may have been our favorite part. But truly seeing this family that I haven’t seen in years and years was so refreshing, a kick back to my childhood! So many summer weekends were spent with these lovely people; it was really wonderful to reconnect.
It’s much easier to swim with two littles when so many biggers are around!
Baby Timmy wasn’t too keen on the chilly water, but he stuck with it for a couple laps!
We ended every swimming session with legs in the hot tub.
Tim and Courtney got resourceful without their drying rack.
Corban and Jaeda oohed and aahed over Cousin Timmy.
(and over his car seat: buckling fun!)
Corban and Jaeda spent loads of time drumming and coloring,
coloring and drumming at Marty & Tonya’s house. Poor Jaeda needed her
own headphones, but she didn’t seem to mind. (She’s used to tuning him out.)
Second-cousin Clara had so much fun with Jaeda that she insisted on giving her
her old princess lamp (their dresses light up as a nightlight!), which we passed
along to Jaeda on her birthday. She was in love from the second she saw the lamp.
Although she doesn’t understand why she can’t take the princesses off to play.
Then we visited Uncle Milan and Aunt Elsie where proudly on display were my Grandpa…
and Grandma Kral. I never had the privilege of knowing my Grandpa. My mom barely did either, as he died when she was three. But Grandma holds a few more memories in my mind, even though she died when I was just five. I remember jumping down her staircase, top to bottom, convinced that I could fly. The loud thud from my landing brought my dad running. I feigned boredom and a yawned What? til he left and the tears came. Grandma also let us eat whole pancakes in one bite, stuffed into every last cavity of our mouths. If Mom were to walk into the kitchen during said stuffing, however, you were to remain silent, cheeks as deflated as possible til she left and giggles ensued. One final memory I have of this dear lady is her rinsing the suds out of our hair during bath time. “Swish, swish,” she’d say, calming any anxiety of laying down in the tub. I loved feeling my hair flow freely in the water. My mom continued that for as long as we needed assistance rinsing, and today I still do it with my own children. I wish I’d known her longer. If she’s anything like my mom, I know I would’ve loved her for a long, long time.
Next on the tour was Uncle John and Aunt Sue’s place. They have several grandkids and so had
the best kid toys just begging to be played with. We were happy to oblige…
The ever generous Mom and Dad leading the way for the weekend
were always trying to get us directions to the next place, thank you GPS.
(We don’t all fit in one vehicle. Aah if only we still had The Red Big Van–
the 12-seater I grew up riding in…and driving!)
This sums up our trip well. Lots of driving, lots of swimming, lots of family=NAPTIME!
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