Are You Ready, Boots? Start Walkin'

 I just returned from a trip to So Cal to see my family, and I had a delightful time.  I stayed at Jess' house and Nel's house, so I will show you my time spent at Jess' house first.  There is a Chinese Restaurant on the second floor of the airport, and after checking in with my flight, I got myself an eggroll.  I asked for one, but they gave me four.  I could only eat one, and a few bites of another.

Taking off at our mountain airport.

I'm always amazed that it only takes a little over an hour to get from north to south.  Landing in So Cal.  "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

When I first got to Jess' house, I noticed the pretty white flowers on her table.  She got them from Trader Joe's.

I got in late, and the next day it was the fourth of July!  I was so happy that Mia came over also and I got to spend the day with all my family.

Brian barbecued every meat you can think of - hot dogs, sausages, chicken legs.  Everything tasted great.

Isn't this a festive fourth of July pie that Jess made?

It was blueberry, and she made homemade whipped cream to go with it.  It turned out amazing, and I had it for a couple of days after with my coffee.

The kids went to the pool in the afternoon, and we watched the fireworks that evening.  Jess has an area right by her house which has a great view of the fireworks.  It's a golf course, and we sat on the grass to watch.  It was one of the longest and grandest fireworks displays that I've ever seen.  I kept thinking about how much it must cost the city to pay for such a show.

It was so fun for grandma to do the sparklers once again with the kids.

Jess kept us busy all week, and found such fun things for us to do.  And I suggested Play-Doh, as I remember my kids loving it when they were little.  Is there anything more delightful than Play-Doh hands?

Francesca made herself some Play-Doh nails.

Jess made tostadas one night, and Brian made breakfast burritos one morning.

We drove over to Barnes & Noble because Jess wanted to get Nel something for her birthday.  Francesca really wanted this black cat stuffie, and I had such pleasure buying it for her.  This cat looked so real.  She named her "midnight."

When Francesca showed me their new cowboy boots, I introduced her to the legendary song back in the day, These Boots are made for Walkin' by Nancy Sinatra.  They did a little dance performance for us, which was so cute.

Brian made chicken parmesan one night, which was incredible.

And while I'm a one item breakfast eater, Jess always has a variety of goodies on her plate for breakfast.

Me and Francesca played several games of Checkers.  She's getting better and better each time I see her.

It was a good day to watch a movie at the theatre, so Jess got us tickets for Toy Story 5, which was so delightful.  And for me, there's nothing like movie theatre popcorn.  This was Charlotte's first movie in a theater!

Jess and Brian had a date night one evening while grandma watched the kids.  They had a great time, and were so appreciative of those few hours all to themselves.

I'll show you my time spent at Nel's house next.  It was a good week, and this is pretty much what it consisted of.....I don't think it gets any better than this.

We also went to a beautiful Rose Garden in Jess' town, and I will share pictures of that later.  There is a water fountain and a gazebo, and also a shaded area with benches.  It really is the most lovely rose garden I've seen.  If I lived close to it, I would go there at least once a week.

I will leave you with this song, just because I love it.