It’s Been a LONG Week!

It’s been a week now since the big snowstorm last Monday night.  There are still piles of snow in some of the parking lots around town but other than that things are pretty much back to normal.  Gotta keep the family up to date on all our doings so this is pretty much a family post rather than a travel one.  Got some cute videos though!!

We are still planning (weather permitting) to take off on a trip when we take the girls home this coming Saturday.  Stay tuned for more actual Travels in Therapy.

We spent the latter part of last week shopping, cleaning, and fixing food for visitors on Saturday.  John (Red) brought his daughter and our daughter’s girl down from Portland on Saturday.  The other two girl cousins wanted to come over and visit since they are spending spring break in Florida and would not have another chance to see their cousins.  Then John and Joni wanted to meet Joel’s wife so Joel and Annette came over with their four kids.  It was a full house for sure!  We had eight of the grandkids here.


It was great to have such a group and they all seemed to have fun and enjoy lunch.  The new grand daughters fit right in and seemed to enjoy themselves too.

As always, I tried to entice Cailin to show me her latest tune on the piano.  She was kinda having a bad day and made a couple of SMALL mistakes but I enjoyed it anyway.  Uncle John was keeping rhythm on Cailin’s new guitar.



John and Grandma thought her song was fine but she was not happy with it.  So John asked her to do it again.  She was just having a frustrating music day!  I guess she got tired of us bugging her because this is what we got the second time.  Watch the devilish little grin on her face.  John sure enjoyed this tune!!




Our daughter in Oregon City, Merry, got to pick out her new puppy on Saturday.  His name is Ricky and he will be going home with Merry in about a week.  Their other dog is Lucy so it should be a crazy twosome!!  Lucy was supposed to be Merry’s service dog and was about 6 months into training when it was discovered she had hip dysplasia so that was the end of Lucy’s career as a service dog.  Ricky comes with guaranteed hips and a 2 year health guaranty so maybe she will have better luck this time around.

Sunday we flat ran out of gas and did nothing more than we had to!  Sure wish I had the energy I used to have.  So today I took three grands (Anna, Bekah, and Corbin) out to pizza and miniature golfing.  Not too hard on me and they seemed to have a good time.












So that’s about it today from the all the monkeys in the zoo.  Hope you all are having a wonderful spring break – unless you already had it last week!!

How Grandpa Lost His Marbles

Yesterday we had the Eugene girls over.  Arwen, our DIL, was working on setting up her class room and Josh, our son, needed to get some sleep before his late shift at the hospital.  So the girls spent the day at our house.

BTW, just a quick shout out to teachers.  They put in so much time that the public never sees and most are dedicated to their profession.  After spending the first half of her day, and most of last week, organizing her new classroom (she had to move rooms this year), Arwen then went down town to our local Eugene Celebration and helped in a Eugene Education Association booth that was giving away books.  Thank you teachers (and former teachers).

So, first stop with the girls was a trip to the farm.  I’ve posted photos of the farm before so didn’t take any this trip.  The girls went to visit and feed the goats while I loaded my basket with fresh produce.  I got sweet corn, green beans, new potatoes, nectarines, peaches, plums, raspberries, blueberries, and a few other things I can’t remember!  Most of it was locally grown and I feel so fortunate to live in an area where we can get fresh local produce.  I really wanted some of their homegrown blackberries but there is just something about paying for blackberries that makes me queasy!  I can go out and pick them for free – now if I just would do that!!

So we had quite a feast for lunch – green beans simmered with onions, new potatoes, and bacon, and fresh corn on the cob.  The girls shucked their own corn and had a great time doing it.  We nibbled on fresh berries for dessert.
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Grandpa was kinda tired yesterday and I feared he would not really enjoy his time with the girls.  But I was wrong.  Miss Emmie had brought her marbles with her!  She and Grandpa have a thing about marbles…she likes to win them and he can’t seem to stop her!

So the line was drawn in the sand (okay maybe it was carpet) and the shooters came out.  Grandpa’s stash of marbles has become much smaller over the last year or two while Emmie’s just continues to grow.  I told her Grandpa didn't have too many marbles left and she said, “That’s okay, you can just buy him some more.”



Game on!  Of course Emmie has the biggest shooter you ever saw and she uses it like a bowling ball.  Behind that smiling face lies the heart of a true marble shark!


Even though Rusty tried to help, Grandpa was outclassed.


His frustration was beginning to show and Emmie just became more serene!


So while Grandpa and Emmie played marbles, Miss Cailin nestled amongst the quilts and blankets that perpetually adorn my sofa and demonstrated what she has been practicing on the guitar.


And now a short video to show you just how Grandpa lost his marbles.

Okay, I messed up!!  Made the video with no sound track and now I can't seem to get rid of this link.  Grrr...ever have one of those days?  Oh, well...ignore this video, it's the same one as above only silent!