THE Summer Vacation

Let's see if my fuzzy (pain medication) brain can remember...

Friday, August 15: I tried not to forget anything as I prepared to drive to Shaunna's house; tsk-tsk, I forgot the sandwich fix'ins, pretty important since Shaunna didn't purchase them and was counting on me to supply Saturday's lunch at Sea World. I called my hero, Joe, and he zipped over quickly on the motorcycle bringing the sliced ham and the cheese sticks. Joe put them into Shaunna's refrigerator and the rest of us continued to scurry around loading items into the van. I'm not sure when it was during the trip that I remembered to ask Shaunna if anyone had gotten the food out of her refrigerator! NO! Please, don't tell Joe.

We're all excited and eager to get on the road headed to San Antonio, at last we pull away from Shaunna and Vincent's house and drive the quick block over to Laurie and James' house. No James yet! Poor guy, he works ALL THE TIME! James and Vincent needed this vacation more than any of the rest of us, I think. Laurie and the four kids come out to the van and begin searching for space in the van to sit and stuff their luggage and stroller, Laurie makes another trip into the house and cannot believe us when we tell her that little Gabriella just lost all of her stomach contents onto the sidewalk and is still sick when Laurie gets to her on the front lawn. Poor baby. I'm thinking...PRAY!

I'm thankful that Gabriella had not waited for another two minutes and up-chucked
I N T H E V A N!!! Bless poor Gabi, she was as strong as possible and God helped her to make it to San Antonio without too much sickness.

I found out that Madilyn, although cute, sweet and snugly...doesn't make a very good bed buddy, at least not in a tiny double bed when I'm used to sleeping in a king size bed. I was awake every hour adjusting my position, AND her position in that bed all night and since she kept yanking the covers, I made sure each time that she was well covered and warm. But, I was thinking all the while, how we would be sharing that same bed on Saturday night. LOL

Saturday, August 16: I learned on Saturday morning that Laurie had been up with Gabi ALL NIGHT long but that Gabi was feeling "okay" enough to go to the park with everyone.

Sea World is someplace that I've always enjoyed going; I'm fascinated by everything from that other world, the sea. It was hot as expected, being San Antonio, TX in August. It was nice that we all had on the matching shirts that Shaunna had decorated for us. We arrived at the park before it opened and parked near where we would later come out to eat lunch under the shade trees. It's always fun to watch the expressions on the faces of my grandchildren when we go to feed the dolphins, and this time I got to see Breaunna, Gabriella and Krisalyn see those amazing creatures up close for the first time. Krisalyn was frightened but they all enjoyed themselves on their own level, to some degree. I was happy to be there with both of my daughters and all of their families.

The park was extremely BUSY and crowded this year so it seemed to take a very long time for the kids to get through the long lines and ride the exciting rides. It helped that there were six adults to keep up with the eight children. God provided shade for me to keep Elijah and Gabriella in most of the day and they were both well-behaved for me during our long waits while the others were off riding rides and playing.

It was finally time to go to the water park to get cooled off, aah, at last! People everywhere! The nineteen of us manage to find a place to "park" all of our belongings, everyone gets a buddy or two and heads off in one direction or another to play in the water. I keep watch over Gabriella and all of the stuff. It's fun seeing James in the water with Elijah and Krisalyn. One by one they each come in and their excited facial expressions tell me they are enjoying themselves and having a great time. I'm amazed at how brave Breaunna and Caitlyn are in the water after just two weeks of swimming lessons this summer; they are showing no fear. I'm thankful that the water park supplies life jackets for them to wear in the water. I see Shaunna and Laurie and know they are enjoying seeing their kids have a fun time.

Time for dinner; we find a restaurant that has room for all of us at one long table. Elijah chows down on his pureed garden vegetables, loving every bite and loudly complaining when I don't shovel it in fast enough. Gabriella finally nibbles on a bite or two of some food. Everyone has rested a little and filled their tummy; "refreshed" & "energized" (ha ha) it's time to find some more fun! It's getting dark now so the park is taking on a different look with pretty lights here and there. Gabriella quickly falls asleep, wrapped in a towel to stay warm as a cool breeze has begun to blow and her temperature is going up. Shaunna, Rosie and I have most of the younger kids and take them to see one of the shows and then to ride some rides. It's getting a little stormy and a few drops of rain are falling on us, the lightning is too close now so the rides are getting closed; time to head for the front gate and on to the hotel.

Today is Juan's twelfth birthday; Vincent and James ride to Walmart with John and Rosie to buy a birthday cake and more supplies for Sunday while everyone else is getting baths and dressed for bed. In my room, Madilyn and Caitlyn fall fast asleep while Noah and Joshua go to Juan's room to sing Happy Birthday and celebrate his day with some birthday cake. By the time they all get back to our room, me and the girls are sleeping soundly.

Madilyn and I had a good night's sleep and she only woke me up once, at 3:00 a.m. when I awoke to her hand crashing down on my face! I looked over at her and she was still fast asleep, quite unaware that she had just smacked her loving Grannie in the face.

Sunday, August 17: Fiesta Texas! I like this place, it just seems more festive and interesting to me than our Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington.

On the van ride over to the park, Shaunna reminds the kids that today is Sunday, she talks about God and how He has let us all take this fun family vacation, that we need to be thankful for what He's done for us and she asks the kids to name some of the things they enjoyed on the trip. They were precious in their responses. She talked about Christians needing to be good so that other's can see Christ in us, that we need to let our lights shine for Him. We sang, This Little Light Of Mine, Jesus Loves Me, The B-I-B-L-E, I've Got the JOY Down In My Heart and other songs. I felt that we honored our Lord and He blessed our day. We are thankful.

Our day was wonderful, the crowds at Fiesta Texas were SMALL, everyone got to ride LOTS of rides, the water park was not over-crowded, Gabriella was feeling even better than the day before, Elijah and Krisalyn took naps for me while everyone else was here and there in the water park, nobody got stung by the million bees that were all around us the entire time we were near the water, no injuries, just lots of F U N!

The three families separated for a little while and went to do their own thing. The smells of yummy foods were beginning to make some tummy's growl. It was time to find the "face painter" to get the girls faces decorated. More rides, some heavy rain, lots of time to watch the kids laugh and enjoy themselves. I was happy that I'm too old and beat-up to have to get on those rides that turn you upside-down and round and round; the younger folks sure seem to get their thrills from them though.

My family made me proud this weekend, they all laughed, had fun, were patient with one another, were respectful and made this a good memory for me to cherish.

The fourteen of us got packed into the van for the L O N G ride back to Duncanville, searching for a place to stop for a quick dinner along the way. The kids were still energized and talkative until we got back into the van after our late dinner; they quickly fell asleep. Shaunna was on the computer for most of the ride home, stressing over the speech that she had just found out she needed to write, then present before a few thousand people, including Duncanville teachers and principals on Monday afternoon. It was raining and Vincent was mindful of the fact that he had precious "cargo" on board, so he drove safely and got us back home just before 3:00 a.m.

Breaunna got woke up enough to walk up to her front door, she said, "that didn't take long!" Oh, how I wish it had felt like a short ride home for me and the rest of us that didn't sleep. I decided to stay at Shaunna's until we could get a little sleep and unload the van a little later that morning. Poor Gabriella began to be sick again within minutes of getting into her house! Over the next week the virus has been running it's course among each of us.

Laurie and Shaunna took lots of pictures to help everyone remember all the fun we had this weekend. James and Vincent each got up after a few hours sleep and worked all day on Monday.
On Tuesday Joshua began Sixth grade at Grace Prep. Academy.

Shaunna gave her speech and received many compliments. The PTA District President, who gave Shaunna the last minute opportunity e-mailed her "thanks" and said that she had already heard what a wonderful job Shaunna had done. She informed Shaunna that this will not be the last time she takes advantage of her District Vice-President. Laurie and I prayed for Shaunna and knew that she would do an outstanding job for the PTA.

It's been great "seeing" Noah, Breaunna, Caitlyn and Gabriella begin their new school years this week and hearing about each day and how each of them felt about the day. Ms. Parker has already let me do some volunteer work for her.

Tuesday, August 26: Joe and I drove to Wichita Falls, TX on Friday so that Joe could ride his bicycle in the 100 mile (103 miles in some cases) bike race there on Saturday. It was HOT, in the upper 90's and Joe was exhausted when he got back to the hotel after the race. After a shower, some food and a few hours of sleep, we drove back home.

It's always good to be home!