California trip--February

We really were not planning to make a trip to California again this soon, but Cheryl's diagnosis sort of changed that.  And at first I was sort of waiting to find out if her Mom was going to make a trip out there, but I found out that she was going to go in March so that she could be there when Matt took his trip to D.C. with his students. So when I found that out, and when I found out that Grandparents' Day at Redlands Christian was going to be on Feb. 12, I got busy checking on air fares.

Cheryl had her first (of 6) chemo treatments on Feb. 1, and I flew out on  Saturday the 6th and came back on the 13th.  By the time I got there, Cheryl was getting past the nausea that came with the chemo, but she was still feeling pretty wiped out.  She also had picked up a bad cough from the kids, and also dealt with a headache that lasted a few days.  So she was not feeling really great the first few days I was there.  So I was happy that I was there to get the kids to and from school, and to spend time with Evan when he wasn't in school.

That Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday, and I went with Matt and the kids to a party with a bunch of their friends. (Cheryl decided to stay home and rest, and I think she enjoyed her quiet day.) The party was in Palm Springs at a home where their friend's parents were spending the winter. The pool was a much bigger attraction than the game for the kids, so I spent a lot of time sitting out by the pool watching the kids.

Josie, with Maddie and Kenzie

Evan with Katelyn

Of course there was lots of good food at the party, and once the kids were done swimming they found things to do in the house.  Evan was pretty outnumbered by the girls in this group, so while all the girls were playing "girl stuff" in one room, he found something to entertain himself in another room. 

He thought this keyboard was pretty cool.

He was checking out all the different buttons

for the different rhythms and beats. 

I really didn't do a very good job of documenting this visit in pictures.  I should have gotten at least one of Evan on his bike, because that was one of his favorite things to do. I did catch him doing some work with his tool bench, though.

Putting on his safety goggles

Hard at work

While I was sitting outside one day, I noticed a hummingbird flitting around near their empty feeder, so Evan and I decided that we'd better take care of that situation. So we made some hummingbird food and filled the feeder. 

Cooking up some sugar water for the hummers

One nice warm day we met Matt after school at a place that sells Icy treats.  Now I know this place has a name, and if I had done this more promptly I maybe would have remembered the name of it.  But......no such luck.  It was a nice treat on a warm day. I think Josie and Evan's lips and tongues showed the color of their treat for quite a while.

The parasols are a cute touch :)

By the middle of the week, Cheryl was feeling a lot better and was up to getting out and doing some things.  On that Wednesday we all drove down to Temecula to meet up with Matt's friend Aaron, who was in San Diego for a conference. We met him for lunch and then spent some time at a park.  We had brought cupcakes along, because it just happened to be Aaron's birthday. (no picture of Aaron, though.)

The cupcakes were pretty amazing!

Friday was Grandparents' Day at Redlands Christian.  Evan doesn't go to school on Fridays, so it was just a Grandma and Josie thing. 

School was dismissed at noon that day so that grandparents could take their grandkids out for lunch.  So I took Josie and Evan to one of their favorite places--Chick fil A.  Seems like it must be a favorite of a lot of kids, because there were lots of grandparents and kids there.

Oops, I almost forgot to post this last picture. Evan sometimes naps in the afternoon, and sometimes he doesn't. When he doesn't nap, he sometimes has trouble lasting through dinner time.  I think this picture was taken on a no-nap day.

 Evan and Puppy--all worn out

And that was my week!  I had an early flight back to Milwaukee on Saturday morning. 

Next post:  February birthdays

January, 2016

I obviously needed a bit of a break after all those blog posts about our time in California.  But I'd better get back on task here, and get caught up before summer!

We arrived home from California on January 7, with 3 overnight stops on our drive again.  Our last day was a shorter day and included a stop in Chicago at Roger and Sheryl's for a little visit. And we also picked up our Honda which had been parked at their house for a couple of weeks after Ben was finished using it.

We adjusted to the cold weather and got back into the swing of things with our normal activities--Bob's tutoring at Cross Trainers Academy, his church meetings, my MOPS nursery volunteering, some work in the BCS library, and for both  of us our Friday morning coffee with the senior group from church and Friday evening dinner at Panera with the Brassers.  We are definitely creatures of habit!!

We also got a couple of difficult phone calls to receive in January.  On the 20th we got a call from Laura Szotko informing us that Carl had passed away.  This was pretty much unexpected---in spite of the health issues he has dealt with over the past few years, he really had been doing quite well and was recovering from his most recent bout in the hospital. So that was very sad news to get. It made us very thankful for the wonderful time we had with him and Cora Mae at our last Waanderfest, celebrating his 87th and Cora Mae's 85th birthdays.

Then a few days later, on the 23rd, we got a call from Matt telling us about Cheryl's diagnosis of non-Hodgkins lymphoma.  That was really difficult news to get--at that point they really had no information except for that diagnosis and they were both pretty much devastated.  We got that call about an hour before we were leaving to go to Michigan for Carl's funeral and the visitation.  So that was a pretty hard week-end.  But it was wonderful to be with all our family as we celebrated Carl's life, and it was also helpful to share the news about Cheryl with everyone, and to be assured of everyone's prayers for her.

There was one more event in January---Derek Buikema's wedding in Chicago on the 29th..  We drove down that morning and picked Abby up at school at noon, had lunch with her and then went to Orland Park for the wedding. Neil joined Abby after the ceremony, and we all attended the reception.  Then we spent the night with Abby and Neil at their apartment.  On Saturday morning we had breakfast at a restaurant near their apartment, and Ben joined us there.  Then we spent a couple hours at the Garfield Park Conservatory with Abby and Neil before heading for home.

That pretty much covers January, and I don't have a single picture to share.

Next up:  My trip to California in February