Day 3 of vacation:
The air matress Kristine bought for us was surprisingly more comfortable than anticipated. We still woke up before anyone else- except Grandma. The East coast people just can't sleep past 8PST. That gave us first dibs on breakfast though, hee hee.
After breakfast, we had the tantrums. It goes without saying that we will have at least one explosive tantrum when all of us are together. And, as most times, it was Kristine that started it. See, my mom is married again. And to see her affectionate with someone that isn't my dad is a big deal to us. We all want her to be happy, and some of us have even gotten past the point of hating and despising her new husband. But it's still . . . just . . . weird. And, like this time, very difficult. So, the blowout occurred. When Kristine exploded, the room cleared rather quickly. Grandma had never seen this before, and was stunned so much she didn't even try to leave. Hubby had heard about it plenty of times, and knew I was already in "Damage Control" mode, so he stuck around for moral support. After several minutes, I moved into phase two of DC and went to the other room where Mom, Dave, Rebeka, and Andy were. Although this time, something new happened. Grandma and Hubby picked up with Kristine where I left off. I did what I could in the other room, and headed back to first room. Thankfully, I heard Grandma and Hubby talking with Kristine, so I just stayed out. I stood on the balcony between the two rooms, and let the people in the rooms work themselves. Wow, that had never happened before. I have always been the peace-maker, the fix-it, the "make it better" person. Seeing Grandma at work on Kristine opened my eyes to where I got it from. In the end, Grandma talked Kristine into staying and continuing with our original plans and we all went on to the zoo.
When we got to the zoo, we were short on time. So started with the tram to take us around the whole park. It was a lot of fun. The driver did a great job and made us laugh pretty hard. After the tram, Mom, Dave, Andy, Rebeka, and Grandma decided to make their way back to the entrance and look at the animals that were on the way. Hubby and I decided to take the long way, and took off pretty quickly. Kristine caught up with us shortly and the three of us had a blast making our way through the zoo. We took lots of pics. Back near the entrance we pulled up alongside everyone else just as they were making their way into the gift shop. Kristine bought a very cute little hippo made of beads. She named it Fishy.
After the zoo, we went to the memorial park. They gave us a boys room and a girls room to change in. Thirty minutes later, after cleaning up and dressing up, we went to the memorial site. Teri, Michael, Barry, and the officiant were waiting there for us. It was a short and memorable ceremony. We got to see where Grandpa Bill was, and the place Grandma would be put- just next to him. Since it was just the eleven of us (minus the officiant) we moved the whole group to Red Lobster for dinner. The next few hours were spent catching up, and reminiscing. I learned more about Grandma Bill and Grandma than I had ever known. I got to hear stories about Teri and Barry and my mom as kids. I got to hear about Grandma Casey and her many tactics. And, since Hubby and I were at the table with Andy and Rebeka, I got to learn more about Andy. (He isn't the shy, quiet guy everyone thinks he is. Do you know how many Dr Peppers he can drink in a single sitting?) And since it was Andy and Rebeka's one year wedding anniversary, and Grandma Casey and my birthday, there were deserts all around. It was a wonderful experience, and one that I will keep tucked away.
After dinner, we went back to the hotel. We all went our ways, and continued to think about the day. It was an dramatic, emotional, learning day. I wouldn't trade it for the world.
Pictures are coming- check back soon!
The air matress Kristine bought for us was surprisingly more comfortable than anticipated. We still woke up before anyone else- except Grandma. The East coast people just can't sleep past 8PST. That gave us first dibs on breakfast though, hee hee.
After breakfast, we had the tantrums. It goes without saying that we will have at least one explosive tantrum when all of us are together. And, as most times, it was Kristine that started it. See, my mom is married again. And to see her affectionate with someone that isn't my dad is a big deal to us. We all want her to be happy, and some of us have even gotten past the point of hating and despising her new husband. But it's still . . . just . . . weird. And, like this time, very difficult. So, the blowout occurred. When Kristine exploded, the room cleared rather quickly. Grandma had never seen this before, and was stunned so much she didn't even try to leave. Hubby had heard about it plenty of times, and knew I was already in "Damage Control" mode, so he stuck around for moral support. After several minutes, I moved into phase two of DC and went to the other room where Mom, Dave, Rebeka, and Andy were. Although this time, something new happened. Grandma and Hubby picked up with Kristine where I left off. I did what I could in the other room, and headed back to first room. Thankfully, I heard Grandma and Hubby talking with Kristine, so I just stayed out. I stood on the balcony between the two rooms, and let the people in the rooms work themselves. Wow, that had never happened before. I have always been the peace-maker, the fix-it, the "make it better" person. Seeing Grandma at work on Kristine opened my eyes to where I got it from. In the end, Grandma talked Kristine into staying and continuing with our original plans and we all went on to the zoo.
When we got to the zoo, we were short on time. So started with the tram to take us around the whole park. It was a lot of fun. The driver did a great job and made us laugh pretty hard. After the tram, Mom, Dave, Andy, Rebeka, and Grandma decided to make their way back to the entrance and look at the animals that were on the way. Hubby and I decided to take the long way, and took off pretty quickly. Kristine caught up with us shortly and the three of us had a blast making our way through the zoo. We took lots of pics. Back near the entrance we pulled up alongside everyone else just as they were making their way into the gift shop. Kristine bought a very cute little hippo made of beads. She named it Fishy.
After the zoo, we went to the memorial park. They gave us a boys room and a girls room to change in. Thirty minutes later, after cleaning up and dressing up, we went to the memorial site. Teri, Michael, Barry, and the officiant were waiting there for us. It was a short and memorable ceremony. We got to see where Grandpa Bill was, and the place Grandma would be put- just next to him. Since it was just the eleven of us (minus the officiant) we moved the whole group to Red Lobster for dinner. The next few hours were spent catching up, and reminiscing. I learned more about Grandma Bill and Grandma than I had ever known. I got to hear stories about Teri and Barry and my mom as kids. I got to hear about Grandma Casey and her many tactics. And, since Hubby and I were at the table with Andy and Rebeka, I got to learn more about Andy. (He isn't the shy, quiet guy everyone thinks he is. Do you know how many Dr Peppers he can drink in a single sitting?) And since it was Andy and Rebeka's one year wedding anniversary, and Grandma Casey and my birthday, there were deserts all around. It was a wonderful experience, and one that I will keep tucked away.
After dinner, we went back to the hotel. We all went our ways, and continued to think about the day. It was an dramatic, emotional, learning day. I wouldn't trade it for the world.
Pictures are coming- check back soon!
1 comment:
Looking forward to pictures! Maybe I should check out the San Diego Zoo. Sounds fun.
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