Happy Birthday, Maria!

Today is Maria's birthday. For lunch we all went to The Yardhouse to celebrate. It was beautiful outside, so we had a great time under an umbrella on the patio. After coloring and eating and coloring some more, waving to the people in the kiddie train each time it came by, watching the kids running through the water feature with the spurting streams, staying OUT of the water because we had no change of clothes, sampling the freebies from Ben & Jerry's - what a great idea! - and getting coupons for our next visit, we all headed home. I made a quick "treat for Rose" run through Crate & Barrel to see the latest Marimekko prints and other fun items, and went home with a smile on my face. It was delightful to remember 35 years ago today when Maria was born. She has graced our lives with love and joy and beauty and caring. She's a super wife, a phenomenal mom, a talented teacher, a caring friend, an involved & compassionate volunteer, and a wonderful daughter. We are richly blessed by our children and their families. How lucky we are!

Claremont UCC's Garden Tour

Today 4 families in the church hosted tours of their gardens. It was a delightful day and a fascinating tour. Refreshments were available at the homes, and the hosts/hostesses answered questions about the plantings. All four yards have such a different take on outdoor living. Seeing the plants in their spring fresh "finery," either new green or flowering, was a treat. Now I've got great ideas for our backyard. While this picture is NOT from one of the homes, it is the sort of verdant planting that I find most appealing. So, temper this with some reality about summer heat in Southern CA, and I think we can make some new things happen in our yard. Butch was thrilled to hear that! :-)

New Cell Phones & The Challenges They Present

Maria and her family just left our house after our Sunday evening get together was more "challenging" than usual. Yes, Maria helped "Butch & RoRo" set up more "things" on our cell phones. I won't say that Butch and I are "cell phone challenged," but.... Anyway, we now have this synced and that downloaded and this button identified and this "skill" tentatively mastered for the moment. We're both determined to learn to use all of the features that appeal to us - calls, email, texting, GPS, photos, and preparing a 3 course dinner. Oh, please delete that last one. This is a cell phone, for heaven's sake!! :-) Fun time, good challenging learning curve, and determined "students" who WILL learn how to do all of this and more. I love technology and the advantages offered therein. Stay tuned!

Family Time in California

Once again the Henderson crew gathered in Claremont to celebrate being together AND to enjoy some warm weather. Well, the "warm weather" didn't happen, but the celebration certainly did. Watching the cousins all together is absolutely a delight! They all click from the "git go." Andrew and Thomas walked in, got out their DSi's, got on the bed in their bedroom with Zac and his DSi and the 3 of them began playing while Luke watched. Sara was here to join in the activities for a couple of days during her spring break and that was so great. All week Luke thought that the rest of them were the greatest and that life was tons of fun regardless of what was going on. They played, they went to Griffith Park, they played, they went to California Adventure, they played, and it was totally delightful! The dads & kids got in some great dance moves on the Wii. The adults were able to visit around the dinner table while utterly amazing chaos with lots of laughter and running around ensued - no crying, no complaining - just tons of fun. What a glorious time we all had together. Butch and I feel amazingly blessed.

Luke & Elmo

Luke absolutely loves Elmo! He watches with rapt attention whenever Elmo appears on "Sesame Street." So Grandma RoRo thought it would be a great idea to take Luke to Border's to see Elmo. Our nearest Border's store had sent an email advertising this fun event with Elmo and favors, etc. "Perfect!" I thought. So Luke, Butch and I went to the local Border's which was jammed with people because this is one of the stores that Border's is closing. Where was Elmo? He wasn't there! Was Luke upset? No! Was RoRo a bit perturbed? Yes! But, when I realized that he was just thrilled to see pictures of Elmo on the event poster that was still up at kid's eye level in the Children's Department, then all was okay. He promptly found a couple of buses to carry around, along with small books about specific vehicles and the books have wheels. Could I remove these from his arms? No! So, I led a "stuffed arms" little boy through the store to find a basket to carry our "treasures" in. Would he put his items in the basket? No! So, we looked around the children's area, found a few more Elmo items, and we went up to get in the long line to check out. Luke was having the best time carrying his two yellow buses and the books and was content to check everything out as the line slowly moved forward. People were enchanted with him because he was obviously so enjoying clutching his items and looking at the people and the other items within view. Fortunately, I was able to remove a price label from one bus in order for the cashier to use it to ring up both buses. Does every child need TWO small metal yellow buses? No! But, would you want to remove one from the clutches of a 22 month old in a crowded store? If so, you are braver than I. Luke possesses this high pitched scream capability that can shatter glass and can reach levels that can only be heard by passing planes. This tendency can be silenced by a pacifier. He was such a happy camper that even thinking about ONLY one bus just wasn't a possibility a grandmother would even consider. So, off we went to Claire's birthday party with our Elmo loot safely bagged for Luke's birthday and some later gifting. Oh, yes, only one yellow bus actually went home with Luke. I did a quick change between the other bus and a red truck Luke had in the car. Grandmothers weren't born yesterday or even the day before that! Fun day! Fun time! Happy little boy! P.S. You're wondering how we "lost" Grandpa Butch? He disappeared after handing Luke one stuffed animal to clutch and seeing how happy he was exploring everything. Hmmm!

Luke - The "No Grass Growing Under My Feet" Kid

Some kids are laid back and take life as it comes. That's Luke. Does he have asthma? Yes. Does it slow him down? Only when he feels really yucky. Does he like to watch Elmo on TV? Yes. Can he hold his own mask when the nebulizer is running? Yes, indeed! His mom had set him up where we usually do his treatments when he's at our house. I was surprised that she walked out of the room when I could already hear the nebulizer running. "Oh," she said, "he can hold it himself." I quickly went in to hold him and hold the mask. Nothing doing! Yes, he would sit in my lap to watch Elmo, BUT he would also hold the mask. After the treatment finished, he got down, handed me the mask, walked to the bedroom next door where the baby bed is, waited for me to lift him into the bed, laid down the small colored glass pebbles he had been carrying, closed his eyes, and off he went for his afternoon nap. What an amazing, absolutely delightful 22 month old little boy!

My Favorite Yardman

Butch loves to work in the yard. He likes to see the grass neatly mowed and the edges sharply trimmed. He spends a lot of times picking up "sticky balls," as our grandchildren call them, when they fall off the tree in the front yard. Yes, Claremont has "street trees," and our street has the (mis)fortune of having Liquid Amber trees as THE street tree. So each yard is blessed with one of the prolific "sticky ball" producers. They also have other problems - invasive root systems that can destroy plumbing, break-up sidewalks, lift walkways until they are hazardous to pedestrians, and totally eliminate going barefoot on the lawns or sidewalks anywhere around them. So, here is a photo of his nemesis and a recent "American Gothic"-like picture of him at work. He's thrilled that he has been able to find a good use for a "snow shovel" in Southern California.