Our first day in Savanna

It was nice to finally be back in Savanna. Everyone was happy to see us, and it was lots of fun to be around family again. I hadn’t seen Arianna since 2001, I think (a long time anyway), and she’s really grown up.

The children were pretty bad with the jetlag. We arrived late in the evening, and they slept in the car. They woke up around 3:30 am and I managed to keep them quiet until 4 am or so, but then they were just too loud and I thought they would wake everyone else up so we went for a walk. It was still dark out, but the sun started to come up soon and we watched the bats fly back to their homes. That was fun. After everyone woke up, we explored great-Grandpa’s garden and the backyard and played with the elephant shaped watering cans that Grandma Susie brought for C and Ruby.

Ari managed to avoid that fresh-out-of-bed look, but she really had only been up for a ½ hour or so. I heard somewhere that teenagers need as much sleep as babies. Ari slept more than my babies!

Mom and Ari did a lot of singing in the car on their drive from Alaska to Iowa. One of their favorites was a Patti Page CD, and one of the songs is Grandma’s favorite (I forget which one). They sang it for her, and then danced around a bit during the instrumental part.

I remember Grandma talking about how her mother and friends entertained each other by playing the piano and singing, and that she really misses it. It is a pretty special thing that almost no one does anymore. I hope we can get a piano someday.

Is it selfish of me to wish your mom had moved back to So. Cal? This is a classic picture of her; I expected a pose such as this.

Mom brought a bunch of new clothes and things for Ruby, and this little sun suit was one of them. Cute!

Mom brought elephant-shaped watering cans, and Ruby is pouring water into Grandma’s birthbath (we took the top off so they wouldn’t knock it over).