We took on Nashville Sunday, with the whole day to explore the city. Started out well with a nice drive around the Vanderbilt campus, then a wonderful Mass at the Cathedral of the Incarnation nearby. We then met the Okies at a farmers market for lunch, which was very tasty barbeque. Grandpa bought ice cream afterward.
The Okies and Katie decided to visit The Hermitage, while the old man, my 3 kids, and I walked around the Tennessee history stuff around the state capitol.
There was a bit of rain before we got going, but it was an awesome day checking everything out.
Back in July, my extended family had a reunion in eastern Tennessee. Bobbins was too pregnant to travel, so it was just me and the three kids. My dad and sister joined us. We flew into Nashville and spent a day there before driving eastward to the reunion. The flight out wasn't full, so we had our own row in the very back of the plane. Of course Owen didn't fall asleep until the last half hour.
My dad rented a mini-van that worked out pretty well. I also purchased a travel bag for the girls' booster seats and Owen's carseat on the airplane, so we had no problem setting up the kids and Kathryn, who joined them in the back. I got to navigate the old man around.
We got to the hotel and linked up with the Okies. A few of us hit a nearby restaurant. My dad and Aunt Mel love Hampton Inn's but not paying a lot of $, so we ended up in a Hampton pretty far out of town. The girls loved playing with Leebree & D Shea (and T-stan).
I tried to find some similar pic's, and this is the best I could do. My mom says Booch looks just like me. It may not be that close of a resemblance, but it's pretty close. He's a handsome guy. :-)
We planned to stay in Phoenix for the 4th this year, but decided to go to CA for the funeral of my colleague's father. I met him last year and had a chance to talk and get to know him. A Marine Corps pilot, engineer on the Apollo Program, and owner of his own business, he was quite a guy. The funeral was on Sunday the 5th, so we left for CA the night of the 3rd. I had a great round of golf with Dennis, my dad, and Uncle Jack, along with a swim, before we took off. Mark and Jess were still awake, thankfully, when we arrived about 9pm. We had stopped at our usual place, Brownie's, in Yuma.
Mark and I did a nice run first thing Sat. morning, then MM, Will, and I went for a bike ride around the neighborhood. (We had brought MM's bike with us.) Will is quite the rider. He cut through a front yard at one point, then got way ahead of us (and in trouble with Uncle Doug).
I had wanted to hit the beach that afternoon, but it wasn't to be. It was too crowded downtown, so we diverted to the man-made lakes in Santee. We squeezed into a patch of grass and set up Mark's grill. Jess's mom and and sister stopped by on their bikes to join us in the BBQ. After a couple hours we packed up and headed to Jess's mom's, where there was a pool. Another fun 2 hours of hanging out, and Booch got in a decent nap.
Sunday was the funeral up in Orange County. We had a nice Mass at Mark & Jess's church, along with breakfast at home. S and I left about 2 hrs early, which was good, because an accident made for a long traffic delay. The service was nice and short. There was good food after. It was a good occasion to think about our own mortality and plans for funerals and after-death details, which S and I discussed on the way back to Mark's.
Monday morning Mark and I again had a good run, then it was on the road for the long haul to Phoenix. In Yuma this time we tried a new place, Copper Miner Kitchen, which was affordable and delicious. We entered just as many of the old timer regulars were finishing up and let Booch stretch his legs a bit.
The old folks loved him as he walked around to each table waving. They started calling him "the Mayor of Yuma." Bobbins and the kids especially enjoyed the chocolate pie. There was an accident on the 8 at Gila Bend, so we had to go all the way to the 10. We pulled into home about 4pm.
Will and Otto have this car as a toy, and Booch and JoJo loved it.
For her birthday, and to cultivate her interest in the game, I got her lessons with Jacobs Golf over at Orange Tree. At $50 for two sessions, the price was a little steep, and they also started at the very early time of 7am, but I think she had fun. The lessons themselves weren't all that great, so I probably won't put her in them again until she's older, when it looks like they give the kids real instruction, not just babysit them on the course. My dad got to be there for the second lesson. I benefitted a lot from him getting me lessons when I was a kid, so wanted to do the same for my child.
After the demo in May, Bobbins' dad put up the tile and grouted it for us, while I did some finishing touches, in June. Turned out nice and is MUCH lighter in the kitchen now.
Not quite the event as last year, but we did a nice little "star" party for JoJo's 5th b-day at home. Just family and one friend, Brynn. Made good use of our pool.
