May 30

Oh my gosh, you guys. 

Are you still hanging in here with me? I'm sorry. 

I have been swamped with photo editing for my little photography business, and everything has been made worse by the fact that I am learning a new machine and new photo editing software. 

But I think I'm finally getting my bearings. I am almost caught up on photo sessions, so I need to pay some attention to this poor, neglected blog!

On May 30, we were enjoying our second day visiting my Grandma and family in Iowa. No one slept well the night before - Chris and the three big kids slept in the hotel room's king-sized bed, and Eli and I slept on the pull-out couch. We were all up early, so we had first breakfast in the lobby and then Chris took the kids swimming. Meanwhile, I packed up our hotel room and attempted to get a little more sleep.

Then it was time to meet Grandma and her group of single, senior-citizen friends for their monthly breakfast date. Chris overheard my cantankerous uncle John (who, at 70+ is also a part of the group of seniors) tell one of the group members that "they have four kids, but they are very well-behaved". 

I confess: my chest puffed with a bit of pride when I heard that. I think my kids are fabulous, but it feels nice to hear it acknowledged by elderly people, who sometimes have less patience with little ones.

Breakfast went well, except that the group lingered longer than I had expected. Eli grew fussy and restless, and I decided to grab my wrap and toss him on my back. Within 15 minutes, the child was sound asleep.

I'm pretty sure every person in the room smiled at the sight of this, partially because it was sweet (he fell asleep clutching a ball!) and partially because they were relieved that he wasn't fussing. Of course, before the smiles, there were plenty of looks of bewilderment. I don't think many of Grandma's friends were familiar with babywearing!

Eli slept happily while we finished our meal and chatted. Then we said goodbye to Grandma's friends and headed to her house for a little bit.

Mom stopped by Target and bought Grandma an adult coloring book, which the girls helped her open. I fondly remember coloring with Grandma as a child, so I was delighted when my girls had a chance to color with her, too.

This makes my heart so happy, and I'm glad I captured it. Also, doesn't Grandma look fabulous in her festive jewelry to celebrate Memorial Day?

Eli scooted around in the yard and got muddy. That boy. Someday he will walk.

Eventually, the kids took over the coloring book and Grandma sat back and watched.

Grandma and her baby boy. Aren't they cute?

And then it was time to go. On our way out of town, my parents led us past one of the houses I remember fondly from my childhood.

When I was a child, it was yellow, and my sisters and I all slept in one big bed upstairs. There was also a landscaping rock in the front yard that I remember as a giant boulder. And that little bump-out on the side was a darling breakfast nook. I was only 3 or 4 when we lived in this house, but I definitely remember it. I wonder what my children will remember of our house 30 years from now?

And then we visited Mom's alma mater, where she and Dad took wedding photos 40 years ago. We had so much fun attempting to re-create some of their wedding pictures, but I haven't gotten them edited yet. Still, we had a great time!

Then it was time to begin the drive home. It would have been a piece of cake, except that we forgot to charge the DVD player and the battery ran out 30 minutes into the drive. Oops. Still, we made it home in time for a normal bedtime, and by 9:00 I had all the kids in bed, all the luggage unpacked, and all the laundry in the wash. Hooray!