Ron only works 4 mornings a week, so Fridays are a free day, but with me working the tax season, the BBQ and the Women's Retreat, we never even noticed our "free day".  This was the first Friday in some time that we actually felt we had a free day.  At first we thought about a movie, but even at matinee or senior citizen rates, movies are still expensive and the reason they are is because "we pay it".  So, we decided to boycott the movie today and rent one instead.  Then, we thought about what else we might do with this free day...Gong Gong suggested checking out the Tucson Children's Museum to see if it was age appropriate for Sojo when she comes to visit.  We remembered how much she enjoyed the zoo and the Desert Museum even at the young age of 14 months.  She will be 20 months when she comes in June.  A much more mature toddler and maybe ready for this.  When we arrived, unaccompanied by a child, we looked out of place.  The young man at the desk informed us that we could not pay, because we were not child accompanied.  We liked that rule.  He was so nice and gave us a "visitor" badge and showed us the Wee World Room, where he thought Sojo would enjoy playing.  There were LOTS of wee ones in there.  Too many.  You are supposed to be under 4 to go in and many were over that, so the young man was "clearing them out".  He assured us, that this was not normal.   It was a cute room with things to stack, climb under and around.  We then went to another room that was the medical room and there were stethiscopes, medical coats to try on and this thing where you put your hands on it and a heart shaped thing thumped on a drum.  I am thinking this was to represent your heart beating.  We then went to the "market" to shop... See Gong Gong checking it out?  And then there the kitchen and then there was the dinosar room...and the fire engine and policeman's motorcycle and fireman's hats and coats and oh, my goodness...there were lots of things to do.  We are thinking Miss Sojo may enjoy it.  We sure did.

 

Then we went to the 17th Street Market to pick up a few things.  This is fresh produce, meat and fish market, along with goodies canned and frozen from all over the world.  We know how Sojo loves her steamed buns and tea eggs that her Aiyi/Nanny brings her.  When she comes here it will be the last time she is with her Aiyi and I know that will be hard for her.  Though, I am sure she will adjust quickly to summer fun and a new Nanny when she arrives in Thailand.  But, I thought she might enjoy a taste of Shanghai with a steamed bun.  So, we bought one to taste ourselves and will go back for some more before she arrives.  Maybe even a "tea egg"  ... we actually saw them.  Here's the steamed bun Sojo...do you think you will like it????  Can't wait to take you to the Children's Museum and the Zoo again.  Maybe we can find a playground with a swing and slide near JoJo Sean's house or Mojo's.  What do you think???  See you soon. Remember the last time we laid eyes on you at the airport...Can't wait...hurry up June....  

You just can't beat Tucson in the spring.  Granted, our summers are scorchers and we get those monsoons storms -- which by the way can be awesome too.  Our falls are kinda drab and so are our winters.  But spring...oh my goodness.  The colors are as glorious as a New England Fall.  I am not talking about colorful flower gardens planted by someone.  I am talking good old mother nature here.  We have had various shades of the color yellow dripping from everything since the end of February in some form or another.  From the early poppies we found at Picacho Peak to the desert Brittle Bush (which I missed getting a picture of this year) to the Prickly Pear Cacti which I will have to get a picture of yet to the Palo Verde Trees which literally "drip" yellow.  And then we come to the firey feathers at the tips of the Ocotillo And the Hedge Hog Cacti colored in bright pink.  And that doesn't even count the beautiful purple Iris and Roses that are blooming by Our Lady of Guadelupe in our back yard...I wish we could share a desert spring with Sojo.  We will settle for lazy days by the pool in June...splashing and loving every minute of it.  It will be nice to hear the sounds of children  in the pool again.  I think it misses those sounds.  I know I do.  Hurry up June....we can't wait   to see this bathing beauty by the pool with us. 

He's the one on the right there...the auburn haired, freckle faced one with his brothers on a steamy, summer Pennsylvania day in their youth in the family swimming pool (or mud puddle).  I met him some years after that and the rest is history. 

 

It was April 23, 1966...we had known one another about eleven months and we had discussed marriage.  We had fallen in love quickly and settled into a relationship that brought lots of laughter and fun, along with growth as we grew to know one another and grew in that love relationship.  We had even looked at rings and I had even decided to convert to Catholicism.  What more was there to do?   One day, he announced to me that his brother in California...(that would be the one helping the little brother in the tube)...was getting married on April 23rd and it was also his parents anniversary...He said, "we might as well get engaged".  I am not sure if he thought this was a romantic idea or a sure fired way to not forget the day we got engaged.  I wasn't going to argue that point and said that sounded like a good idea to me.  And so...he told me to come down to his parent's house that morning.  I did... His mother greeted me in the kitchen and told me I was to go to the refrigerator and look under the butter dish.  I did... a note there told me to go upstairs to the bathroom and look under the bathroom scales.  I did... a note there told me to go back downstairs and go outside to the big Maple Tree...take 5 steps west and look under a rock...I did...  I was then to go down to the apple orchard.... I started walking down toward the orchard and a few rain drops began to fall.  The drops of rain were smearing the ink on the papers from my treasure hunt...I continued a bit more quickly and found my "beloved" hidden in the trees.  By this time, the rain had begun to fall harder and he took my hand and we ran back up to the house.  We laughed as we ran.  I still had no clue what his plan was.  When we got to the house, he told me he had planned to give me the ring on bended knee in the orchard.  He had to come up with Plan B quickly and we walked into the family living room and on bended knee he placed the ring on my finger.  We realized later, that he never did say, "will you marry me".  I am glad I said "yes" to his intended, if not said, question.  I guess I never said, "yes" either.  We knew the question...we knew the answer.  We still seem to know the questions and know the answers before we even ask or answer. 

 

I will never forget that day and the lanky auburn haired guy with a beard who made me feel like I was the most beautiful, intelligent, graceful, amazing woman on the face of the earth.  It didn't matter whether we were in an apple orchard, having a picnic at a park, taking a ride in his convertible down a country road or one of the new interstate highways, he had a way of making me laugh and feel special...I never quite knew what to expect from him (still don't), but I always knew it would be fun and he would make it something I would never forget. 

 

RGR...thanks for taking me on treasure hunts for 42 years...thanks for loving me into who I am today...thanks for being there when I needed you...every step of the way...thanks for sharing your faith with me...thanks for being there when I needed you the most...thanks for believing in me when I didn't....thanks for encouraging me to be all I could be....thanks for taking me to places I never dreamed of in a zillion years...thanks for being the best Dad in the world to our wonderful 3 kids...thanks for being the best Gong Gong a grand daughter could ever dream of to our Sojo.

 

Thanks for walking the journey with me...I will always .... always.... always....say "yes".

Oh to be the grand parent...you get to watch it all...smile and even chuckle at times at the active, spirited child.  You don't have to discipline or worry...you give that all to the parent. 

 

"T" was the almost perfect baby and toddler.  I honestly don't remember temper tantrums or melt downs as they seem to call them today.  As a baby she would wake up in the morning and you could her chatter and babble...never crying ... unless you left her in there too long and she was wet or hungry.  I would often say she was talking to the sun as it made shadows on her wall.  She knew the meaning of "no" and didn't seem to mind being told "no"...she went about finding something else that didn't warrant the word.  Oh, how lucky I was.  She was just as much fun as Sojo is and just as active and spirited in her own way.  Then came her brothers...whoa...Nelly.  Did they give me a run for my money.  I even made statements like, "if Sean had been the first, there never would have been a second".  Yet, there was a third, and we did survive it all to be able to watch Miss Sojo now.  What fun that is as she runs about from one play thing to another...learning new words each day...reading books at rapid speed and off to something else...going in a different direction and moving at wharp speed to get to something new...climbing, crawling, jumping.  This girl is going to wear us out this summer...I can feel it in my creaky bones.  That's okay...we can hand her off to her Mama and Baba when that happens.  We will enjoy every spirited moment we have with that girl and smile as we watch her grow and challenge her parents each step of the way.  Just like her Mama did for us.  At about age six, that almost perfect baby and toddler turned into a spirited girl who challenged us at every turn...who turned into a spirited, strong and sure of herself woman.  Spirit is good...keep at it Sojo...it will make your parents strong. 

 

Webster's describes "bliss" as great joy or happiness.  Doesn't this look like pure bliss?  It sure does to me.  This is Sojo's first bicycle ride and she has that lool of pur bliss to me.  It is amazing the intensity of joy we feel when we experience something the first time.  A bit like we feel when we think of Sojo or spend time with Sojo...grandparenting for the first time is pure bliss.

 

And if this isn't pure innocent beauty...I don't know what is.  This child is absolutely beautiful.  Look at those eyes...so dark they are like pools of ink.  Look at those lips, that mouth...like a tiny sweet pink rosebud.  Look at those beautiful black curling tendrils around her face and down her neck.  And then that flower by her ear...BEAUTIFUL.  Now double click on it (maybe it will zoom it in) and see it up close where that little beauty has sand on her little chin, in her hair and on her cheeks.  Last minute Spring Break Tickets -- expensive -- Chinese papparazi --- a pain in the butt --- this little girl ... PRICELESS.  Bliss and beauty...all wrapped up in one sweet package and she is our precious little grand baby girl.  Aren't we blessed:)

Last weekend I took my sister-in-law Jeanne and friend Jackie to our beautiful Sabino Canyon.  I had not been there in sometime and not since the big flood that took out nearly the entire park.  We took the tram up to stop 4...the last one that the tram operates to.  You can walk to stop 8, but no trams as the road is still being repaired.  It was so obvious that this flood has changed the canyon forever.  This did not change the beauty of it.  I took a lot of pictures and I do not know what happened but when I look, there is one lone picture which I have still yet to download.  I took lots of pictures because I want to take Sojo to Tucson's beach at Sabino Canyon.  Yes, I know, we have lots of beaches, just no ocean...however, the little sandy beaches and cool water running over the rocks is just as nice for a toddler.  I am afraid that by the time they arrive in June the water will have dried up already.  Right now, it is still running over the bridges.  Yes, Dale...we do have water running in Tucson.  Not in the washes right now, but in Sabino Creek it is running and it is cool and crystal clear.  I want to take Sojo there for a picnic by the water.  She will love putting her tiny feet into the sand that has tiny shinning pieces of mica within.  It will look like fairy dust.  She will love putting her feet into the water and splashing.  I will delight in watching her.  I will pray that there is still a bit of water left when she comes.

 

The other thing I want to do is run in a field of flowers with her...pink ones, orange ones, purple ones (that would be lavender).  Picnics in the park, trips to museums, art galleries, amusment parks, quiet days in a hammock under a tree, sitting by the pond, swinging on a swing, playing in the sand box, walks down the lane, feeding fish in the pond, reading books, playing with "baby doll".  What fun...

 

For some reason...the blog will not allow me to download any pictures.  Maybe later, I can do that.....