Last week was a big week for The Bean: her first trip to Washington state to meet the Walsh clan and to spend a week at Grandma Mary and Grandpa Roy's house. It was big trip and did not disappoint.
On Friday night Cornelia and I flew to Seattle where Mom, Dad and Scott met us at the airport and we made the late night trek to Moxee, which in the last few years has become the hub of all Walsh clan activities. (Much to Stephanie LaCoursiere's dismay, but that is an entirely different blog post . . ..) We arrived at 1:00 a.m. Scott, Cornelia and I crept into Marty and Jane's guest rooms while Mom and Dad went on down the block to their lodgings at the LaCoursiere's.
On Saturday the festivities commenced. The Bean was up early and ready for the day. As usual, the family gathered at Marty and Jane's house. The guest list included Marty and Jane, Pat and Jay, Stephanie L and her beau, Kathy (who motored over the pass from Seattle), Ned and Stephanie W, Erin, Chris and Donovan, and Matthew and Dylan, and the Gothams. Oh, and of course, Lincoln! We can't forget Lincoln! The crowd was large enough even to warrant a kid's table at dinner. (Although, I have to say, it's sad when one is 45 years old and still sitting at the kid's table . . . . uh, Scott?) The day included lots of beverages, good food, loud football and constant chatter (but I'm not mentioning any names).
But for The Bean those weren't the day's highlights. For her, it was about the bubbles and cousin Donovan. Cornelia spent most of the morning in the backyard with Grandma engaged in her absolutely favorite pasttime: blowing bubbles, more bubbles and even more bubbles. (The girl has some serious lungs on her which will serve her well when we start training for cross country running and cycling.)
And then Donovan arrived. Donovan. Three years old.
"He Who Opens Doors." Literally. Yes, all the doors in the house were closed to poor Cornelia. Bedroom doors, office doors, guest room doors, bathroom doors, garage doors and even back doors. Her world was limited to the family room and kitchen and, if someone indulged her, the backyard. But, with Donovan's arrival, no door remained closed to Cornelia. Donovan's little hands could firmly grasp door handles and then turn and pull them with ease.
"Viola!" Soon, shrieks of delight were heard from the master bedroom, then from the master bedroom closets and then, finally, from the master bedroom walk-in shower which boasted the accoustics of a symphany hall for two delighted toddlers intent on making as much noise as possible. And then they discovered the door to . . . Outside . . .. (Fortunately, Grandma was watching from around corners to make sure all remained (relatively) intact in the wake of these two little cyclones.)
On Sunday Mom and Dad dropped Scott and me off at the airport for our flights to Denver and Anchorage. I was concerned that Cornelia might be upset when I got out of the car and left her behind. Much to my relief (and, yes, a bit of disappointment) she was nonplussed. "Be gone, Daddy, and fare thee well. I am off to the land of Grandma and Grandpa's house for the adventure that awaits me."
And, yes, it was an adventure. Although I didn't realize it until later, the entire week in Washington was about teaching Cornelia all about being a Gotham. I should have suspected the direction for the week's activities when Scott surprised Cornelia with a WSU Cougar cheerleading outfit. It seemed cute and innocent enough, but when considered from the perspective of the week in its entirety the underlying intent becomes clear . . ..
At Grandma and Grandpa's there was so much to do. First, toenails had to be painted. Grandma has painted toenails and so shall The Bean. Then of course there was the new outfit and shopping bag from Nordstrom. And then there was the jewelry. Ah, Grandma's jewelry. So many shapes, so many colors, so sparkly -- and, thankfully, so unbreakable. Of course Grandpa was not to be outdone by Grandma. He had a special activity planned as well. Cornelia enjoyed her first camping trip right there in the family rec room. Grandpa was rewarded for this activity as Cornelia - who had been a bit cautious about Grandpa - climbed right up into his lap on his birthday on Wednesday night. Amidst all these activities there were of course, every day -- bubbles.
It was not all fun and games of course. Cornelia had her chores too. Every day she went with Grandpa to the mailbox to check the mail. Sometimes it took many trips before the mail finally appeared. And then sometimes carrying the mail back to Grandma in the house took several trips. Cornelia could only carry two pieces of mail at a time. And it was a good week for mail, apparently. Grandma very excited by all the mail Cornelia brought to her. Apparently even the junkmail was unusually interesting last week.
By the time I arrived in Port Angeles late on Friday night the entire house had become Cornelia's playroom. Toys, dolls, tupperware and random pieces of jewelry were strewn about nearly every room. (I was not allowed to take pictures.) It certainly is true that grandchildren always have it good, because as a kid I was never allowed to leave my stuff cast about the house.
Cornelia and I flew home on Sunday and this Saturday we fly back to Seattle so she can spend another week with Grandpa Roy and Grandma Mary while Ken and I are away for work.
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| Scott: "You're not very good at this 'hair thing,' are you?" |
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| Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles. |
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| "He Who Opens Doors" |
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| "Wonder Twin powers activate!!" |
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| Future Cougar |
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| "Cougs are No. 1, baby!" |
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| "Grandma, you've done this before, right?" |
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| "Grandma, how do I know when I'm wearing too much?" |
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| "So tell me more about these 'real bears' of which you speak." |
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| Getting the mail |
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| "Happy Birthday, Grandpa!" |
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| "Daddy, focus on making the bubbles please." |
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| "Whatchulooginat?" |
