Jack and Carol's Epic Journey: Michael’s Birthday

April 18, 2013

Sarah woke me up about 7:20 am, so I could accompany Mariann and her to school, on bicycles. Sarah’s school is only a few blocks from their house, and whenever weather allows, they ride bikes.

Off to school! Mariann, Carol, and Sarah

They live in a quiet development in Cypress, with quality amenities like a swimming pool, neighborhood elementary school, walking/biking trails, exercise facility, and green space. Lots of families with young kids live here, so Sarah has plenty of playmates around her age. A light mist was falling during our ride to school, but it was fairly warm. Mariann told me that they always ride in the rain, just not when there’s lightning/thunder!

After the exhilarating ride (we were running a little late and rode pretty fast), Mariann and I drove out to Kroger to get a few groceries. Then we had breakfast and Jack and I worked on the blog. (Jack had slept in this morning, after our long drive on Wed.) Then Jack set up a work spot for his laptop, and worked on his iBook while I caught up on emails. Nice, quiet day.

Around 3 pm, Mariann and I got on the bikes again to ride to Sarah’s school. Now it’s COLD, after raining most of the day. Many of the kids were in shorts and tee shirts, and complaining about the cold.

Later, Sarah and I watched the Disney movie Bambi while waiting for her brother Michael and his wife Debra to arrive for supper. (That movie certainly brings up some conversations and emotions about hunting, as I recalled from seeing it as a young girl. We only got about halfway through it; plan to watch the rest tomorrow.)

Tonight we are celebrating grandson Michael’s birthday, which was yesterday. He’s 22. Debra arrived around 6:30 pm, but Michael was working late in Houston and showed up around 7:30 pm. Debra babysits kids in their apartment, and she brought a cute 6-month-old baby Emma that she babysits, because her mom was working late at the hospital. This is an advanced 6-month-old—already pulling herself up to a standing position, and is very engaged in everything going on around her, with big smiles for everyone. It’s so hard not to focus on a baby when they’re around!