Friday, August 12, 2005

The Visit

First things first.

Sunday Brunch is no more. The lady that started it didn't have time to do it anymore. When she stopped another lady took it over. That was about the time I started doing it. Now the second lady apparently doesn't have the time to do it anymore. Not much of an explanation is given. And it's given by the first lady on top of it, so we really don't know what's happened to the second lady.

Ah, well. It was fun while it lasted. Well, usually it was.

Now on to other things.

Last week my mom and my niece Kimmy came for a visit. (They shall be referred to from this point on as Grandma B and Cousin Kimmy - their relationship to Sydney.) They arrived on Wednesday, August 3, and left on Wednesday, August 10. It was great to have them here and we had a great time.

I was at work on Wednesday when they arrived. Thursday morning I took them out for a drive. Grandma B had rented a car. She has a terrible sense of direction, though. I showed her where major points of interest and major byways were. She diligently took notes and then consulted her map.

Grandma B and Cousin Kimmy went to a local water park Thursday afternoon. I worked again that day and Anne (Mommy) stayed home with Sydney.

On Friday we stayed home and relaxed. Friday, however, was August 5 and Sydney's four-month birthday.

Sydney at Four Months

During the visit Grandma B did, naturally, spend lots of time with Sydney.

Sydney and Grandma B

Cousin Kimmy got in on some of the action, too. At first the two of them didn't seem greatly enthused by each other. But before long Cousin Kimmy was playing with Sydney and making her smile and laugh. Cousin Kimmy sat next to Sydney in our car when we went somewhere. She would constantly give us updates about whether Sydney was awake, smiling, drooling (Cousin Kimmy even wiped up the drool more than once), making funny faces or anything else she would do.

Sydney and Cousin Kimmy

On Saturday we went to Art on the Green. It's a large event held in the downtown area of Coeur d'Alene. It is actually a couple different events rolled into one. There is a street fair along the main street of downtown. This is comprised mainly of booths of local shops and businesses. But there are various food vendors and private vendors with booths there, too.

In the city park along the lake is the Taste of Coeur d'Alene. Various food vendors set up there. There are some craft type booths set up for shopping, too. You may remember me talking about the Italian sausages that are so good that I look forward to getting every year. That guy was here. I know he does other local events, too, but this is the only one I really go to so I look forward to it. Mommy and Grandma B each had an Italian sausage, too. We couldn't talk Cousin Kimmy into trying one, though. She had some soggy, greasy curly fries.

A short walk from the park is the North Idaho College campus. This is where the actual Art on the Green is. There are lots of booths here selling all sorts of art things and some crafts. They also have other things set up. There's a public stage where they have various forms of entertainment throughout the weekend. They have a kid's art area where kids can go make whatever the current art theme is. (We didn't actually see this, but we weren't looking too hard for it by that time of the day.) There is also a guy there that makes a giant sand castle sculpture. He works on it for the entire three days of the event and it lasts for up to six weeks afterward. (I didn't get a picture of it, but Grandma B did. I'll link to hers when she gets them posted.)

Art on the Green was really the first time we have used the baby harness for Sydney.

Sydney in Her Daddy Harness

It was actually pretty comfortable. Sydney seemed to enjoy it. One of the straps stretched across right at her mouth level so she chewed on it almost the whole time. When she started to fall asleep leaning against it and with the strap in her mouth we took her out and put her back in her stroller.

On Sunday Grandma B took Cousin Kimmy and Daddy on a seaplane tour. Cousin Kimmy got the funniest look on her face when we were getting on the plane. The pilot told her to sit up front with him. Her eyes got huge. She didn't want to be in the front of the plane.

The pilot was a funny older man. The flight was a little turbulent. In the afternoon (we went at 2:00) the heat from the land makes updrafts. He made sure to tell us this several times. (He told us many things several times, actually.) He seemed a little surprised and disappointed that none of us got sick on the flight. Overall it was fun but, as Grandma B said, "I'm glad I did it but don't want to do it again."

If you're interested in pictures you can see them here.

Even though we were right down at the city park I didn't feel like getting another Italian sausage after the flight. All of our stomachs were a little upset. We went and got snow cones to help settle our stomachs.

On Monday Grandma B, Cousin Kimmy, Sydney and Daddy went to Wallace, Idaho. Wallace is about an hour east of Coeur d'Alene. It's a nice little town. It's where's the movie Dante's Peak was filmed. It's also where Lana Turner was born.

But the reason we actually went there was to go on a silver mine tour. Cousin Kimmy and I went on the tour while Grandma B stayed in town with Sydney. On the tour they show you what they do when mining. Some of the demonstration is done by turning on loud machinery. That's not good for babies.

Daddy and Cousin Kimmy on a Silver Mine Tour

Cousin Kimmy and I had fun. We got to wear hardhats. On the trolley to the mine we got to ride on the back. That means we got to ride backward! The tour was quite educational, too, which undoubtedly means that Cousin Kimmy didn't enjoy it as much as I did.

On Tuesday my long weekend was over. I went back to work. That afternoon Grandma B, Cousin Kimmy, Mommy and Sydney went horseback riding. Actually, only Cousin Kimmy and Mommy went horseback riding. Grandma B again stayed with Sydney. From all reports it was fun.

Wednesday Grandma B and Kimmy got up way too early (though Daddy was up slightly earlier with Sydney) to spend the day traveling back to Michigan. Though it was tough to leave Sydney they were both ready to be back home. Grandma B managed to find the airport in her rental car. The trip back was uneventful and they made it safe and sound.

Pictures can be found in the online photo album. There are many new pictures posted (and not all related directly to the visit). The new pictures can be found in this album, this album and this album. Enjoy.

1 Comments:

Blogger marguerite louise said...

Thanks, John. Between Grandma B's account and yours, text and photos, it was a tiny bit as good as being with you myself. A most charming family!

12:43 PM  

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