Contentedness in Seattle

I returned Wednesday night from a very nice vacation at Heidi's in Seattle. I was last there in July and so there had been some changes: Brian had passed away, and so that was sad not having him greet me and lie by my feet while watching TV. Corinne was now carrying on conversations and was very fun to play with in the toy room as well as other parts of the house and the back yard, and there was new furniture in the living room and a flowering cherry tree in the front yard. Oh, and there is a new puppy – Lucy. She is a beautiful red Golden Retriever and is nearly six months old. She is learning some commands such as "sit," and "park it." But being a puppy, she still likes to chew, bark, and run around. Corinne is in love with her and visa versa.

 Marshall making a pizza.

 Corinne bringing me the tray of Christmas cookies.

Corinne (wearing her purple tutu over her slacks), waiting for the microwave to complete cooking my egg. She was so cute with all of these appliances —mixer, toaster, coffee maker, and oven. She and Marshall have wooden donuts with various icings; wooden pizza wedges with pepperoni, mushrooms, and peppers that can be added or removed; a wooden waffle iron with waffle sections and strawberries, chocolate chips, butter, and syrup that can be added. They have a half dozen wooden eggs—3 white, 3 brown. It was so much fun for me to play house with them.

Here you see some of the waffles, eggs, toast with butter, donut with sprinkles, a plate with a fork and knife, and a glass of juice. Corinne did a great job bringing these food items to Grandma and then sitting with me to pretend eating them. With each bite we would say, "Mmm. This is yummy!"

This is Lucy, a sweet red Golden Retriever. We were at the bus stop waiting for Marshall when this photo was taken.

I loved meeting Marshall at the bus drop off after school and walking around their beautiful neighborhood where the flowers were abundant. I also loved going to his soccer game on Saturday. He played several positions.

After the soccer game, we went to their area market where the grocery store was having a "Grand Opening" celebration. There was a big jump house for kids, and inside the store they were spray painting "tattoos" on kid's arms and/or cheeks, cupcakes to decorate, and employees helping children plant a blooming petunia in a small pot. Marshall got two tattoos (they wash off).

The day before Mother's Day, Heidi treated me to the movie, "Mother's Day." It was being shown in a very nice theater where the seats were reserved and were actually recliners! How comfortable. This was new for me. The show was cute and we enjoyed it.

Sunday, Mother's Day, I heard from Hans and his kids, and got a nice card from Heidi and one from Marshall and Corinne. In the morning, we went to the Top Pot Doughnuts shop, and had the big decision of which ones to buy. Later in the day the family went to dinner at a Greek restaurant where the food was delicious. Such a nice time.

Corinne and I had plenty of time to play "house," while Marshall was in school. She and Marshall have a very nice toy room and their kitchen set-up is amazing. Marshall has a cash register there, too, so one night we played grocery store. Corinne and I did the shopping - putting play food in the grocery cart, and Marshall was the cashier - sliding our items over the barcode reader or placing the items on a scale to be weighed. His pretend money looked real. I thought this was a lot of fun!

Corinne reading Elmo book while Lucy watches

Corinne sporting Grandma's shoes.

Marshall and Corinne posing with Target's Bullseye

Marshall enjoying a chocolate shake at Red Robin

Off and on during my time there, Heidi and I watched some cooking shows on TV. Chad did some cooking out on the grill, and all of us watched the movie, "Annie."  The time spent at their house went by so fast, and now I am missing them - especially playing house with Corinne and store with her and Marshall. Oh, and hearing Marshall read to me. It was a special time.

The sun setting on Puget Sound