Grandpa Midencé's Visit

Back in October, my dad and his wife, Ruth, came to visit us.

I wasn't sure how this was going to work out. In the past, my dad and I haven't always had very pleasant visits. The last time he came to CA to visit was right after Brayden was born (almost 6 years ago) and he and I ended up in an all out screaming fight in my grandparent's backyard. So, needless to say I wasn't exactly thrilled when he called and said he was planning to come and visit.

He works for a company that puts on a party/conference every year in San Fransisco that all of the "mucky mucks" in the company are expected to attend. In all the years he has worked for them, he has never once come and visited or even been there and said, hey, come down for dinner, or something. This really hurt my feelings as he has worked for this company for many years and I had only just learned of this a few years ago.

Anyway. He was going to be in CA for this conference thingy and then he was taking a few extra days off to come up and see me and my family. Hesitant, I told him I couldn't wait to see him, to show him our house and for him to see how big my kids had gotten.

He and Ruth arrived Sunday early afternoon and we decided to head over to Elk Grove Park for their giant pumpkin festival they put on every year. There are TONS of activities for kids and lots of little vendors for people (women mostly) to spend money :)

First we hit the miniature golfing game. Tim, Ruth and I mostly just sat back and watched my dad make memories with my kids. It was so nice.


This is my dad playing miniature golf with a teeny tiny putter. It was really funny watching him play with it. Brayden didn't even want to use that one because it was so small. My dad was a great sport :)

We wandered around for a little while and found this cute little jail thing complete with pirates holding you captive. Alana was a party pooper and didn't want to go inside to pretend to be in jail with grandpa, but Brayden was all for it. So in they went!
Grandpa also thought it would be funny to tickle torture Brayden while he was locked into the hanging handcuffs.

Alana and Ruth made their way over to a vendor selling headbands and other "girly" things and Ruth bought Alana a very pretty headband with a navy blue feather and jewels on it. Then the kids proceeded to play frisbee (with the frisbees they got when they completed the mini golf) with Grandpa for over an hour. (I wish I had brought my good camera and not just my phone because I would have loved to have gotten some good pictures and footage of them playing...they had so much fun)

My dad used to have a boomerang that he would bring occasionally when he would visit with my sister and I and we would go to the park. So frisbees took him back. He was running all over back and forth chasing after them as the kids tried to throw them in his direction but often were way off. On the way back to the car, we snapped a quick picture before heading to dinner at BJ's Brewhouse (where my grandparents met us for dinner).

This is a picture of my dad and I after we ate. VERY blurry because it was dark and it was a camera phone...

The next day, I let my kids play hookie from school and the kids and I went with my dad and Ruth to the Sacramento Zoo. My dad used to take my sister and I there when we were young as well as take us to ride the ponies across the street afterward. Sometimes we would just go play at a park and then ride the ponies. So my dad was excited to do that with my kids too...but the ponies didn't exist anymore.

So, off to the zoo. First off, a train tour around the zoo. Alana and Grandpa say right up front behind the conductor. Brayden and Ruth, however, chose near the caboose. I sat alone in a car in the middle. First animal we saw were the flamingos. Brayden and Ruth decided to channel their inner flamingo and pose for this picture on one foot. :) I was and still am kinda underimpressed by the Sacramento Zoo...it isn't very big and I wish they had more animals, but oh well. The kids liked it. We saw giraffes, the tiger and some really loud and annoying monkeys of some sort. My dad and Brayden checked out the reptile house while us girls hung back and did the browse in the gift shop girl thing.

We went to lunch at Chick Fil A, headed over to the kids school to pick up homework packets and work they had missed from playing hookie that day and headed home.

My dad decided to make us dinner that night so he and Ruth went to the store and bought fixin's while the kids worked on homework. My dad is an incredible chef and he made a mouth watering london broil, some grilled potatoes and sautee'd mushrooms in ajus sauce....mmmmm mmmm mmm.....my tastebuds were in heaven!! They each let helped the kids with some homework (Brayden read to Ruth and my dad did Alana's multiplication flash cards) and then I had the kids get ready for bed. As soon as their pajamas were on and their teeth were brushed, the waterworks started. Dad and Ruth had to go back home the next day and the kids were devastated. I managed to snap a picture of them before they headed out.

About a week later, a package came for the kids from amazon. Ruth had ordered books for each of the kids. Brayden got a Captain Underpants book and Alana got a new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book. They were so excited. They called and thanked her and cried all over again because they missed them so much.

My anxiety over this visit was totally un-necessary, and I was so glad. I am so excited to talk to my dad more now, and he and Ruth are already planning to come down for Thanksgiving this year. The kids can hardly wait....and neither can I!