Aloha To Hawaii Grandchildren

Waiting for a new grandson to be born in Hawaii somehow just seems like a vacation. When our daughter settled on Oahu she thought that she might be lonely. Just the opposite. A steady stream of siblings fly over to keep her company. One there now, two more for Christmas and Christmas 2009 is already booked. Aloha means hello or goodbye. With us it is just HELLO!

Goodbye To The Grandchild In The North

Saying goodbye to grandchildren takes a piece out of your heart so it can be true that we left our heart in San Francisco. So goodbye to the little girl who sleeps in her great, great grandfather's bed!

Goodbye To Grandsons In Virginia

With these guys life is a celebration. Three brothers who love life and are always on until it is time to sleep. They are like their Grandpa.When you teach them how to play a new board game that will be the last time you win.

Goodbye to the "Grandson of the Cool T-Shirts"

Our favorite buffet for a healthy, green dinner on a school night. This grandson is the protective cousin for all the little ones when we have family get togethers.

Saying goodblye To Grandchildren In Utah

When we said goodbye to these grandchildren in Utah we never dreamed that they would leave the United States before we did. They came to California for one last hug then flew to Scotland for a foreign adventure while their mother attends law school at the University of Glasgow.

Rain On The Roof!

This was a picture taken in the first big rain of the wet season soon after we arrived in India. We had things to do so we were out in it.
The second day it was still raining and we had to go to the other side of the city. Several places were flooded but we still got home all right.
Tonight I was going through the pictures on my computer trying to finish up on all the fun "goodbyes" we had before we left for India. The weather had been gray through the day and the wind was delightful giving us a lovely 81 instead of the usual low 90's. All of a sudden I heard a sound like a bottle of oil poured into a hot pan. Monsoon! We darkened the apartment and watched the light pattern of the street lamp as water streamed out of the sky and fell on the pavement below us. It made Niagara Falls look like a kitchen faucet. Our first big rain almost a month ago only lasted two days. If it rains three days in a row it shuts the city down. We will see what this storm brings.

Goodbye To New Babies

A new granddaughter just home for the first time with brothers and sister. But then. . . . . . . .

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this little baby grew so fast it made us wonder what she will do in two more years!

This Goodbye Comes With Italian Food In San Clemente

One last time out to dinner hosted by oldest daughter and son-in-law AND their six sons and one daughter.

Saying Goodbye to Grandchildren

The oldest granddaughters will be out of high school by the time we return. They are already elegant and accomplished. We will be excited to see the fun changes college will bring for them both.

The Goodbyes Begin

Meeting in Italy with our special friends from Germany. They were as overwhelmed as we had been when we learned that we would be in India for two years.

More Collections and Then The Post Office!

A collection of Disneyland hats was another group on our list, but with so many grandchildren to play dress up we kept this one. Many other items were bundled to the front porch and then loaded into our little pickup truck to be given away. Finally, Thursday arrived and we knew that a letter was possible. Since our mail delievery was at 5:00 PM at 8:00 AM we were in front of the post office. Our carrier was not through sorting yet so we sat in the car for ten minute and then back in the post office to see the carrier grinning as he handed us the coveted envelope from Sal Lake City. In the car the envelope was opened and we learned we would go to India. WE WERE OVERWHELMED!

Collections

We were in Hawaii for the birth and blessing of a new grandson. As we flew home we knew that we would have four days before the official letter would arrive. Then we would know the location of our service. We decided to use the time to start through and weed out collections of things that had accumulated through the years. First to go was tennis rackets that had served many games but also amused a lone child as he fired a bucket of balls at the garage door.

Next in the back of the front hall coat closet were three ceremonial ground breaking shovels. If you stay in one place long enough and build enough buildings even shovels can become a collection. We saved the one from the San Diego Temple and put the rest to work planting a garden.

We Are In India!

Five airplane rides and we are finally in Chennai, India. The last airline company had the hummingbird as a symbol. We've never seen this little bird crash so even though we had propellers we felt quite safe. Besides they gave us a free pen!