Trip to California

On Thursday, April 9th, 2009, Marsha and I flew to California to visit our loved ones there. Linda and Frank picked us up at the airport while it was still morning, so we enjoyed a lot of the day together. After arriving at Linda’s, we ate and then exercised. The torture we go through with Linda is walking fast, uphill, climbing a huge set of stairs FIVE TIMES, up and down, up and down…go, go, go! Of course, I go slowly and do it maybe two or two and a-half times. How do you do a half? Well, you go half way up and then down. We walked three or four miles, on sidewalks and a trail through a beautiful little canyon behind some of the neighborhood. We passed parks, schools and plenty of homes. The air was warm, sun shining and beautiful flowers were in bloom everywhere, so it wasn’t a complete torture.

We ate lunch at Souper Salad. I didn’t eat too much and only two bites of a sugar-free lemon mousse! Jackie and Brandon were finishing a little vacation, so they picked me up and took me to Deb’s in time for supper and a baseball game with Braden. Braden ran so fast with his brace on, I could hardly believe it! Bailey and I became re-acquainted, and I recorded her saying, “baby”. She has such a beautiful voice! Braden moved his mattress into the girl’s room and slept there while I slept in his room on Bridgette’s bed. Deb always takes good care of me!

Friday was a special day for Bridgette. She had a birthday party with two good friends, Isabella and Sarah. They dressed up like princesses and the princess doll came in her blue dress. They played fun games Deb set up, like pin the horn on the unicorn, fishing, dance to the strobe lights, and coloring. Deb decorated the dining area with pink streamers and balloons. The cake was a tiny Sleeping Beauty.

I had so much fun with Bailey. She played peek-a-boo with me and started saying, “Boo!” Then she said eye when we played with a doll. It was like she was hungry to learn new words!

Saturday was a busy day, with a Primary party for the children, decorating Easter eggs at home, and the Easter Bunny coming later in the afternoon. He left a large number of eggs filled with candy and he hid all the boiled eggs and candy eggs for the children to find in the yard.

Sunday, Deb spoke in church and gave a wonderful talk about the Savior and his atonement, quoting Elder Holland’s latest conference talk. I was happy to be there and hear her speak. We took photos when we arrived home, and ate a great dinner of ham, funeral potatoes, rolls, pistachio salad, green salad and carrot cake for dessert. The weather cooperated, and we enjoyed a great time eating and laughing outdoors on the patio. (Linda and Frank, Brandon and Jackie, Kate, Matt and Annie, and Dave and Christy, Marsha, all of Deb and Stu’s family and I participated.)

I went home with Frank, Linda and Marsha to spend Sunday night and Monday. We girls talked a lot and slept a little that night. In the morning, we drove over to the gym where Frank exercises and spent an hour on aerobics and weights. Good exercise!

Monday afternoon, we headed back to Corona and visited with Jackie in their new home while Deb spent a crazy afternoon diving to and from piano lessons and baseball practice with her children. We enjoyed dinner and Family Home Evening Monday night and left the next morning for the airport. Brittany cried and had a hard time letting us go. Deb drove us and we visited and sang songs all the way. It was a good trip, but too short.

Brittany Rae Lowe, birth May 11, 1999

Here is our beautiful princess, Brittany, who is turning 10 soon. The top photo shows her pushing two of her sisters in swings. She loves her siblings and helps take care of them very well. She is a brilliant student, a creative artist, learning the piano, and even a good singer. She has participated in soccer and ballet and is currently in Girl Scouts. She has a lot of good friends and is sweet and kind. She is trustworthy, responsible, and tender-hearted. Happy Birthday, sweet princess!

Kaden Clark Smith, birth May 6, 1999

As you can see from the above photos, Kaden is a lively boy that loves to do fun things. These photos are actually from last summer at Jumping Jacks and the Pinewood Derby. He is a loving boy who is very active, yet enjoys quiet activities, too, like Gameboy and adventure movies. He is wise and learning to make good choices, polite, takes good care of his younger siblings, enjoys cooking, and likes reading books like Eragon (and I can't remember the other set of books). He actually won second place at the Pinewood Derby for the Bear Scouts last week. I don't have a photo of his winning car. We love him and his very fun sense of humor. I really love to hear him laugh. It just makes me feel so good! He's a great kid to have around!

Bailey Ryann Lowe, Birth May 19, 2008

Bailey, born last year is our fourteenth granddaughter, the fifth child of Deb and Stu. She is already showing a strong personality that enjoys entertaining and loves to learn and help her big sister. She is very loving and energetic. She can already say lots of words, like baby, daddy, boo, bye bye, eye, thank you, and night night. What a joy to have her in our family! What hair she does have, which is about 1/16 th of an inch, seems to be red like her brother, Braden and she has blue eyes. she is a precious gem among our jewels!

Bridgette Savannah Lowe, Birth April 12, 2005

The above photo is Bridgette at her 4th birthday party. Of course, it ws a princess party. Being the fourth child, she can take care of herself just fine, thank you. She is fun, smart, wise beyond her years, cute and likes to help. when she was only two, actually less than that, she wanted to help me wash walls and paint as we were getting ready to move. Quite a remarkable girl. We all love her very much.

In April, I was at Deb’s house eating lunch with Deb and Bridgette. Bridgette asked me if Grandpa likes pirates. I said, “Yes, he does. How did you know?” (Grandpa likes the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.) She answered, “Because he’s a boy.”

I rode in the back of Deb’s van with Bridgette. She told me,
“When I grow up and have a baby, my mama will be the Grandma, and she will stay with us.”

A little while later, I told her, “Bridgette. I’m going home to Grandpa and I’m going to tell him all about you. What do you want me to tell him? Should I tell him that you are beautiful?” She replied as grown up as can be, “No, cute.”