Every year Brent and I question the two week trip to see Grandma and Grandpa. In the past we've gone so Ireland can check in with her pulmonary specialist and so the girls could have (relatively) cheap swim lessons. It's a huge amount of effort for me because Brent stays home to work and preserve his paid time off for other family vacations. I don't want to be a burden on my parents so we carefully plan out meals and bring our own food. Every day I try to get the girls out of the house so my parents can nap and catch a break from the constant din of little girls running around. Growing up I couldn't visit my grandparents since they lived in California, which was too cost prohibitive. I really wanted my children to have those experiences with grandparents and stories of summer visits to tell. However, I really do think we are coming to an end of this chapter of our lives. This was the last summer we'd spend a couple of weeks at my parent's house.
Liesel and Ireland are pretty much done with swim lessons. They are working on lifeguard skills and to move forward, they need to be certified in Illinois so the Iowa City swim lessons don't do us as much good. With just Brigitta and Sydney taking lessons, we will be able to afford the more expensive local lessons out here. The check in with Ireland's pulmonary specialist could be a one day trip down and back- we don't really need an entire two weeks to make it happen. Next summer Liesel will be old enough to get a job and hopefully she will get in some serious hours so she can continue to save for college. Whitney and Tim will be gone as well. Honestly, I feel like we've squeezed every drop of fun we possibly can from our summers in Iowa City and as our girls grow older, we are looking at some other experiences for them like camps and pageants. So this visit was really bittersweet as it was our last.
One tradition the girls love is my letting them pick an entire box of cereal each for themselves. This may seem insignificant, but oh how they treasured getting their VERY own box of cereal that no one else could touch. I was amused to find some negotiation among them- if I get this box and you get that one then we share- just us, ok? There were some alliances while some stuck to their guns and claimed their box like an Oklahoma sooner.
Imagine Liesel's delight to discover just marshmallows at the Amish grocery store in Kalona? Now rationing would not be a concern- she could just sprinkle another handful whenever she wanted.
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