To Grandma and Grandpa's House We Went

Jarrett was in San Francisco on business this past Monday through Wednesday, so Elsa and I took the opportunity to head up to my parents' house the Saturday before and spend a long weekend with them. My parents seemed slightly remorseful that we did not do anything terribly exciting away from the house, but my mom and I did make it out to a movie, which I always enjoy and am very much appreciative of when I am there (we saw Super 8, which was really good), we went out to dinner one evening after hitting some sales at Belk, went to Chick-fil-A with my brother for lunch and a chocolate milkshake, and also made it out to a Mexican lunch with my mom and a family friend. Elsa did not seem to mind the lack of trains or carousels or petting zoos this time around -- she always has a grand time playing with the toys at Grandma and Grandpa's, splashing in my mom's fountain out in front of the house, and taking strolls down the cul-de-sac. We also walked over to the neighborhood park one evening so Elsa could swing and go down the slide a few times.

We heard word that my great grandmother, who had recently moved from her assisted living facility to my grandmother's house, passed away the Saturday afternoon I arrived at my parents', so that was a bit of a downer, but it was also nice that we were all together and that Elsa was there to lighten the mood some. My great grandma lived a long, fulfilling life, reaching 98 years of age, but she will still be greatly missed by her family and by so many others whose lives were touched by her throughout her lifetime. My mom left for Oregon to attend the funeral services the Wednesday Elsa and I headed back to Atlanta, and we were able to drop her off at the airport on our way out of town.

Here are a couple of other items to note from our trip, in pictures:

I put Elsa's hair in braids for the first time.

The bird nest above my parents' front door. The mama bird seems to come back every year, insisting on making her nest in the same, somewhat inopportune place. These are the two babies, who learned to fly and left the nest the morning of my and Elsa's departure. Elsa much enjoyed monitoring them over the course of the weekend.