Our third stop on our Wisconsin tour was at my Grandma's new apartment. She moved in this February. It is working out very well. She mostly lives by herself and cooks are own breakfast and dinner and eats lunch in the dining room. The situation is ideal: the apartments all face a large grassy area so they all have patios and past the grass is lots of trees. It's very peaceful.
The place also has a small studio apartment where guests can stay. That's where we stayed and it was perfect! I hate to say it out loud for fear of jinxing the situation, but the kids slept so good on this whole trip. They were all in one room, the boys even were in the same bed, and we got a fairly decent night's sleep. I admit, the second night I had to sleep with Justin and Travis went with Randy, but still I was able to make it though the day. And it was Alaina who woke up early and the rest of the guys stayed asleep. There is a great living area with a big TV so Alaina and I went and hung out there. As the various workers started arriving for the day they probably wondered if they had come to the wrong place. There aren't usually babies in the living area!
The sweetest part was watching all the residents watch our kids. Justin usually trails behind when we are walking and one time I turned around to make sure he was still following and I saw every single eye in the room on him, paired with a big smile on each face. Well, that just put a smile on my face. I loved it!
I am not sure what prompted Alaina to go after my grandma's shoelaces, but she did. Several times. My grandma's only comment was, "At least she doesn't know how to tie them together yet!" I suppose that is good thing. We had to be on top of making sure they were retied every time she stood up!
Travis has turned into a big reader and this was his position of choice while he finished his book. My mom bought him a few other books and he has discovered the Hardy Boys!
Mostly we just had a good time hanging out watching the kids play. Grandma really likes having pictures in her mind of what the kids are like so I was glad to have the chance for her to see the boys and to meet Alaina.
We went to church at my grandma's church (without her). I have gone there many times when we visited my grandparents growing up. It's a small church (it's a small town) so everyone knows when a guest visits. We haven't been there in 10 years but everyone welcomed us like family, especially after I said I was Laverne's granddaughter. One woman even said that her mother lives at the same place my grandma lives and she knew how grandma had been so excited for us to visit! They gave us bags of books and crayons for the kids to play with during church and we got a mini loaf of strawberry bread baked especially for guests. I have never felt quite as honored when I visited a church as I did that morning. Everyone knew just who we were and they all had a story to share. Part of me didn't want to leave. I love how much they love my grandma.
When we got back from church the kids all did a little performing. They are all natural born hams. I admit it might be my genes.
I am so glad we got this picture. It was worth every mile we trekked!
I loved getting to visit my grandma. I wasn't sure if we would be able to enjoy the time with her moved into her new apartment but the weather was perfect so the kids could play outside and the big living area was never busy and the boys could watch cartoons without bothering anyone. (I wasn't sure the TV would even get cartoons!) It was really a ton of fun and I hated having to leave. I am glad to know grandma is happy and she lives in a wonderful environment. A great third stop on our tour.
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