Vote YES for Longer Summer Vacations

I don't know that anyone is putting longer summer vacations on their agenda, but if someone would do that, they would be my candidate.  The summer may seem long in terms of number of days of hot weather, but it is way too short when it comes to time available to spend with family.  Amy and Amelia will go back to school on August 6 and of course Amy has pre-planning "stuff" prior to that.  That means there isn't time for Amelia to come here for another beach camping trip.  There isn't time to meet up with Joe and Judy to spend time with cousin John.  There was just a few days for us to go up for a visit with them and then, bam, summer is over and it's back to school.

We went up on a Sunday in heavy traffic.  We left early so that we could avoid the crowds returning home from the local beaches, but eventually we ended up in the city traffic that is always in Atlanta. 

Atlanta Traffic - UGH!

Finally (PTL), we were there and as always Amelia greeted us with lots of hugs and kisses.  She was very eager to introduce us to her new puppy, "Billy".  Billy was very happy to meet us and was properly excited.  Amelia adores Billy.  Let it be known that I've now been kissed by lips that have kissed a dog.  I guess I'll accept that as long as Amelia is the carrier.

Darryl grilled steaks for supper and I'll admit that I ate every bite of the biggest one on the table.  It was so good and I love steak so much that I enjoyed every single bite.

Amelia wanted me to play video games with her.  We started out with Wii bowling and ended up playing a princess game that had many "worlds" and "chapters".  We played for a couple of hours and had barely finished one world before it was bedtime for Amelia.  I got to tuck her in after she read to me for a little while from a Junie B. Jones book.  Amelia told me that Barbara Park, the author of this series of books had died.  She said, "There will still be Junie B. Jones books, Nana, because I'm going to continue them for her.  I'm going to be an author when I grow up."

The next morning, Amelia and Amy left for a tennis lesson.  There is a teacher in their subdivision and this was a trial lesson to see if they wanted Amelia to continue with him.  Things went well and Amelia had fun so I'm assuming this will on her agenda for the coming school year.

In the meantime, Bubba had noticed oil under where our car was parked at their house so Bubba set out for the Hyundai dealership in Buford.  It turns out that when the local dealership changed our oil the week before they had used an "aftermarket" plug and no gasket.  Bubba immediately called them to complain.  I mean, when you get your car serviced at the dealer you expect to get Hyundai parts.  They have a lot of groveling to do before we're satisfied.  The service department in Buford was great.  They fixed the car in a timely manner and explained everything in detail to Bubba.

Jaemore Farms near Alto, GA, was next on the agenda after lunch.  We loaded up on fresh Georgia peaches, plums, tomatoes, squash, and boiled peanuts.  We enjoyed a cup of their homemade peach ice cream which is the best ever.  This place never disappoints us with the quality of their produce.  Then it was back home where Bubba stayed with Amelia and allowed Amy and me to go shopping for a while.

Yummy Peaches

Amelia introduced Bubba to the princess game and he played with her for another two hours.  Her directions to him were, "Follow me and do everything I tell you."  When we were ready to go home, Amy received a call from Bubba telling her that the puppy had pooped on the carpet.  Paw-Paw draws the line on cleaning up puppy poop!  Later on when I pressed Amelia to tell us who she loves best, Billy or Paw-Paw, she said, "That's easy.  Paw-Paw, because Billy pooped on the carpet!"

That evening we ate supper at a Mexican restaurant and returned home where I played the princess game with Amelia again until it was time to go to bed.  I tucked Amelia in, she said her prayers, and I was almost ready to leave her room when she reminded me that I hadn't sung Jesus Loves Me yet.  I sang to the best of my very limited vocal ability and Amelia said, "Nana, you may think you can't sing very well, but I think you sound beautiful." (She says the sweetest things, but I know that I am not a singer.)

Tuesday we met my cousin Vicky for lunch.  We caught up on family news and enjoyed a good meal.  Afterwards we made a few quick stops and we were home again.  Amelia and I continued on with the princess game.  We were approaching the end and Amelia was very excited about it because the golden dresses would be unlocked and our figures (princesses) would be able to wear them.  While Amelia and I played, Amy started putting together a feast for our supper that night.  Eventually Amy called Amelia to help her with a blackberry cobbler, because as Amelia said, "Have you heard that I want to bake something every day?"  Later she mixed up corn muffins that were the specialty at our house when she came for a visit.

Corn Muffins

Baked Creamed Corn with Jalapenos and Red Bell Peppers and
 Tomato Feta Salad

Grilled Pork Chops
Sorry no picture of the Blackberry Cobbler, but it was GOOD!

Right after supper Amelia and I went to play the last level of the princess game.  She was so excited she was shaking.  I asked her why and she explained that we still had to defeat the witch.  We did it and put on the golden dresses!  Yay!!
Amelia told her mom that the next day  she would show her around all the worlds we had opened. (I know Amy was excited about that.)

I know that this sounds like way too much time on a video game, but we had fun together and a lot of interesting conversation.  I know that Amelia is very much against anyone being mistreated by a bully.  I think she would befriend someone in that situation and try to make it better.  I don't remember how it came up, but I asked her if anything ever upset her.  She said yes, when she has to do chores.  Then she told me, "When I need to calm down because I'm mad at my mom for telling me to do chores, I just lie down on my bed and think of all the nice things about my mom and I feel better."    

Other sweet things were all the hugs and kisses she had for Paw-Paw.  One night he went to bed without saying good night.  Amelia scooped up Billy and headed for the bedroom so they could both give Paw-Paw a good night kiss.

The next day as we were saying our good byes, Amelia hugged me and thanked me for playing the princess game with her saying, "I've never been that far with a friend before."

Bubba actually let me drive for about an hour on the way home.  I think he might have gone to sleep with a proper pillow. This is a huge step for him.  He may finally admit that I'm a decent driver and quit holding the collision I had in his Corvette in 1966 against me.