A big concern of many people considering moving to another country is being away from family. I am lucky that we didn’t live close before so it hasn’t been a big change, we use Facetime and video chats so we see each other more than before, and our cost of living is low enough to allow us money for travel. It’s a very long trip to the west coast of the US so it’s pretty much impossible for my family to come here, especially now that there are very young children so I’m thankful that I can go to them.

Our first stop was California to see my older daughter and her family. Some of the photos below are from the Children’s Museum of Sonoma County. This is a wonderful place for kids with all kinds of activities and fun things, and it seems like every time we go I see more new and interesting things for them to enjoy.

There is a lovely park in my daughter’s neighborhood, and we stopped by the little stream. Camden was happy playing with sticks but Marian had to be convinced to stay out of the water.

The next day we went to the Children’s Museum where they also have water to play in.

The bubble room was a big hit.

Camden’s favorite thing was the trains

Marian went back to the bubble room

By the time she was done she was soaked with bubble juice from head to toe!

We had some wonderful weather in California so it was a pleasure to go on some fun outings. The rest of the time when the family was at work/school/daycare we tried to make ourselves useful. I don’t know how they keep up with it all! I feel like we loaded and unloaded the dishwasher and washing machine 100 times. There is a whirlwind in the morning getting breakfast, packing lunches, getting everyone ready and then heading out the door. At the end of the day it’s more of the same, unpacking lunch gear, getting dinner, bathing kids, and trying to enjoy a bit of family time before getting them to bed in time to catch up on some chores.

Challenge the grandparents!

Amy giving one of her many work related presentations

Camden and I built a heck of a tracks creation.

Camden’s school

We decided to wash the high chair liner, and another liner for a chair that fastens to the dining room table. Who invents these things?? It took both grandparents quite a bit of fiddling and perseverance to manage to get them back together corectly.

Amy has a very interesting but challenging job. Marijuana is legal in CA. Most of it is grown in northern California so they need laws and policies for all of it – growing, land use, water use, processing, distribution, laboratory testing, more aspects than you can hardly imagine. Amy’s department, and mostly Amy herself has been writing all these laws and policies, meeting with the public and people in all aspects of the industry to understand their concerns and needs, answering phone and email questions, going to government meetings, and now she holds weekly seminars to educate everyone in the industry about running their business in accordance with the laws and policies. And, all this is going on in addition to her other duties at the county. Whew!

So, the photo above is a dinner meeting that Amy was asked to speak at, and we tagged along. The next is the tracks project the Camden and I created. The last is Camden’s Montessori school. It made me think of my friend Linda Yapp in Oregon who put me up in the apartment above her Montessori school on my bike trip last year.

We went to Howarth Park on another beautiful day.

Ducks and geese!

We rented a paddle boat and went out on the lake. Camden smiled for the camera (I think he’s better at candid shots)

Look at this! Could you ask for a more beautiful and perfect day?

We also took a ride on the little train which was very fun.

They had a great playground too

Another fun thing to do is visit a winery for a picnic.

What a beautiful day and beautiful setting. There were many other families picnicking and enjoying themselves. Here Marian scopes out the scene while mom keeps an eye on her.

The other grandma catches a shot of Camden in a tree

Marian is on the run

Then she enjoys a ride on Dad’s shoulders

what a beautiful spot

Joel, Amy, and Marian head back to the car.

I am SO lucky! Both of my daughters are doing well, have great husbands, and wonderful kids. They even have great in laws. Amy’s in laws live in Santa Rosa and were out of town, but returned in time for us to have a few days overlap so we could get together which I really enjoyed.

I know someone else is reading this, someone important from before me who can now see who is coming after us. I still have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I am related to all these wonderful new little people! I am thankful every day for the healthy and strong traits that were given to me so I could pass them along to the future generations. They are great kids and I have no doubt they will do well in this world.