2022 January: I hate to say I told you so!

So last month I said, “make plans but be prepared to change them”! The phrase “I told you so” comes to mind. Our original plans of a night in Las Vegas for a birthday show for our granddaughter, Ruby, a two-night stint in Bryce Canyon, ending with a three-day New Years’ Eve fireworks display in Springdale, Utah, was quickly altered. Omicron hit, and we had to adapt our New Years’ plans and visits. 

I believe a picture speaks a thousand words, so here’s my January post in photos with a short description of the events! The end is the kicker. We might have to alter our plans once more. For now, we got to spend Christmas morning with my daughter and her family while we hunted online for a new escape. 

Of course, Opa had to stay up and put together the massive dollhouse with Santa! It literally takes an engineer.

Our traditional “Family Christmas meal” at my niece’s home was canceled, and we all met at Oceanna’s backyard to exchange food packages and gifts with masks on.

We canceled all our reservations, and on December 26th, we took off for our AirB&B in the Sequoia National Forest. 

We celebrated Ruby’s tenth birthday on December 28th in the forest.

One of Ruby’s gift requests was to see snow for the first time -it came true!

It was pretty wet during our three-day stay, but we got in some hiking, deer hunting, and a visit to a candy store!

On December 30th, The girls, Lutz and I, hugged Jericho and Albert goodbye and headed to Brookings via San Fransisco. The girls loved seeing the bridge and

We were especially thankful as we traveled over it. The sun was in our favor!

We spent the night near Santa Rose and headed out bright and early on highway 101 for Brookings. But there was one crucial stop that we had to make!

This trip to my sister’s home was exciting for us all, considering my mom did not know we were coming. On the 31st, we arrived, and the secret was kept all-around! It was a New Years’ Eve surprise. 

We had one more surprise for my mom. In two days, my son, Jarrod, would arrive! To keep this secret surprise quiet, we kept very busy with art lessons at the sea,

Buying art supplies after our lesson with Grandma Peggy’s Christmas money,

Watching sunsets,

Taking bubble baths. Thankk you, auntie, Melissa!

Lutz and I kept busy with our booster shoot!

While great-grandma babysitter for the day, the girls got in a few more art lessons.

We did it! Our secret was safe, and Jarrod finally arrived. The look on Mom’s face, “who In the world are you,” made us all think old-timers had set in. But, it was a look of shock…she composed herself and realized it was her grandson, Jarrod. We did surprise her, or maybe she is a great actress as well as an artist.

It was so great to have Jarrod down for the four days. We put him to work immediately as the babysitter while Opa and I recovered from our booster shot. In addition, he gave mom and me art lessons. My mom and I have an art app on our new iPad, and Jarrod taught us how to use it. I have to say; my mom took off with the app. 

I have yet to master this gizmo. I guess it’s all in the eye of the beholder, right? Yes, we were both looking at the same sea view!

Overall, the holiday season was a great success even though our plans changed a bit. Seeing family and sharing time was the best gift ever. I was so grateful that Janet, my long-time friend from childhood, lives near my mom and sister. It’s so cool she joins our family events.

Although my six-month stay in the USA went so fast it filled me with great memories, we’ve all become more grateful for the time we spent with each other and especially what we did together during that time. We made the most of it. We arrived back in San Diego at the “Lopez Lounge” to spend the last week of our stay washing, cleaning, paying bills, putting Johnny and Cash in storage, and preparing for our flight home on January 13th. We even took a bike ride around the bay to get some vitamin C!

We woke the second day to some exciting news. My son had tested positive for Covid, so as the saying goes these last few years, a “covid test is a family affair”!

We are still waiting for results, so you’ll all have to check back to read February’s Post and to hear our results. Maybe we will have to alter our trip home to Germany. As I said before, ” make plans but also be prepared to change them.” Oh, such is life.

For now, here is one new recipe you might want to check out. This Caramel Apple Gingerbread Cake is baked with fresh apples covered in a thick caramel sauce and then baked with a rich warm gingerbread batter. It’s a winner for sure.

Are you keeping up with this virus? I’m trying to. Check out this article. It is rather interesting, especially as it relates to our children and diabetes.