Beach Boy Son, Kyle, has five kids, and since traveling by car to Indiana is a major undertaking, we usually go down to Florida to visit them so that they don't have to make that long drive. Last week Craig and I spent a week in St. Augustine and celebrated an early Christmas with his family. Of course, where Grammy is, there are usually horsey things.
There was something horsey beside me when I met grandchild #16, Melissa Jean, for the first time.
I'd brought along some books to read - I always read
A Christmas Carol, Christmas at Fairacre, and other Christmassy books during December.
That includes
Sleigh Bells for Windy Foot, an old favorite from when I was a child
. Addie borrowed and read it, too, during my visit, while Braden read another book I'd brought,
Summer of the Toad, written by the parent of a former student who'd sent it to me as a gift.
Knowing my love of horses, Addie gifted me with a model horse that she'd found at Target when we took them Christmas shopping for their parents. She'd budgeted a little of her savings to get it for me! We named it "Addie's Surprise."
Every night Whitney slept in her favorite unicorn/Pegasus nightgown.
Corinne had saved a school paper to show me. (She is legally blind in her left eye, so she wears a patch over the good eye much of the time to strengthen the other.)
Shades of when I used to
draw on my school work at the same age!
Whitney was very excited that we just happened to have some unicorn paper for gift wrapping.
Our gift to her was Target's Our Generation doll. There were a lot of dolls to choose from, and since she hadn't specified which one she wanted, naturally I bought the one in britches and boots!
And the horse to go with it!
Look at that smile - it was a huge hit.
While I was down in Florida, I received a photo from Music City Son's wife, Emily.
Taken at Thanksgiving, it was of Pony Pals Julie and Kate and Cowpoke Susie and the ornaments I had given them for Christmas. (Every grandchild gets one from me at Thanksgiving, a tradition my mother did with my children and that I have continued.) Susie got Eeyore. I had tried to find
a cow ornament for her, but most were breakable and unsuitable for a toddler.
Emily also sent one of Pony Pal Julie taken that morning because "Grammy would appreciate seeing the dress." I sure did!
There was a lot of horsiness in Beach Boy Son's home, but I was in for some more the following day when we went to the St. Augustine Christmas parade. More about that tomorrow.
