Garden Ramblings: Patience and Jordyn Visit!

Cathi and Don and Lee and I decided that Patience and Jordyn were old enough to fly alone from Seattle to San Francisco for a visit with us. Don drove them to Seattle and took them to the gate where he completed the paper work and handed them off the the flight attendant. We completed the paper work on our end and the flight attendant handed them off to us in San Francisco. They did well on the flight, although they thought it took a long time!

They were happy to arrive and after claiming their luggage we did some shopping on the way home and bought some cool new tennis shoes. Then it was off to Moss Beach to get them settled in. After dinner we went for a walk to the beach to see the seals and the girls discovered trees to climb! That was a favorite activity during their visit. Fortunately neither of them fell, but I think I got a few more gray hairs watching them!

On Friday we loaded them in the car and drove to Fairfield to visit the Jelly Belly Factory! I've been intrigued by that for many years and it was a lot of fun! The tour is great, very informative and interesting to see the process that results in 20 million jelly belly's A DAY! Along the way they give you samples of different flavors and at the end give you a bag of jelly belly's. The girls loved that! We picnicked in their patio area and then did some shopping! Patience got a harmonica and a refrigerator magnet. Jordyn got a harmonica and a BIG bag of candy!

Then home, dinner and a walk to the beach complete with tree-climbing! A successful day.

Saturday was a beach day. We had a quiet morning and then after lunch took blankets, sand toys, drinks and bubbles and set up camp on the beach. The girls spent hours building sand castles and playing in the surf. It wasn't particularly warm, but they didn't care! Oh yes - we climbed trees on the way home.

Sunday we went to Hillsdale and did some shopping at Gap and Old Navy! Fun for Grandma! We rewarded the girls by taking them to the park in San Mateo to play. It was a beautiful day and they had fun on the playground. They were going to ride the train there but decided that they could get a snow cone for the cost of the train ride so opted for that. On the way home we decided to take them to our little Moss Beach playground! They loved it! Even more than climbing trees! Then it was home, dinner and a quiet evening before bed.

On Monday we went to Gilroy Gardens. That is a really cool park with great rides for the younger set. We were there the whole day and since it wasn't crowded the girls were able to stay on rides they really liked and ride them over and over. We got them giant drink cups that they were able to refill all day for free - we got one for Nick, too - souvenirs!

On Tuesday Penny invited us to bring the girls over for a bar-b-que and a swim! Well, that was a HUGE hit! Penny has two dogs - Tillie and Tucker - who LOVE to fetch the ball from the pool. Patience and Jordyn had a great time swimming and enjoying lunch and a yummy dessert. They are looking forward to doing that again next year and hope that Penny invites them again.

And then it was time to pack their suitcase and get them ready for their trip home. The week went by very quickly but we had a great time and we think that Patience and Jordyn did, too. And after a few days of rest we were all recuperated! 7 and 9 year old have LOTS of energy!

Can't wait till next year girls - we hope that you will come and visit again!

Patience and Jordyn arrive in San Francisco

Patience, Jordyn and Grandpa, waiting for luggage!

New shoes!!

Their room is waiting for them - complete with library books, crafts and activities

On the way to the beach, in aqua sox!

Watching the seals

There were lots of them below on the sand. It was fun to watch them swim in and the scoot up onto the sand

Fun in the trees with the sunset lighting up the trees

Jordyn climbing up a fallen tree

And Patience, too

Posing in front of a big fallen tree

At the Jelly Belly factory! I highly recommend this tour!

The Jelly Belly bug

Sand Castles at the beach

Patience has found a neat rock

Blowing bubbles! Not my best idea - these bubbles were yellow - really - and got all over everything!

And the purple bubbles were even worse! But they were perfect for the beach - didn't come home with us though.....

Tree climbing!

Jordyn in the trees

Picnicking at Central park in San Mateo

Snow cones! Good choice, girls!

Jordyn, hanging around!

Inside one of the play structures at the Moss Beach playground

Oh, no! Patience is getting eaten by a shark!!

Gilroy Gardens!

One of the many rides at the Gilroy Gardens

Lunch! We had to keep their energy level up!

On the merry-go-round

Jordyn riding the hot air balloon ride

All of us at Gilroy Gardens

Patience playing with Tucker in the pool

Patience, Tillie and Jordyn on the floaty

More fun in the pool! The dogs were in heaven having the girls to play with and throw the ball for them

The girls were in heaven, too!

Jordyn getting ready to throw the ball for Tucker

Patience swimming

Someone is ready for dessert!

Jordyn opted for an Itsit - the San Francisco treat!

Bob, Penny, Patience, Pat Jordyn, Lee, Tucker and Tillie! Thanks for a wonderful day! We all loved spending the the day with you in your wonderful oasis!

Oh, sad! Time to go home. Patience and Jordyn painted shirts and pants with glow-in-the dark paints while they were here and wore them home on the airplane. They looked really cute!