My California Family
Posted By drsao on February 24, 2008
Grandma Shirley with James and Shirley Anne
I left my heart in………well, not San Francisco (in case you know those lyrics!)….in Lake Forest and Corona Del Mar, California…..home of my soon to be famous family…after I indulge myself with a little grandmotherly blogging. I had fun with my kids and eleven of my grandangels. So being a proud Grandma I HAD to post pictures! Here I am above (Grandma Shirley Anne) with James (5) and little 3-year-old Shirley Anne – who entertained us at a local eatery by dropping ice cubes down Grandma’s shirt! James is the little marshmallow grandangel – so sweet and friendly. He says he will love me until TWO DAYS AFTER FOREVER (because I told him that I will love him until ONE DAY AFTER FOREVER.) Shirley Anne is a happy little clown who lights up a room with her smile! Everyone does a double take when they look at those long blonde curls and big eyes. She glued herself to me while I was in CA and I didn’t mind one little bit! 🙂
Chase
Grandangel Chase (16) is hot on the campaign trail when he isn’t studying for his SATs……he won’t be eligible to vote this time though! Chase is a brainiac – already doing research with the college kids. He spent some time this summer in Peru with a medical group – what an experience! He has one more year of high school – and then he will be embarking on his college experience.
My daughter-in-love, Lil, met me in Las Vegas!
We had a wonderful time at the Mandalay Bay hotel before heading to CA. The buffet at the RIO was absolutely better than WONDERFUL and I played BINGO for the first time ever at Palace Station. Lil and I were not winners, but we had a lot of fun trying! Lil gave me a fabulous silloutte that she created of five of my grandangels. It is so wonderful that I cried when I saw it! I don’t know where she found the time to do it! Lil is the mother of five of my grandangels, Harry, William, Vincent, James and Shirley Anne…….and here they are (below) with my son, Rob. They are standing in front of the community center in Hermosa Beach where Rob played SNEEZY in a local performance of SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN Ds……little did we know then that one day he would almost produce his own cast! 🙂 left to right…. William (almost 10), James (5), Vincent (7), Shirley Anne (3), Rob and Harry (13). On this visit we went to Hermosa Beach and took the kids to see the house where their dad, aunt, Grandpa and Grandma lived – and the beach where Rob surfed! They also stood on the ball field where Rob pitched and they sat in the stands where Grandma Shirley cheered! 🙂
It was a lot of fun.
Rob with William, James, Vincent, Shirley Anne and Harry
Jan and Caden
It was my lucky day indeed when I inherited daughter, Jan, when I married her Dad. I can’t bear to call her my step-daughter because I truly love her so much that I can’t believe that I didn’t give birth. 🙂 Jan is the mother to my six grandangels Brennan, Lacy, Chase, Caden, Collin, and Jannae. We have so much fun together – and we even enjoyed ourselves walking around Balboa Island late at night while the clothes dried….yes her clothes dryer broke down during my visit – a real EVENT when there are six children in the family!
During my visit, Jan and I enjoyed a memorable grown-up tea party in honor of her birthday Feb. 23.
We enjoyed the luxury of a four, or maybe it was five, course tea!
Grandangel Caden (pictured with his mom Jan above) is a sweetheart – an 8th grader. I love him because (among other things) he eats my UNUSUAL food creations. His favorite is my LAYERED DELIGHT…..and in case you want to make it here is what you do.
In a tall paper cup layer one is blueberries,
layer two is Cheerios,
layer three is strawberries,
layer four is Cheerios
and layer five is WHIPPED CREAM.
Before you add the top layer of whipped cream you pour orange juice over the entire creation…..then top it off with whipped cream and chocolate syrup. Caden once ate TWO of these! 🙂 Isn’t that sweet!
Grandangel Lacy is a freshman at Berkeley and she has been known to make some pretty interesting TASTY DELIGHTS herself. Jan and I are still laughing about the time that she made us burned microwaved popcorn in a paper bag – topped with black pepper. Personally I liked the rice and corn flake dish that she made for me a little better than the popcorn. Lacy wasn’t feeling well in this picture, but to me she is beautiful, no matter what!
We call her LACY LUCY because she reminds us a lot of Lucy from the I LOVE LUCY series!
She is funny, has lots of friends, and she is GEOGRAPHICALLY AND DIRECTIONALLY CHALLENGED – just like me!
Lacy
Vincent
This is Vincent (7) who is always the LIFE OF THE PARTY. This grandangel has more energy than a barrel full of monkeys and he tells the best stories EVER. He has a wonderful imagination and can jump tall buildings with a single bound. I knitted this blue dinosaur (getting a hug in the picture) for Vincent who has loved dinosaurs since DAY ONE! When this dinosaur has its tail stretched out I think it measures six feet. It took me three months of solid knitting to pull this off for Christmas of 2005. Only three of my grandangels have knitted animals……Lacy has a pink hippo, Chase has a red, white and blue rabbit, and Vincent has the blue dinosaur. Maybe more of the grandangels would have received knitted animals had I not chosen to make these animals so HUMONGOUS! It takes me SEVERAL years to recover after producing one! 🙂
Brennan and Collin
Grandangel Brennan got his name from one of his parents’ favorite restaurants in New Orleans…..born in 1987, he is GRANDANGEL NUMERO UNO. He just returned from Italy where he studied through his NYU program. Brennan is finishing his sophomore year. Even though it appears to be so, in the picture, he is really NOT CHOKING his brother, Collin, a fifth grader and star athelete. Collin LOVES to play games and his big joke is to think of new and improved ways to win…….note that I didn’t mention the cheat word. 🙂 Collin is very popular – last year he got more valentines and treats at school than I have ever seen in my life! 🙂 He also LOVES dogs…….and he has made sure that his sister, Jannae, has lots of stuffed dogs in her life.
He buys her one for EVERY occasion! He is very sweet and his nickname is HUGGIE.
Jannae and Gary
Grandangel PRINCESS JANNAE (4) is enjoying a wonderful dinner with her dad, Gary, and the rest of us. Jannae LOVES FANCY SHOES and has since she was old enough to walk! She just celebrated her 4th birthday with the most wonderful BEJEWELED shoes ever! I believe that she really is PRINCESS JANNAE. Jannae is a sweetie and LOVES to produce works of art for everyone. While I was in CA I received several wonderful artistic treasures. She also enjoys gymnastics and tennis. Her dad loves all kinds of animals (including pet chickens, turtles, and a PIG) and Jannae loves dogs and JAGUARS!
William
William will be ten on March 4. He and his dad (Rob) and brother (Harry) went to Vegas with me for an overnight trip so that I could catch my plane back to VA. He is truly a NICE GUY and very funny. He talks and does funny things in his sleep – we all clamour to see who will be William’s bed mate (NOT!) He has been known to kick his bed mate out of bed. In Vegas he decided to sit up and bounce up and down on the bed – and Grandma Shirley nearly had a heart attack – envisioning that there was a full blown westcoast earthquake in progress.
William is wonderful (when he is awake) and he nicknamed me GRAMS. 🙂
Harry (13) was born smiling – and if you don’t believe that just ask his other grandma because we BOTH saw that smile the minute he entered the world! 🙂 Harry loves his skateboard and his dad (the original Hermosa Beach surfer) is teaching him to ocean surf. Harry’s greatest love is the guitar and airplanes. He loves to fly computerized simulated flights and while I was in CA I found out that he is becoming an accomplished chef too. He cooked a real gourmet meal for me…..he saw it on the food channel……the fennel and white wine tomato sauce baked on chicken was quite impressive. The last two years Harry has performed in his school talent show – singing and playing the guitar – and the girls went crazy! I heard the video and the girls were really screaming! 🙂 This year he is playing the lead (a tennis pro) in his school play – an adaptation of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. Now, I can’t imagine a tennis player in a Shakespearean production – but it is true!
Harry
I try not to OVERLY EXPOUND on the special place in my heart that my grandangels play – but just this once, I couldn’t resist!
Actually I did it for my mother. She loves to read my blog. 🙂 And if you buy that, I have some ocean front property for sale in Arizona! :):)
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