Well, it’s Tuesday and I’ve just wrapped up 10 action-packed days with the grandbabies, Jonah Bear and Lilly Bug. I thought I would feel bright-eyed and bushy-tailed after a recuperative night’s sleep, but that didn’t happen. Instead, I was up until 3:00am, and I’m feeling totally wiped out. So instead of crafting a dazzling literary recap, I’m opting for a random run-down of what transpired. I apologize in advance for taking the lazy way out. Forgive me. I beg of you.
1. Our adventure started June 10th when The Complete Package saddled up the motorcycle and Ziggy and I manned the “support vehicle” for our trip to Austin. It was our annual pilgrimage for the Republic of Texas motorcycle rally. TCP attends the bike rally; Ziggy and I spend the weekend with the kids. The ROT Rally is said to be the largest in Texas and one of the biggest in the US. Approximately 200,000 participants were expected. This year, TCP entered his new motorcycle in an open division contest and took second place in the Metric Custom category. Got a trophy and everything. My Baby and I took the kids downtown to watch the motorcycles parade past the state capitol and down Congress Avenue on Friday evening. Have you ever seen a motorcycle parade that runs for 11 uninterrupted miles and takes more than 30 minutes to pass? It’s pretty awesome, even if you’re not that into motorcycles. The kids were enthralled, and seeing their Papi ride by in the parade was a highlight. In their minds, Papi (TCP) is now a rock star. You go with your bad self, Papi. Here’s a shot of his bike, or as I like to refer to it – “the other woman”.
2. Bama Boy, our son-in-law, introduced us to his favorite meat market. It’s called Johnny G’s and it’s located in Manchaca, just south of Austin. It is best described as a small, family run meat palace. We bought two hand-cut ribeye steaks for Bama Boy and TCP (about 1.5″ thick) and two smaller steaks for My Baby and I. Then we snagged some smoked jalapeno cheese sausage and some spices. It’s a great little Mom & Pop shop, and those ribeyes were Uh-May-Zing.
3. Turns out Peter Pan is alive and well and recruiting Lost Boys in the Austin area. Who knew? If I could bottle Jonah Bear’s energy, I’d be a guhzillionaire.
4. If you take two kids and two adult women, put them in a car in the dark of night with a multi-colored flashing disco ball light stick and a cool blue light saber, add vintage rock music and park them at a Sonic Drive-In, you’re bound to draw attention. It may or may not have been a coincidence that a police cruiser pulled in just as we were leaving. Look, kids! It’s the Fuzz!
5. There’s no such thing as “too many pancakes” or “enough donuts.”
6. Behold the power of cheese! (Remember those commercials?) Hi, Lilly Bug.
7. After spending 6 days in Austin, I brought the kids back to Houston to spend the weekend at our place. My Baby and Bama Boy were celebrating their sixth wedding anniversary, so a kid-free weekend seemed like an appropriate gift. It was a total win-win for all of us. We wore those kids out. Wore ’em out good!
8. This weekend, Jonah Bear and TCP made homemade cherry pecan ice cream and lasagna. There’s nothing better than men who cook, except for men who cook and then do their own dishes. At 4 years old, Jonah is really getting into the cooking part. We’ll work on washing dishes another time. As for TCP, the man can scour a pan. And no, you can’t have him. And no, he doesn’t have a brother.
9. If I’ve seen Disney’s Tangled once, I’ve seen it a millions times. Jonah Bear usually pretends to be the hero. Lilly is the leading lady. I’m usually the villain (totally against type, I know) and Ziggy is the sidekick. This time, Jonah decided the bad guys were cooler, so he played the roll of the Stabbington brothers (twins). That’s right. Just when you think one bad guy’s enough, Disney produces twins. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s a really cute movie. My favorite character – the little old cupid dude at the very end. Makes me laugh every single time.
10. Jonah Bear cried when it was time to head home. I cried when he started crying. Then TCP started crying. I’m telling you, we were one hot mess. Everything you’ve heard about being a grandparent is true. There is such joy in watching your babies grow up and have babies of their own. There is such freedom in enjoying your grandbabies without the stress and anxiety you felt with your own children. You really do learn a lot with age, and there’s a great sense of peace that comes with knowing you didn’t screw it up. Our daughter is amazing. Our son-in-law is a blessing. Their children are the greatest gift ever, and in all seriousness, we couldn’t love them more. Life is good. Really good.
Now if you’ll excuse us, Ziggy and I could really use a nap. A really long nap.
Inside NanaBread's Head 
What a delightful trip! And, yes, go take a nap. Take several. I bet it will take several days to re-adjust to your typical routine. But the trip sounds so wondrous on all accounts. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Patti. Besides being tired, I’m trying to adjust to how quiet it is at my house! It’s amazing how much joy and noise two kids under the age of 5 can produce. It was a blast, and I miss them already!
Okay, your grandkids are adorable and all, but that picture of Ziggy just made my (childless) heart melt. I just want to eat him!
Welcome back and enjoy your nap!
I don’t care if you ARE a zombie princess…you may NOT eat my dog. Even if he is sweeter than honey cured bacon and he smells like toasted nuts. ;-p Speaking of pets, how are The Three Steves doing?
I would never actually eat your (or any) dog. Just a little nibble on the ears, maybe. My Three Steves (get it? like My Three Sons? I slay me) are doing great, thanks for asking.
You are welcome to nibble on Ziggy’s ears any time you like. They’re soft and fuzzy and I am in danger of rubbing all the fur off them as we speak. You are also invited to massage the pink fuzzy pads on his feet. Some have black polka dots on them, and they smell like stale Fritos. But if you really want to win him over, you’ll need to feed him cheese or vanilla ice cream and scratch his little pink tummy. If you do that, I’ll need to chain him to the coffee table to keep him from going home with you. He’s a sucker for dairy products and a pretty girl. If you’re ever in Houston, I’ll hook you up!
Sounds like a wonderful trip! I love the “other woman”…she’s gorgeous!
Yes. Yes, she is. And that’s the problem. She’s a looker, and that usually spells trouble. You wouldn’t believe how many elderly tatooed toothless biker babes hit on my honey when he’s out with her. Leave it to TCP to think that it’s a bonus if they’re toothless.
Ha! Toothless! Your husband and mine would get along great.
As soon as you said toothless, I imagined all of the things that Hubby would say to that. I’ve learned my best (OK, all) slang from him.
Yeah, it lends itself to all kinds of punchlines.
Motorcycles! Do you ever ride? I have my license but I sold my bike a year or so ago. I miss it.
Motorcycle parades are fun to watch! I rode in Rolling Thunder once. Fun stuff!
Jonah Bear and Lilly Bug are cuties! I loved the Peter Pan reference.
I don’t ride. I used to ride on the back of TCP’s old motorcycle, but a crash on the highway scared me away. He loves it, though. He says there’s nothing like being on the open road with the wind in your hair and the bugs in your teeth {wink}. This is one of those situations where I don’t share his passion, but I fully support his desire to ride. His new motorcycle is really terrific, but I’m happy to drive the support vehicle with Ziggy as my co-pilot. I tell TCP that I can still get that “wind in my hair” feeling by rolling down the windows on my Jeep. Ha!
Glad you had a great time with the grandkids!! I can not believe how big they are getting. I love Lilly bug’s locks they are adorable!!! Just tell TCP that when those toothless gals show up – double tap!!! ;)
Lilly and Jonah are growing up WAY too fast for all of us. Jonah is a little man now that he’s creeping up on 5 years old, and Lilly is a full-blown toddler. Time is flying. And just between you and me, Sis, when the toothless biker groupies approach, I don’t think we’ll be using the words “tap” in any form (if you know what I mean). Heeheehee
Sounds like you had a ball. I know that I love it when my parents visit and take over entertaining my boys. Let’s be real–everyone involved loves it. As a parent, I really enjoy seeing my boys getting the best of my parents.
I really like your comment about the peace that comes with seeing that you didn’t screw up your kids. I’d look forward to that if I wasn’t happily in denial of the fact that one day my babies will all be grown with their own families. ;)
When My Baby was little, everyone told us to enjoy our time with her because it would go by so quickly. Of course, when you’re young you think you have all the time in the world. The truth is that age really does bring wisdom, and our parents were right. Time flies by quickly, and your kids are grown before you know it, whether you like it or not. I remember her first day of kindergarten like it just happened, and now Jonah will be in kindergarten in 14 months. Sometimes he’ll say, “Nana, do you want me to grow up?” And I’ll reply, “Yes, Jonah. I just want you to slow down a little.” I hope the day never comes when he and Lilly think it’s uncool to hang out with their grandparents. It will kill me.
One thing that I know for sure in my mere 11 years of parenting is that Grandparents are always infinitely cooler than parents. I doubt that you’ll have to worry.
Get rested, we are heading south in July for a long weekend and I expect you to join us for some of the fun! Congrats to TCP on his win, it really is a cool bike. He is a rock star. By the way, my other half was totally jealous when I explained what TCP stood for.
I’m already making plans to visit Austin in July when you guys pass through. Can’t wait. I’ll pass along the back slap to TCP. He’ll appreciate that. I feel bad that your other half is jealous! Since “The Complete Package” is already taken, I was going to jokingly inform him that “The Partial Package” was still available, but that hardly seems fair. J-Bird is SO much more than that. He’ll need to work on selecting a “wrestling name” that suits his personality. Good luck trying to reign that in!