Grandma Dee visited!

I don't remember the last time Grandma Dee was in Cedar Falls.  The last time I saw her was at Jay and Molly's wedding in 2009.  It was sad to see her without Grandpa Joe, but she seemed pretty happy overall and I was glad to see her.  She looks healthier and seemed to have lost quite a bit of weight...unless I have a bad memory.  Jay and Molly came up from Cedar Rapids and arrived first to our house, a few minutes before mom, dad and Grandma Dee came.  The time people arrived is normally Calvin and Vanessa's nap time, but I didn't want to put them to bed since I knew everybody wanted to see the kids.  Calvin did fine.  Vanessa actually took a snooze on the floor before people arrived.  Violet set up a bed for her on the floor with her blankets and she slept for 30 minutes.  I knew she'd take a much longer nap in I put her upstairs in her dark bedroom.  Grandma Dee enjoyed seeing everyone, smiling as she held Vanessa the first time.  Calvin and Violet do not remember her, but were polite, nice, and warmed up to her very quickly.  We talked in the living room for awhile, then ventured outside and the kids played on the swingset.  Grandma Dee proposed scheduling another family cruise to Hawaii next year, maybe Jan or Feb.  She needs everybody's schedules to see when works the best for everyone.

Four generations of women!

 Grandma Dee was the keeper of the raisin box that Vanessa had been playing with all afternoon. :)

 Chatting with Calvin about nobody-knows-what...