A quick trip to Houston

Jordan, Jacob, and I are just back from a flying trip to Houston. Went down Saturday morning early and came back Sunday morning early. The occasion was Morgan's second birthday, but it was a good chance for me to have time with three grandchildren, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Morgan was alternately pleased to be the center of attention and shy at her party--with maybe seven or eight kids and a lot of adults, her grandparents, aunts and an uncle, parents' friends, all of whom dote on her. She and Jacob played together a lot--sometimes. Other times she got very possessive about everything from her small DVD player to her father and shouted "Mine, mine, mine!" You can't blame her--heaven knows he can come on strong--into everything, doesn't understand boundaries, but eternally cheerful. Well, except in the car with his mom and grandmom on long drives.
I also got some good time with Kegan who, at four months, is an absolute delight, grinning at you with smiling eyes if you pick him up and talk to him, and lying there and taking it all in if you put him on his blanket. Life--and a lot of people--seemed to swirl around Kegan, and he was peaceful and placid, slept through some of the noisiest parts. We had to watch at the party though that no kid stepped on him, and it was a good chance to reinforce those lessons to Jacob about "gentle, gentle."
It was great to see Colin and Lisa and have a quiet supper with them, kids already fed. Then we sat and visited, but I gave out early, bone tired. Today we left right after breakfast--from the onset Jacob, who had played soooo hard Saturday and as a result not slept well, was not pleased to be in the car with us again. He took two brief naps and then alternately cried, laughed, and stared out the window. I decided to ignore him unless he erupted in shrieks, which I pretty much did. But at one point he took to shrieking with his hands over his ears in the classic "hear no evil" pose. I said I hoped he wasn't getting an ear ache, and then added, "Or maybe he's just tired of hearing us talk."By the time we hit Fort Worth all of us were tired, hungry, dirty and ready for home, lunch and a shower. Jacob probably had an added problem--a really wet diaper. But it was a good trip, and I'm glad we went. Fortunately, Jordan and I make a good traveling team--she drives, I navigate, and we are both able to laugh at foolishness. At one point we got testy--when we both thought we'd missed a turn--but then we laughed about it. She didn't even mind that when we left Fort Worth, I said, "What? Oh, yeah, 35." We got about five miles down IH 35 and I said, "this is wrong." She asked "Where are we going?" and I said "Austin if we stay on this road." So we backtracked and made our way to IH 45.
Lisa disproved my theory about taking better pictures. Okay, they were happy pictures, but not particularly flattering. Still it's nice to have pictures of me and Kegan, the youngest of my grandchildren. I'm attaching a picture of my youngest and oldest and one of me with Kegan.
Busy week looms. No time for manuscript or any such. I'll just get by--and get more serious at the end of the week.