melair

This post will have me mostly up-to-date.  At least for posts I have pictures for.  There are a few fun things we’ve done here and there that will require I get pics from Jim, plus some updates on the house.  We’ve been working pretty hard on it lately.

My sister was due with her second son on March 29th.  I kept telling her that I likely wouldn’t get to meet Landen until later in the fall because I refused to be in Atlanta during the summer (and for good reason I hear).  The truth was however, I booked my ticket home when she went into labor several weeks earlier.  Perfect timing for a 3 day weekend.  My mission was 4-fold: 1) Meet my new nephew 2) See my Mom’s new house 3) See pregnant Judy and 4) See my company’s new office.

After sitting on the tarmac for an hour and a half watching the sky pour buckets I started wondering if I’d made a terrible mistake.  It was supposed to be the first warm and sunny weekend in Orange County for several weeks and I was having day dreams of lounging on the beach far from Hartsfield.  No sooner did they FINALLY let us off the plane and I picked up my rental car was I on my way to Everybody’s Pizza to meet Judy, Tim, Twain and Cedric.  After a little food and a couple of drinks though thoughts of Hartsfield were far behind me.  At this point, present company and my mom were the only people that knew I was in town.  And the only reason my mom new was that I was going to have to drive 2 hours to see her new house, so I couldn’t risk her not being there.  As predicted, pregnant Judy was a site to behold.

I crashed at Twain’s new bachelor pad and the next morning Judy spiffed up my hair a bit and we went and got pedicures together after I ate brunch at Murphey’s.  Yum!  Then, off to see sis.  I showed up on her doorstep with flowers and a bunch of balloons.  One Thomas the Train balloon for Justice, and several others to welcome Landen.  Drew answered the door and stood there staring at me bewildered for nearly a full minute until he said “What are you doing here?”  Jennifer had just laid down for a nap, so he told me to go in her bedroom and surprise her.  Entering the room was a little disorienting as it was pitch black in there.  I had the flowers in my hand and I couldn’t tell where Jennifer was laying or exactly how she was laying and/or if she was already sleeping or looking at me.  As I got closer to the bed I could see her head and leaned down to whisper “Hey Sister,” in her ear to which she replied, “What. Is. Going. On. Here?”

After having a little time to myself with Drew and Jen and Justice and Landen, Mom and Mike came over to see Landen too.

Drew did a lovely job on the nursery.  And Drew and Jennifer did a lovely job on Landen.  Ain’t he cute?

Please note, those are not real wood planks, just paint.  Pretty impressive, huh?

Mom and rode back to TN in the same car while Mike rode ahead of us.  The ride there  wasn’t much further than Chattanooga, but it takes a while to get from highway to final destination.  It is a gorgeous drive.  And mom’s house is gorgeous as well.

I slept SO well at her house, which is such a rarity for me at all when I switch time zones, that I decided I would stay 2 nights.  The majority of my family still didn’t know I was in town, so I got some r&r in as well as a little exercise.  Mom even joined me on a walk one morning.

Doesn’t she look so happy to be exercising?

Next was a surprise trip to see Granny.  I was talking on the phone with her when she told me to hold on, there was someone ringing her doorbell.  That someone was me, and Granny got quite tickled when she saw me standing there.  At least that is probably how she would describe it.  Here she is equally tickled to be holding Landen:

Surprising Dad was the best part.  My Dad hates nothing more in life than surprises.  Second to surprises he HATES being the last to know anything.  But, he loves “ragger”ating me to no end.  So, seeking payback for the torture of my childhood I had to make sure he was the last to know.  Well, okay…it wasn’t that well thought out of a revenge plot, it just ended up happening that way.  Dad was hosting a BBQ for Jen and Drew and he had invited Granny who declined the offer.  But, I convinced her to go with me to help me pull one over on Dad and she was happy to oblige.  We pulled up in the rental car where I ducked down into the floor board of the driver’s seat.  No small feat on a hot day in the tiniest car I’ve ever seen.  Poor clowns…  Anyway, Granny went to ring the doorbell and when Shannon answered the door, she said my dad was away and asked how Granny got there.  She said she was tired of her unreliable car and went out and bought a new one and came over to show it off.  Shannon, while skeptical, was curious and when she walked out to see the car I jumped out and surprised her.  Thank God we were able to wait inside with AC until Dad got home.  Then I hid in the basement while Granny repeated the same story.  Dad was even more skeptical than Shannon, and while I couldn’t physically see him, I could see him in my mind’s eye, rubbing his head, squinting his eyes and trying to figure out a more logical explanation than my grandmother single-handedly negotiating the purchase of a used car with no one’s knowledge.  About the time he started walking out to see the car, I opened the garage door (which was really throwing him for a loop) and yelled SURPRISE! Now we were all one big happy family again

So, we played in the pool and grilled out and I went home with Granny that night so that I could be into work bright and early the next morning.  I saw our new office, reconnected with everyone (almost everyone) and went to Judy’s for dinner that night.  She made me yummy lentil burgers, a zucchini salad and these delicious pickled grapes.  I know they sound weird, but truly they were a treat.

And so, in the end, mission complete.  Back to more adventures in California.