Fun with Grandma and Grandpa!

We had a great time almost three weeks ago when Grandma and Grandpa came to visit! So much went on, let's see if I can remember:

--Mom, Dad and I met for lunch at a restaurant in Arlington called Willow. Took Mom there via wheelchair and had a lovely time with a lot of laughing about how GPS is impossible to use in the D.C. area and Dad said he and Mom almost ended up in Kentucky. "But I LIKE Kentucky," Mom said cheerfully, "they have horses there." Cracked up and couldn't stop laughing! Then we left the restaurant and sat in the courtyard of the hotel, with Mom unspooling her droll observations about people walking by. It was really a great afternoon, and I was sorry to leave but I had to prepare dinner for Mom, Dad, Drew, Rachel, and a couple around Mom and Dad's age, Mike and Carole, who I'd invited. Mike taught Drew at Columbia and I had worked with him at Willamette, and we try to keep in touch because he lives part of the year in Potomac and partly in Oregon. We manage to have them over for dinner a couple of times a year.

--The dinner was rack of lamb with herbs from our garden, popovers, asparagus with hollandaise sauce and pound cake drizzled with bittersweet chocolate sauce, whipped cream, strawberries and mint. All was homemade -- the strawberries and herbs from our garden -- and even though the preparations were quite extensive (I used the good china and silver, linen napkins, tablecloth and crystal), it was worth it. Everyone got along well, Rachel as usual charmed Mike and Carole, and Mike and Carole ended up staying for a while after Mom and Dad left. Really, it was a wonderful evening.

--On Saturday, we all met at the pool at Mom and Dad's hotel, where Rachel got to impress Grandma and Grandpa with her swimming skills and ease in the water (and Grandpa impressed us with gamely playing "cops and robbers" at Rachel's suggestion, for probably longer than he wanted to:)). Then we all went to visit Uncle Dan in the hospital, where he had landed after a heart issue. He seemed to really appreciate having us all there, and we had a nice time talking to him and to Ruth on my cellphone.

--Saturday night I took all of us to a lovely restaurant in Arlington called "Water and Wall," which has a great reputation (although no bread service, and we got a good laugh out of the hard little chips they served us to alleviate our pre-dinner hunger pangs). The food was great and we all had a good time together.

--On Sunday, Rachel had her Daisy Scouts party at Upton Hills pool, the outdoor pool/mini-golf/batting cage complex that is a 5-minute drive from our house, so Drew and I met Mom and Dad for what we thought would be a quick breakfast, but luckily they stayed long enough for us all to have a good talk sans child. We said goodbye around noon and picked Rachel up from her party -- and that was the end of the weekend with Grandma and Grandpa. So great to see them! Hope they come back soon...