We arrived in New Jersey at daughter Tammy’s home on Wednesday, Oct.11th, some nine days after we left our new condo in Fountain Hills.
We expected all of the kids to be waiting for us in the driveway or, at least by the back door. We got out of the car and rang the doorbell at the back door.
Still, there was no response. Diane called Tammy and she answered, “We didn’t hear or see you drive in.”
I thought that was odd until I was inside. As you may remember, Tammy and Brandon have four children – half of our eight grandchildren.
They are Brandon, age nine; Brody, who turned eight while we were there; Brylee, who is six; and Brielle, the youngest at three.
Since we were there last, some two years ago, the boys have decorated their own rooms. Both are accomplished musicians, and that is reflected in their rooms.
Brandon plays the guitar and the violin. One wall of his room has a variety of guitars, both acoustical and electric he has played since starting lessons. The headboard of his bed is silhouettes of the necks of guitars.
He’s a member of his school band. His favorite musician is Brad Paisley. the country singer, who also plays guitar. He plays the music night and day.
Brody is in second grade. His musical specialty is the drums. He has a complete drum set in his room. He isn’t old enough to play in the school band, but he certainly has the talent.
In fact, his drum instructor said he has natural talent for the drums.
“I have to keep reminding myself he’s only in the second grade. If he continues to develop his skills, like he has to date, there is no reason why he can’t make drumming his career,” he said. “He’s a natural.”
Brody has that God-given talent to keep a different beat with each of his hands and feet. My brother had that talent and he made it as a professional drummer.
The girls share a room upstairs. They like to play dress up and their room shows it. There is a variety of princess outfits and you never were sure which “princess” dress we would see on any given morning.
The girls are both taking dance lessons. Brandon and Brody are advancing in their Tae Kwan Do classes and are in Cub and Boy Scouts. The boys went on their first overnight camping trip with their dad while we were there.
They are busy kids.
The family has two new dogs, Shelby and Sally. They are medium to large in size. They kept me nervous all the time. I was in constant fear that they would knock me down.
I survived.
We went to the grand kids’ schools on Halloween for their annual parades of costumes.
Among other things we did in New Jersey during our time there included attendance at a book signing by Scott Kelly. He recently wrote a book entitled “Endurance” on his experiences as an astronaut and spending more time in space than any other human being. He and his twin brother, Mark, were both astronauts. They grew up in West Orange, N.J. and their elementary school was renamed for them last year. They graduated from West Orange High School where the book signing was held.
Our first night there, we attended a fund-raiser for Brielle’s pre-school. It was held at a tennis club that has produced top players like Don Budge and Jimmy Connors.
We took the kids to Turtle Back Zoo in Essex County. It is undergoing another major expansion. We got to see the giraffes up close. They had been added as a new attraction the last time we were there, but it was raining and they didn’t come outside.
The River View Drive-in in Elmwood Park is always a stopping point for an All-the-Way hot dog. Diane’s brother, John, met us there.
We drove to see daughter Dani at her new apartment across the highway from Budd Lake. Her son, Hunter, who graduated high school last spring, is working full-time as a furniture assembler with a major furniture manufacturer.
We all went out to eat at a Longhorn Steak House where Dani works.
Hunter and I went to the movies on Sunday. We went to see the movie about the Arizona Hot Shot firefighters who lost their lives near Prescott. It was pretty well done.
The day before we left, we drove to upstate New York, and had lunch with Diane’s sister, Teresa, and her family. We enjoyed a delicious lunch at an Indian-Thai buffet in New Windsor.
It looks like we ate our way across New Jersey, and I guess we did. The Millburn Diner, Irving’s Deli in Livingston, Houlihans in Parsippany and, of course, Appian Way are always stops for us.
Believe it or not, Diane lost two pounds during her time in New Jersey.
