A grandmother is a mother who has a second chance

Monday, May 25, 2009

My Tucson Girls

I have a lot of really awesome young women in my family. My daughter, Jenni. My daughter-in-law, Angie. My stepdaughter, Wendy. My sister-in-law, Nicki.

And in Tucson I have three more wonderful young women named Kelly, Lori-Jo, and Traci. These are my stepdaughters from my first marriage and they hold a special place in my heart. I did a post about them awhile back. On our trip to Tucson last week I was able to spend time with two of them - Kelly and Traci - along with their husbands and some of their children. Lori-Jo lives a couple of hours away and wasn't able to join us. But we talked about her so she was there in spirit!!

It's so strange to see them have grown up kids when, in my mind, they are still teenagers themselves! In fact, Traci has a 21-year old son who is soon to be a firefighter in Tucson and is now engaged! In the photo below we have Andy, his fiance Allison, and Kelly's daughters Amy and Anna-Kay. Oh, and that's Ed in the background cleaning up the kitchen!

The place Ed and I stayed had a nice living room and kitchen so I got a couple of take-out family packs at the local chicken place (Pollo Feliz), they brought the desert and beer, and we had a really great time. Lots of talking, laughing. Even though they're not Italian, they have learned the fine art of talking over each other, but somehow knowing exactly what everyone was saying! It's a gift.

The husbands huddled by the unlit fireplace talking about guy things (I guess) or just trying to stay away from the gaggle of yakking going on at our table!

The girls have obviously done a wonderful job raising their kids and have close relationships with them. There are six cousins between the three girls and they are all close to each other and to their parents, aunts and uncles.

So, another definite benefit of our plans to have a second home in Tucson and spend more time there will be to be able to see the girls and their families more. And to be around when they all become mothers-in-law and grandmothers. Although, Kelly told me to bite my tongue on that last comment..... But it will happen and I want to be a part of it.

Love you guys! So lucky to have you in my family.

7 comments:

namaste said...

you ARE lucky, sandi! all of your girls are beautiful. i love the pics. and tell ed i think he's a good egg for cleaning up while your girls were taking pics. that would be just like ward.

you sound so proud of your girls. congrats on a job well done! to all the parents involved in raising them.

;)

Jenni said...

Wish I could have seen them! Maybe during our next trip to AZ.

Pam (Rowe) Iwamoto said...

You are lucky to have so many family members! Beautiful people! Glad you have a fabulous trip back to AZ! I enjoy your blogs! BTW, you look so great Sandi! Can I type another sentence with an "!", I bet I could "!" Jeez, calm down Pam, lol.

ba and the boys said...

that is wonderful that your stepdaughters and you are still friends! i agree with maria-all of the women in these photos are beautiful!

It's Me said...

lol.......ed in the background cleaning! that is soooo cute! all those beautiful women must be a joy to be around!

Unknown said...

Even MORE great family members. I don't think that family is defined by blood. What a great trip you had! :-)

Melissa said...

so nice to get together with family you havent seen in awhile. i always look forward to visits since none of my family lives close by