Shopping spree

September 10, 2023

The main agenda for the day is a visit with Shawn and his daughters. It’s Sunday morning though and they’re chance to sleep in, so we’ve got a few hours free before heading over. Rachael stays around the hotel and wears herself out in the fitness center, but it’s time enough for me to take a short walk along the river to see if there’s anything new to add to the list. And there is. It’s starting to look like I’ll at least break 200 by year’s end.

Our hotel is only a short walk from a bike path along the river.

Nice light this morning. I’ll bet it’s really beautiful here in another week or two.

The view downriver. Even though it’s another two thousand miles to the delta, it’s a pretty large river already.

#187: Blue jay. Not the first of the year, but the first to get in a frame.

It’s been too long since we’ve been back here - not since the beginning of our Ride to Rome two years ago. There’s a lot to catch up on, but it’s not long before the pressure gets too great and we all pile into the car for a trip to the mall. Shopping spree! For the next hour or so Rachael accompanies them while they giddily pull one garment off the racks after another and then head for the dressing room to try them all on.

Shawn and I watched on for awhile, but by the time they were ready to start trying things on it was clear we weren’t wanted around so we went off to hunt for coffee and wait it out. Eventually the three girls emerged with their small mountain of acquisitions and we all moved on to the nearest Starbucks before returning to their home.

Once there, Ashley broke out the scissors and they squatted on the ground and started ripping off labels. Then, the pageant. The elders sat on the couch and watched as the two of them ran down the hall to their bedrooms and emerged in one of their new outfits while we cheered and applauded. I lost count, but I’m sure they went through at least six iterations before all outfits had been modeled.

This excitement carried us through to midafternoon, but by then Shawn was ready for his afternoon nap so we returned to the motel for a couple of hours until returning to collect them again for a trip to the nearest Mexican restaurant and then back to their home again to chat until it was time to call it a day. Tomorrow’s a school/work day (Haylee is a senior this year, which is really hard to fathom), so by early evening it was time to let them get on with their lives.

____________________

2023 Bird List

187. Blue jay

188. White-throated sparrow

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Andrea BrownThis post made me really happy. Those are some sweet, awesome granddaughters, they are obviously thrilled and you two got them exactly what they wanted. Well done, Scott and Rachael. Love the fashion show at the end!
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7 months ago

Bruce LellmanThis made me smile the entire time too. I love the video, the cutest cat in the world and the fashion show at the end. Even the label photo is nice! So good of you to take them shopping. They will never forget. And neither will you.
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7 months ago

Suzanne GibsonLovely shopping spree!
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7 months ago

Rachael AndersonTo Suzanne GibsonI had a blast taking them shopping!
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7 months ago

Rachael AndersonTo Bruce LellmanI definitely won’t forget! I almost never buy clothes for myself but I loved taking them shopping! And fortunately, the store they picked was very reasonably priced. In most clothing stores, you could only buy 2 outfits.
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7 months ago

Rachael AndersonTo Andrea BrownThanks! We all had a wonderful time!
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7 months ago

Kathleen ClassenMy heart was full of all the feels reading this. What a wonderful post. And what beautiful and confident looking granddaughters. Just a happy day!
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7 months ago