Another Day With Our Great Grandsons

Our Boy, Relaxed

Playing With His Nani

Proud Parents

Tommy, Tommy, Tommy

It's 8:50, and I've been up for just an hour, having slept in until 8:00. Evie's just gotten her coffee, Tom's been up since 7:00, and Mary is off to work out. It's a quiet house since Rhys didn't sleep over — quiet, and honestly, a little boring after yesterday's fun day.  It's a sunny day here in Missouri, with a high in the mid-70s.

Tommy's First Swim

Tommy And Me

Yesterday was a full day. Rhys slept over, and Nick arrived at 8:30 to work, bringing Tommy along, so we had both boys until after dinner — around 7:30. The morning was theirs, the boys taking over our lives in the best way. Fortunately, there were four adults between Nick and the four of us, so when one ran out of steam, another stepped in. Both Tom and Nick were working from home but could break away to help whenever needed. Tommy naps at 9:30 and 2:30; Rhys takes a couple-hour nap at 11:00, since he'd been up since 5:00. As you can imagine, our day revolved entirely around the boys. While Rhys was down, Tom took Tommy for his first swim in the pool — and he seemed to love it.

Evie Gummy Shopping

Once Tommy went down for his second nap, Tom volunteered to drive Evie and me on a few errands — gummies for Evie and wine for me. He recently bought a Tesla Model Y All-Wheel Drive, Premium, and this was our first real ride. We figured out how to open the doors, settled in, and Tom started the car and announced to Grok where he wanted to go: first to Flora Farms, a dispensary, then Total Wine. And that was all it needed. The car backed us out of the garage, navigated to the main roads, stopped for lights, changed lanes as needed, pulled into Flora Farms, and parked — on its own. At the dispensary, which was quite busy, Evie showed her ID, and a helpful, happy staff member walked her through the options. She left with three different kinds of gummies and a 20% discount, spending around $65. We got back in the car and, just like that, it drove us to Total Wine and reversed neatly into a parking space. I walked out with six boxes of wine — $23.99 for the Chautauqua, $13.99 for the Missouri. Tom tapped "Home" on the screen, and off we went.

Rhys Loving His Cars

The Gals And Boys

Rhys Loves His Mom

I'm a believer. I want one. Tom said it took him two minutes to order the car online — and honestly, if I had the nerve, I'd do it. The self-driving feature runs $99 a month, and you can turn it on and off as needed, which is clever. If I were heading out on a road trip, I might activate it for that month and let it do the work.

Tommy And Mary

Tommy And Tom

Rhys And His Papa

A Couple Of Cuties

When we returned, it was so warm and sunny that Tom took Rhys swimming, and I couldn't resist — I threw on my bathing suit and joined them. Rhys loves the water, dunking his head under every now and then without a care in the world. All seven of us ended up outside while Tommy napped, and when he woke, he came out too, happily dangling his feet in the water. Aundraya arrived around 5:30, fresh from a fifth work anniversary celebration at Hallmark. We all relaxed while dinner came together: sweet potatoes topped with taco meat, black beans, onions, cheese, and guacamole. We ate on the screened-in porch, watching TV, until it was time for Nick and Aundraya to pack up the boys and head home. The quiet they left behind was deafening.

Tommy

The Guys

Rhys With Baba And Granny

We watched some of the NBA, but Evie and Mary turned in around 9:00, leaving Tom and me up until 10:00 — just in time to see the Lakers beat Houston in overtime.