WRAP-UP FROM CINCINNATI

Hello Friends:

Well, we have been home in Cincinnati since the evening of March 31.  The time zone adjustment was finally complete by April 6, so we are all three here just going through the process of re-entering life in the US.  For Gerri and I, that means a lot of dental and medical appointments.  All results good so far.  Rose is staying with us here until Keven and April Schillig come down for Easter Weekend to see us and Madison, and they will take her home to Marlboro on April 20.

We left off on March 26, which is the day we left Valencia for good and drove to Madrid to spend our last five days in Spain with friends there.  We lived with Vicky’s parents as usual, Luis and Tolas.  But we had other visits as well, as you will see.

With Vicky’s two children, Inez (3) and Luis (1), life is always exciting.  Lots of play time and, now, conversations with Inez.  So, here are pictures of our time with that family:

Gerri and Rose went with Luis to pick up Inez at her school.

Then, they were also with Luis “Siete”, which is what they have taken to calling Vicky’s son Luis.  He has so many “Luis’s” (father, both grandfathers, uncles, and more) that they are using this name.

On Wednesday, we had a great lunch at the home of the Marti family.  Javier spent some time with us in Cincinnati in the summer of 2011.

Jose Enrique, Javier, Ana, Dale, and Rose.  Really fun conversation all afternoon, until it was time for business appointments for people and we went back with Tolas to their house.

On Thursday, we had another great lunch at a restaurant near the major university with Gonzalo Barona and his girlfriend, Silvia. When we had lunch with them and Gonzalo’s parents in February, Silvia mentioned she wanted to spend some weeks this summer in America.  So, we offered her our home if needed.  She accepted over the phone in mid-March, and we spent most of the lunch getting through Gerri’s “interview” of Silvia about food, activities, shopping and the like concerning her visit.  She is also going to be with us during the week in August when we are spending time with friends in a rented home in Charlevoix, MI.

Then, we spent a lot of time in the afternoons, with Vicky’s kids.

Luis Siete was getting very close to walking on his own!

Inez giving a special kiss to her American Great-Grandma!

This seat was like the “Porche” of baby walkers and went nearly as fast!

Looking good!

Uncle Javier has special games he plays with both kids!  Some involve very convincing sounds of animals and a dragon!

Ever seen a better “Grandpa Grin”?

On Saturday, another great lunch with our friends Jaime and Adelaide, who lived in Cincinnati for several years.  Jaime worked with Gerri at Children’s Hospital.

On Sunday, the day before we were flying home, there was a special lunch for us at the Vazquez-Pena home.  It starting with slicing the special cured ham off the “hoof”.  Javier is the family expert for this task.

So, he gave some lessons to Rose.

The champagne was flowing, the lunch was perfect, the company was fantastic, and the day was very special.

As the day ended and Vicky was getting the kids ready to go home, something quite special happened.  We were getting our good-bye kisses from Inez, like many times over the five days before, and we told her that we were going to the United States the next day.  So, we couldn’t play with her again for a while but we hoped we could play together very soon.  Inez got quiet and a little sad because she was used to playing with us in the afternoons.  Very sweet.

So, the update on my wrist.  We went to an appointment the first day back, that I had made from Spain, with the Orthopedic Surgeon I know that takes care of all the Bearcat athletes.  He said it was a nasty set of fractures that he just wants to protect, rest, and let heal for 8-10 weeks.  So, they took out the staples, ditched the old-fashioned cast, and put me in this high-tech splint:

It is adjustable, comes off to rest the skin, and really lightweight.  Much easier to manage and to sleep with.

One last event seems worth mentioning.  On April 7, we went to the special Touring Exhibition at the Museum Center on the life and work of Diana – Princess of Wales.  Very well done.  Here are Rose and I at the entrance.

So, that’s it for 2014!  Hope you all enjoyed our blog.  See you next time!

Love,

Gerri, Rose, and Dale