A Spur-of-the-Moment Trip

As many of you know, about a month ago my Dad was diagnosed with a type of stomach tumor called a GIST (that stands for something, but if you really want to know what, you'll have to Google it). Last week was pretty quiet for us, since most of Elsa's summer activities hadn't started up yet, so the girls and I decided to make an unexpected trip to Michigan to keep Grandpa company while he was waiting for his surgery, which took place this past Monday. Plus, we thought a visit before the surgery might be more fun for him than afterwards, when he would be recovering and limited to a liquid diet.

We had a fun trip and really enjoyed a few days of just hanging out with my Dad. It was nice to have some quality time with him, without any obligations to meet, holiday events to attend, or a schedule of any sort. Hopefully we were also able to take his mind off his upcoming procedure. I think the girls made him laugh a few (dozen) times, and we all know the old adage about laughter and medicine.

We spent one afternoon walking around downtown Grand Haven. We checked out the new tenant in Dad's former storefront and agreed that this apparel store, which features an inordinate amount of items with the Playboy Bunny logo, is an interesting addition to the local scene. We had lunch at the hot dog place and walked down the pier, and Elsa spent a few minutes playing on the beach (by herself, since I couldn't push Claire's stroller over the sand).

We capped things off by spending an afternoon and evening at Ellen's. Dad hitched a ride with us to Ellen's, where he got to spend the afternoon with all the kids before going home with Phyllis when she got off work. Ellen blew up the bouncy house for the kids, and they had such a blast in that thing.

And the one who enjoyed it the most? Surprisingly, the only one who still can't walk: Claire. She bounced around on her butt in that thing and we could hardly convince her to come out of it, even when the other three kids were done. It was kind of hilarious.

So another enjoyable trip to Michigan. As always, Elsa cried when we left—she was still telling me, "I don't want to leave!" as we pulled off the highway for a rest stop in Kenosha. At that point, I was like, "Um, too late—we left a loooong time ago." Fortunately, we'll be back again in less than two months, at the beginning of August, while GiGi is home.

And, as most of you already know, my Dad's surgery on Monday went extremely well. He came home from the hospital this afternoon and says he feels "great." And the best news of all is that he will not need any chemo—the surgery basically completes his cancer treatment. So he's still facing some recovery from the surgery, but we couldn't ask for better results. Yay, Grandpa! : )

P.S. Hey, look, Blogger got some new templates! Woo hoo!