My father was here for the last two weeks. He is a nuclear physicist and mathematician by training and mother hen by temperament, so these fifteen days consisted of him attempting to “fix” everything. He took all of our computers apart. Kid 2’s Mac won’t turn on now. He attempted to install a new dog gate and only a very firm, “Dad, this is our house, please respect our wishes” saved the baseboards from being sawed off in the process. He was also starved for intellectual discourse, because he enthusiastically argued about everything, from global warming (“In reality, nobody knows why it’s happening or if it’s happening.” Me: here is a basic experiment, Dad, reproducible even in Russia. I was a freaking chemist, please don’t try to bullshit me.) to whether gay people should adopt children and Putin’s politics. We have determined that I have been doing everything wrong for these 25 years on my own, down to buying non-stick pans and then washing said non-stick pans incorrectly.
I love him. He is my dad and we had tons of fun, but I’ve got zero work done. Zero. As soon as I would try to sneak away and put my headphones on, he would come and stand over me until I took them off. It took me two days to recover. As Kid 2 put it, as she survived the carnage of her laptop spread out on the table, “Mom, Grandpa is exhausting.”
So now I’m back in the saddle and hopefully we’ll be revving back up. I’m very glad he came to visit. 🙂 May be next time he will bring my stepmom with him. I haven’t met her in person yet.
My dad loves the ocean, so we got away to Clearwater, Florida for four days to celebrate Father’s day. He declared that he had no need of sunscreen because he didn’t burn. He went in at 9:00 am and didn’t come out of the water until 3:00 pm. By the end of the first day he was the color of a lobster and we agreed that sunscreen was a good thing. Then we took him to a nice dinner. For three days we pretty much followed the whole day at the beach pattern, but on the fourth Gordon and I somehow missed him. He departed for the beach, while we waited for our room to be cleaned. We decided to visit Clearwater aquarium, which acts as a sanctuary for sick and injured marine animals. The sanctuary was awesome. We saw a dolphin with prosthetic tail, otters, and turtles. Afterward Gordon wanted to go out on a boat.
Well, there was a marine safari event, which involved a low sitting boat with rows of benches. It cruised the coast, stopped at a little island, and even did a bit of a scientific research along the way, so we bought our tickets. Our captain maneuvered the boat out of the little bay and we were off, with a guide from the sanctuary explaining bird and marine species we saw. The volunteer is bringing about little tanks with different marine species. The little kids on the boat are having an awesome time. We’re out about 30 minutes, when a gust of wind hits out of nowhere, and suddenly it’s raining sideways. The captain turns the boat around and hightails it back to the bay, except there are now little waves and the rain is coming so hard, it’s like someone is spraying you with the hose. The boat is rocking. The kids are screaming. The little girl in front of us wearing a little Miss Congeniality crown and sash is hugging her mom and screaming, “We’re all going to die!” Gordon brought some towels with him, so we gave them one, so the mom could wrap the little girl up.
We finally got back in, soaked despite the towels, and then we had to catch a ride in the rain and the uber driver charged us extra $20 for the”cleaning.”
10/10, would do this again. 😛
PS. Cosmo interviewed us, if you are interested. Our kids have been making jokes about it for a week now.
I think we can all relate to how exhausting it can be when parents visit, haha!
Looking forward to Wildfire SO MUCH.
Dads. Gotta love them.
LOL Maybe if your step-mother comes with him next time she’ll urge him to relax. I’m glad you got to spend time with him, but he does sound exhausting. Just wants to be up doing something, I guess.
? gotta love parents that never stop being parents. The one time I had the ‘I’m an adult now please respect my wishes’ talk with my mother she was so offended she wouldn’t talk to me for months ?
The silver lining,,,,
Someday it’ll all be a snarky couple of sentences in a book, but even today it’s a lovely memory, and entertaining tidbit for thousands of fans.
Thank you for sharing.
Ah…parents. Having just come back from visiting my own Dad, I found this post particularly, um, relatable. And… a lovely interview with Cosmo.
My phone’s home screen is currently a countdown to Wildfire’s publication date. I think that it is fair to say that I am looking forward to it….
I just got back from visiting my mom. I think it was easier since I was in her domain, but I was sure glad to be home!
Thanks for sharing the link to the interview – that was fun!
Does your Dad sill live overseas? I can tell you parents are a little taxing on the routine when they visit. I am glad you loved every moment.
I have a friend who lines up projects for her dad’s visits because that controls the chaos somewhat.
Glad you had such a good time and got away for a little bit.
Trust me it could totally be worse. My Dad got really ill 18 months ago and move from NH into my apartment in FL….found out from his Dr. here that he wasn’t ill, he was depressed. Said Dr. also told me he’s 100% capable of doing anything for himself, but Dad was complaining that I don’t wait on him “hand and foot” (Doc’s verbiage). My take… getting old sucks, some parents take it out on us, the offspring. You wouldn’t know the name of the ocean science cruise thing per chance would you?
https://www.seewinter.com/visit/activities/sea-life-safari/
🙂
I was about to ask the same. I will be right below (Treasure Island) in August. With 4 boys ages 13-16, I really hope we have no hurricanes. I am glad you enjoyed your. Is it.
My Dad was especially annoying about his computer. I would work a 12 hour apday and get a call for help. I would go over and redo everything I did 2 days ago. He kept thinking he could ‘fix’ the databases. Finally, I put in a password for layout changes and he blew a gasket. It never got better.
We spent 4 days in Clearwater in January and went to the Clearwater Aquarium and loved it. Keep those memories close to your heart. They are the ones you remember the most after they are gone!
Yeah, I understand that completely. Gotta love having family visit. Last year this time, my mom, my sister and my niece came for 3 weeks. I barely survived it. This year, my mom, my mother in law, and my sister’s whole family will be here, all at the same time. It’s going to be a lot of fun and hair-gripping moments. At least my husband gets to escape to work. Bah! I love when they come…. I really do.
Shaklee makes a good stress tablet. Start taking them a week early, one twice a day, extra as needed! My SIL was spending Christmas day with the MIL so she took three. She was still mellow by the time they got home but her husband was stressed and had a headache. He wanted to know why she didn’t have one. My ex-MIL is a snide, snotty, nothing is ever good enough B who has managed to alienate nearly everyone in the family. She has even managed to infuriate the family pacifist.
Oh it sounds wonderful and exhausting! I’m so glad y’all had a nice time. Thank you for sharing!
Visits can be difficult but I sure miss them now my parents have passed. At least the memories are there to sustain me in their absence.
Loved the article; thanks to both you and Grace for sharing it!!
My father in law was an inveterate tree pruner. He couldn’t help himself. The minute he arrived I’d see him walking the yard – hands on hips and eyes squinting in appraisal.
I’m not sure which was worse, my shock the first time he lay waste to our trees or how healthy and beautiful they were the following season.
He died last month and we miss him terribly. Dads are like that. Unbearably pesky and dear all at the same time!
Sorry about the computer btw?.
I’m glad your dad is getting to visit tho and you survived. Does he finally accept ya’lls job? My dad also used to take everything apart, then not be able to put it back together perfectly always. Christmas was always interesting. Haha
I hope work goes well. Maybe you needed a break anyway.
Congrats on Cosmo. That is kinda huge. Has your dad read any of your books?
Ha my dad has literally just left my house how apt!
Re-reading Kate atm just about to finish Magic Bites. Do you think I can get through the Kate series and reread the first two hidden legacy before Wildfire? Gonna give it a go ?
Oh. my. Well I’m so glad you got to see him and that you did have fun. I’m so sorry about the computer and the work etc. that sounds… intense.
Read the article, very kewl 🙂 Been there in Florida when one of those freakish storms come out of nowhere and disappear less than an hour later but we were on one of those kite-skiing boats and my daughter on the kite was a bit panicked by the time they brought her down (there is no fast/slow, it is slow and slower). Glad you had a great time, read Anne Rice “The Mummy” last time I was at the beach, not what I expected I must say
I always love hearing about your dad’s visits. You’re stories are always so amusing. Didn’t he break the garage door last time?
Ahhh the joys of family! You can go from wanting to scream to imprinting a treasured moment on your brain in the span of a heartbeat!
I love the Cosmo interview ? Thank you so much for sharing, I had no idea. Thank God you promote yourselves more than Grace Draven ?!
Ilona’s dad sounds both caring and exhausting. I hope we can read some of these experiences through a character someday. It promises to be as much fun as The Baylor bunch.
Finally, Kid 2 deserves a gold medal for patience. I love my family… but I’ll never let them mess with my PC to start with ?
So glad you were able to spend time with him. You are a strong woman. Gordon is strong as well. I would have been in a coma (before the visit) if either of my parents had suggested a two week stay. Sounds like your dad misses being in the dad role. Did he get along with all the pets?
The Cosmo interview was terrific. Thank you for subjecting yourselves to opening up on so many levels.
My dad was also a nuclear physist, he could drive everyone crazy in 2.8 seconds doing exactly the same thing and everyone else in the world did everything wrong. Gone two years and I miss him. Thank you for bringing those memories back. Can’t wait for some of this to get in one of your books
The first time my mother visited me in my own flat I was accused of having mold on the top of my toilet lid. I was shocked. Went into the bathroom, took a look and saw a little dust on top of the lid. Had a 30 minute discussion with my mother about wether it was mold or dust. Finally she looked at it through her glasses and duscussed further with me about why I am unable to keep my flat clean.
It was at the end of the semester holidays I hadn’t been in my flat for two months.
Sadly she didn’t offer to clean it for me, even after I told her to either shut up or do it better. ?
“dolphin with prosthetic tail” Wow! Was the dolphin swimming OK? Also, sorry your Dad drove you crazy and yet it’s great he visits!
Sounds like Dad has quite the personality! Glad he got to visit again even if he did forgo sunscreen. :/ That made my Irish fair-skinned self cringe (especially in Florida)–my mom instilled into us at an early age sunscreen was our BFF, despite the annoying smell.
Do you ever run into Scientologists in Clearwater? They have a huge base down there and not sure I’d want to go anywhere overrun with them. All you have to do is listen to Leah Remini’s experience about why she left the religion (she wrote an entire book about it) and I’m just like no thanks.
Great interview!
Heh. My dad can fix anything. Except computers. He manages to break computers in ways I’ve never seen before. So, I relate.
Weird, isn’t it? We’re together and he drives me batty and I just want to be alone. But I miss him like crazy as soon as we’re apart.
Great interview. Are you talking about Aunt B? That’s the one that still hurts.
Is it 7/25 yet?
Oh, I was thinking they were talking about the last book. I hope they were talking about Aunt B. and not killing another character.
*last book meaning the last book in the series (i.e., the next Kate book), not the last book that came out.
I think you’re safe here; I recall them talking about the difficulty if killing off Aunt B and the discussion around Mahon previously…
This is so good. I think everyone with family can relate to the exhausting (but dearly loved) family member, haha.
And the Cosmo interview? Gold. I love getting the “behind the curtain” glimpses into your writing styles and methods (and personalities). And I have to say I’ve wondered more than once if any of the scenes with Catalina and Arabella were based on teenager-scenes at home – Jack having characteristics of one of your girls never occurred to me, though!
So I’m going to visit my adult daughter for the weekend. I will try to be on my bestest behavior so I don’t end up being the subject of a blog, too.
It could be a nice thing if it’s because you are such a great mom! Such blogs do exist.?
Glad you enjoyed Clearwater. I live there so while i have been to all the places you enjoyed i forget about them. Winter the Dolphin you met is very inspiring they bring children there who have lost limbs to show them that its ok you can get past it. Makes me cry to see how the kids love him.
Your post made me laugh out loud! I don’t know if you have ever read Wen Spencer’s Elfhome novels, but there’s a brilliant dragon from another dimension that likes to take things apart and I kept imagining your Dad as that character.
I love the Elfhome series, have read them over and over!
First Thing I thought: he wants to be needed! So install a “Grandpa`s Repair Box” where the broken things go in and when he visits next time you can truthfully say: ist so good you are here to help with those! Good Luck ;-)!
THE VISIT OF THE FATHER, indeed! At least there were no ladders involved, right? 😉
As a dad of adult children and someday grandfather thank you for the instructions on how to visit my children. ?
This comment made my evening.
That could be taken one of two ways. Either you know what irritates the kids so you won’t do that. Or you know what irritates the kids so you WILL do that. In my family, it would be the latter.
Dads – love them and get frustrated by them. I visit my Dad every year for a week. He doesn’t want to do anything except yard work and sit around the house watching tv news and movies. Maybe go walk around the mall and get lunch in the food fair. Routine central. I force him to go for a day to the mountains (Banff is 90 min away). He calculates the gas mileage upon return. “Not bad even with Simone driving. She’s a speedster you know.” Meanwhile I am 50 and not a speedster – I had the car on cruise control UNDER the speed limit. Sigh
For anyone visiting that area of Florida, I highly recommend a tour of Big Cat Sanctuary. They are legit and do really good work. Your dad sounds like a hoot!
Memories!
I had to leave early last Father’s Day and as I said goodbye and wished him Happy FD, my Dad who has been bed-ridden for the past several years, raised his right hand, just like the Pope, and gave me his blessings. He and I had a good laugh when I called him on his “Popery”. Too much TV mass. Hahaha
Ok, if Gordon is funnier than Ilona (per the Cosmo article), then Gordon has to write some more blog posts because Ilona is hilarious, so I want to hear from “the funnier one”. 😉
I also had the question about what your dad thinks of your career, especially since you were heading toward being a scientist.
We were vacationing in Southern California 2 weeks ago and i was saying that i don’t believe in sunscreen *I am also Russian*. Yeh, 2 days of looking like a lobster and a week of peeling skin made me a believer 😉
Thanks for the Cosmo link. When I was reading about your dad’s visit, Ilona, it got me thinking about my own dad. He passed away 18 years ago. He was an ordained minister, but could fix stuff that needed fixing. He taught me how to do long distance driving. When I go on road trips, I hear his advice in the back of my head. My mom taught me short distance driving, since my dad didn’t have the patience.
One thing that drove me crazy with my dad was his clothes did not wrinkle! He could wear 100% linen, sit in it, and nothing wrinkled. I wear linen, and it looks like I slept in it after 5 minutes. :p My mom, dad, myself, and one of my brothers would be in a car for 8 hours (this is before all the electronic gadgets we have now), and when my dad got out of the car, he looked like he just got dressed. Grrrrr……. 😀
The :p was to be this: ?
Where your dad fixes, my mom tries to cook and clean. We actually love her cooking but we wanted her to rest and relax on her vacation. She was even trying to help the kids with their chores, by help I mean do it for them. I had to have a conversation about how the kids need to learn responsibility just like I did growing growing up for her to stop.
Read the Cosmo article, I thought it was good, sounds like you need a vacation from your dad??
Your dad, I love him. Now know where you get your smarts. Lost my dad to cancer over 20 years ago. He was a commercial airline pilot/flight instructor. He was smart too.
Totally get the part about having a lot of fun but being exhausted when relatives come to town. Loved the article in Cosmo!
A memorable visit from my mother – I cleaned for days before she came. My old place sparkled (as much as first-job housing can shine. The next thing I knew, my mother was on her hands and knees trying to scoop out dust from the carpet where it met the baseboard. She was using a toothbrush “to do a decent job. “. It was right then that I realized three things: 1). I would never be able to clean to her satisfaction; 2) It was definitely her and not me; and 3) I would always compliment my hosts! Thirty years later these are still good rules!
My grandmother once pulled the couch away from the wall to vacuum behind during a day visit to our house. My mother rolled her eyes afterwards and commented on how nobody could clean well enough to please grandmother.
Any chance of that Ninja Hobbit D&D knockoff novel you wrote in college (as mentioned in the Cosmo piece) seeing the light of day? I would actually love to see that, even if it is terrible, as I am curious what your take on high fantasy would be.
Ilona, your dad sounds like quite a character and from your comments I can tell he drives you crazy but you love having him around…in small doses!
Just wait until you have grandkids – it’s great to visit, talk about Dr Who, DC and Marvel, books, spoil them rotten….then leave your now grown up and married kid to cope with them. Hehe ? it’s such payback! ?
My dad passed away 21 years ago and I still miss him…he would totally have loved the technology around today.
Good to hear that you have taken some family time even if your daughters’ computer ? will never be the same!
Thanks for the link to the Cosmo interview – gave us an insight into how you work together ?
I am glad you all had a great visit with your father. Make your memories now and enjoy him to the utmost. Mine has been gone since 2011 and we children and the grands miss him. He was a mechanical engineering with a PhD and he had wanted to be an astronaut but naturally NASA and Congress had funding issues post degree completion. One of my mother’s pet peeves was how Dad would take something apart and fix it so it worked the same or better than before it broke but he would always have at least one “extra’ part left. Some things did develop idiosyncratic issues post fixing but nothing fatal to us. He also was into computers so he ran multiple operating systems on his main computer as well as over the computers communications (similar to a LAN). Eventually he would program one more line of code to fix some glitch only he saw and the whole thing would crash. This drove my mother (she was a master chemist) crazy as everything was encrypted and password protected and she just wanted to cut her computer on and check her email or write a letter or print something out or etc. What we children miss the most is that no matter what he would listen to our problems especially when we called on our assigned day. He never told us how to fix said problems/ issues or what to do once we reached high school but he could ask the most maddening open ended questions. He never visited away for more than 3 days as the farm needed his steady hand at the helm but if we needed him to come he would or he would send our mother. She got to be quite good at dealing with airplane flights and international flights.
So enjoy your father and the disturbance to your routine his visits cause.
I married an engineer. Wonderful people, but dangerous. 😉
I AM an engineer. My hubby says the same thing… 🙂
Haha yes my husband is a Combat Engineer in the Marine Corp. He gets these ideas that worry me all the time.
oh lord above, the extra parts… my father will never fix something without a few things “extra.”
It sounds like you had a really great visit with your dad. I can totally relate. Mine was an electrical engineer. He not only took things apart to “fix” them, he collected other people’s broken stuff because you never knew when you would need a spare part. I once threw out of storage box full of broken digital alarm clocks he had collected over the years and he came unglued over it. Dad was very active and an avid reader. We shared taste in books and would swap them back and forth and then discuss what we thought of them. We also regularly went with my mom to the museum for special exhibits and lectures. He also loved the zoo and Moody Garden and we would go several times a year. He was hit by a car 3yrs ago and suffered a broken neck and traumatic brain injury. He survived but is now unable to do any of the things he used to enjoy due to the scope of his injuries. I live with them now to help care for him and it is so very difficult to see him this way. I totally would take every moment of all of his annoying behaviors to have him back the way he was prior to the accident.
So sorry to hear about your dad, life can be very cruel sometimes, especially when it touches the ones we love. It’s good that they have you to help Sam.
Reading about your dad made me smile and laugh – sounds awesome. Thanks for sharing.
The Cosmo article was lots of fun too – albeit such a teaser for the last book! Any chance we’ll get more snippets from Rogan’s POV? ?
“We usually don’t fight about the writing itself, although occasionally we do vigorously load the dishwasher because we’re irritated.” – from Cosmo article.
As a wife, this speaks to me.
My favorite line!!
Wait a minute – “Ilona and Gordon Andrews”? I was convinced that it’s “Ilona and Andrew Gordon”. Was I wrong? (that’s probably a weird thing to fixate on, but it strangely actually bothers me)
I remember Ilona answering this question, she calls him Gordon and it stuck.
Sounds like you all had a great time. I am glad that you got some down time and were able to R&R with your dad, even if part of it was frustrating.
Ilona, my mom was a bit like your dad – she just couldn’t handle being idle for any length of time. While she didn’t try taking things apart to fix them she was apt to start cleaning or “improving” things. She was nice enough to wait at my house for the cable man while I was at work one Monday. On the weekend I had painted my bathroom. She found the left over paint can that had not yet gone into storage and rather than see it “dry out” and “go to waste” she painted the insides of my closets. And then she took the white paint I’d used on the trim and “freshened” up a dresser that I had painstakingly restored as “distressed”. She sanded it smooth of the distress marks and used some poly filla to get rid of the dents from time and then painted it up all glossy new like it just came out of the factory. I might have encountered one of those melt down moments at that point. I felt bad later as she had obviously put in a lot of work. But I had read up on distressing techniques and at the time it was super trendy, and it was my very 1st project for my own home.
There is nothing better than parents. 😉
The little girl.. – WE’RE all going to DIE!!! (omg i was on the floor rolling around with laughter)
That sounds about like a visit with my grandparents. Glad you had fun! ^.^
What was wrong about buying non-stick pans? I don’t get it. And the only wrong way to wash them is if u scratch them up. My dad doesn’t know non-stick from iron. Cooking is not his thing.
How sweet! I remember reading a blog about how your Dad had never come to the states to visit you….but he went to Greece. So nice that he made it for a Father’s Day so that he can see how Americans have a holiday just for Dads. I was married to an engineer and raised one (of 4, so I have some ability to make comparisons) On the whole, engineers are exhausting! lol.
Great Cosmo interview! I’m trying to imagine Kid #2 as a lynx now.
I remember the blog the last time your father visited. Didn’t he break the garage door? Delaying the Florida trip… Lol I remember you questioning if the house would servive. Soon after that post I wondered if that’s why Frida, “tinkered.” Glad you had a great visit. Way to go Kid #2, my kiddos would have lost it seeing their lab top in pieces.
Congrats on your fancy interview! I love the fact that Best Selling Authorlords give the same answers, as the the duo authors, around Magic Burns/Magic Strike beginning.
I can appreciate the visit with family! I just smiled through the whole story. My oldest daughter came to visit for two weeks with my two grand children, three and six. I love them all so dearly. My neighbors enjoyed their arrival as well. Gotta tell you, I slept for two days after they left. LOL
I loved the Cosmo article! I really enjoy that blend in your work! I read some stuff and think “Yeah, no way is a guy gonna say all that in that particular way!” You two really nail it! I’m glad you kept writing and VERY glad you wrote the Kate Daniels series. Never listen to the critics it’s a big market place.
I was sitting in a motel eating breakfast reading this blogpost and started laughing out loud. My Dad was a Mr Fixit. He was actually good at it, built his own charming and well built retirement house, bit by bit, over ten years of summers and weekends in MA. However when he came to visit us I would try to hide the tool box, he was a menace if he got a screwdriver in his hands. One particular visit I concocted a strategy. I had two projects waiting for him. However it had been awhile since he’d visited our house and somehow I had forgotten that he also had absolutely no patience. Not one shred. So although I’d indicated the projects I delayed more instructions because I wanted to load the dishwasher and do a few things. I told him he could take a look at where both items were going to go and then I’d join him. A second towel ring was going in the kids bathroom, and a swing arm wall lamp on the den wall. By the time I got upstairs to the bathroom the bar was in and he was pointing proudly. I had to tell him that the younger daughter slated to use it couldn’t reach it where he’d put it. He was not amused. But it only took him a few minutes to relocate it. It was nicely done if one didn’t mind the hole in the bathroom wallpaper that stayed forever! The wall light fared little better. It came with a metal rod that was to cover the wire, however my Dad put the light in so high it barely covered anything. The light only needed to be high enough to go over a low reading chair. Needless to say the light never got moved as it was in wood paneling. Sigh. My Dad was a short guy so I’m not sure why he was into putting both items up so high. We had years of giggling over it and it’s still a favorite memory.
I had to laugh about this. When I would vacation at my son’s house, I told them to find me a project or two so I would have something to do while I was there, nothing big, just useful and needed doing.
I had to giggle the other day. Son has a wall in his livingroom that the kids stand against when they play in there. The walls are that toasty brown color so popular a few years ago. He finally got rid of the twin mattress that leaned against that wall (for jumping on, wrestling on, building forts, etc.) Anyway, he touched up the paint and I was trying to figure out why that wall looked like it had eczema. It finally dawned on me that they had not washed the wall off before he spot painted it. I haven’t said anything, I’m waiting until they either ask me what I think the problem is or figure it out themselves but it does make me giggle every time I see it.
BTW you got off lightly of the 20 dollar charge for the “cleanup” by the UBER driver. I am a Lyft and UBER driver myself, and friends with a few more that are. Just a few days ago one of my friends picked up a couple from a pool party in Southern California at about midnight (we been in the 110’s during the day). They were both wet and got the back seats of his car all wet. So he took photos and sent it to UBER they gave him a 50 dollar credit for clean up and loss of revenue since he had to pull himself off the road for wet back seats. This same buddy had a incident on New Years Eve where a person puked in his car at about 3 am. For that one the person was charged $250 for cleanup and loss revenue to the driver.
I am glad you enjoyed your time with your father.
Awww Bless His Heart! It can be difficult when they come to visit and wanna look at everything and make suggestions and even try and do stuff. My Dad lives 3 miles away and every time he comes over he looks inside every room lol. Its annoying but thats the way he is. I think he’s checking to see if we cluttered our house and have everything tidy. My sisters house is a different story. Home wreckage. Love her but with her 4 children its a disaster area. So, I think he likes to think his other daughter has a tidier place. We dont have kids so I guess thats kinda why. I LOVE my nieces and nephews but seriously they can be a handful and wreck it all! I had them over for a sleepover for a couple days and believe you me I get her frustration and understand a little more how much it takes to keep things picked up. HAHA. Their ages are so different and its not like they are messy its just with 4 of them it is quite taxing. Glad you all had a great time!
Love it! And I love your patience and love for you father. Hilarious and wise. The Cosmo article was great too.
Aha! The engineer father explains why I always feel so “at home” in your stories. 🙂
Btw, the Clearwater Marine hospital has made two movies with Winter in them to raise awareness. (Dolphin Tale and it sequel)