Back in the RB, CA

Shortly after making the long drive back to Redondo Beach, Julie and I were blessed to have our daughter Gina and granddaughter Emma brighten our home with a visit last weekend.

While they always call or Skype at least once a week, being together in person definitely makes a major difference, even if some of the time that just means being in the same room staring at different computer screens.

I don't think Emma has ever been as happy to hug us.

She positively bubbled expressing how thrilled she was to have traveled to see us for a real live visit.

The girls both have changed physically since we last spent time with them at Jay and Sasha's wedding almost a year ago.

We could see changes on Skype, but it makes a bigger impact to be with them and clearly see for ourselves in person.

Emma has grown seven...make that five...okay, Emma says more like three inches since we last saw her, but five inches since her last doctor check-up in 2018, which took her from being below average height for her age up to the seventieth percentile.  At ten years-old, she definitely looks more like a tween than a toddler, especially because she takes great care in her style choices including regularly brushing her lovely long hair.

As someone who finds ketchup spots and coffee stains on what I thought was a clean shirt, I am amazed at how she can wear a white dress or light colored top and keep her clothes immaculate all day long.

We knew Gina had been on a special exercise and diet "challenge" that her gym trainer had advised during the shutdown.  In three months since her landmark birthday in May, Gina has shed 25 pounds.  She's always beautiful, but I have to say that she looks even more fit and healthy at this weight, which is more like she was in college.

For anyone looking for a tip to do the same, I can say that her program does not overdo exercise but involves 10,000 steps per day on average, controlled nutritional guidelines including low starches and plenty of protein, and perhaps most challenging, no meals or snacks after lunch.

Because Gina works long hours on her computer despite not being required to report to an office daily during the pandemic, she has adapted the diet regimen to her busy schedule by incuding easy prep non-fat yogurt and cottage cheese with protein powder for two meals, supplemented with a salad topped with light olive oil a full serving of meat.  The system has definitely worked well for her.

Other than missing her live play dates and school time with friends, Emma has certainly not let any moss grow on her intellectually during the COVID-19 crisis.  Always self-motivated to learn, she stayed up with all her school work and has been learning foreign languages --- Spanish, Hungarian, French and Japanese --- on line.

Long before she started school, Emma's daddy and mommy assigned workbooks (for rewards) that had her enterring school ahead of her classmates, and she has continued to excel.  Her parents also made it a priority to live by the best schools.  Emma will not be like unfortunate kids already handicapped by a failing school system who never catch up to where they should have been had their schools been allowed to open.

It's never all-work, no-play for Emma, and she's a great game player.

We always enjoy playing poker --- often Seven Card No Peakie --- when we get together, and her chip piles were higher than mine by the end of our game this time.

A rousing game of Star Wars Monopoly also found Emma on top throughout the intergallactic battles for real estate with her Nana and me.

A day at the beach is always on the agenda when Emma comes to Redondo Beach.  Boogie boarding wasn't a hit quite yet, but it was fun splashing around in the small waves and building castles and walls in the sand.

Emma also has begun taking artistic photos with a small digital camera.  

While I didn't see the photos from that camera, she did borrow my phone and snapped a few on there, including the samples below and any portraits in this blog that don't include her.  

They have never had a television in their home, so out of respect for their discipline, when they come to visit, we don't have our TV on much, but one evening I put on a movie channel a few minutes into "Flipper" starring Paul Hogan and Elijah Wood, and the girls watched the last half with me.  After that, "Uncle Buck" --- a John Hughes/John Candy collaboration --- came on and it soon had us all laughing, though Gina, and then Emma and Julie, went to bed before it ended.  Frankly they saw the best halves of each of those movies.

All too soon, our son-in-law Laszlo, who had worked on Saturday on his second job as an SAT tutor, came from the airport in his rental car to pick up the girls to visit other family members in south Orange County, but they will all three be back later today to spend more time with us.