Frances Brice Webb: 1924-2011

Very sad news in the Webb family this month - my grandmother, Fran Webb, passed away on July 25 while we were at the beach with Mimi and Papa. She had been quite sick in the preceding weeks after a more than decade-long battle with rheumatoid arthritis, so her death was not unexpected, but it nevertheless is a great loss for all of us. We feel so blesssed that she lived long enough to know Virginia and her other four great grandchildren! And we will carry many happy memories of her with us.

Thomas and I began the long process of scanning and digitizing old family photos this spring and summer and I have lots of great old photos of Fran/Granny from my childhood. Here are some of our favorite Granny memories:

The Not So Redneck Riviera

Thomas and I took Virginia to the Redneck Riviera (aka Panama City Beach, Florida) in late July for a vacation with Mimi and Papa. We hadn't flown in a plane with Virginia since January of this year - our longest stretch of non-flying yet - so we didn't know what to expect from Virginia at this age and stage. We were beyond pleasantly surprised to find that things had gotten much easier. We borrowed GayGay's iPad, and Virginia was entertained by Dora the Explorer and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes for much of the trip. Thank you, Steve Jobs! She also enjoyed ample snacks from the flight attendants (Biscoff cookies and Ben & Jerry's - Delta rocks for having ice cream aboard its flights). She didn't nap, but that was to be expected.

As you can probably imagine, the beach was a hit. Panama City is a lot nicer than when I was a kid due to a lot of redevelopment. We stayed at Aqua which is a nice high rise resort where my dad and his friend share a condo. Virginia spent many hours in the pool, playing in the sand, and even jumping major waves with daddy in the Gulf. We hit up the Back Porch for dinner,Pier Park for shopping, and Miracle Strip at Pier Park for amusement park rides. Virginia ate lots more ice cream and also chowed down on her first crab claws (we told her to "bite and slide" and she got a big kick out of it).

Hurray for the Fourth of July!

The Fourth of July is a major event in Alameda. We are home to the longest hometown parade in America, which is kind of a strange distinction to have, but we wear it with pride. Alameda has two downtown areas, so the parade is made to travel a very long distance to show merchants in both areas a little love. Everyone in the town attends - it is such a great slice of small town living!

The parade route travels just one block from our house, so we camped out with GayGay and PopPop and some lawn chairs this year. Virginia donned her Independence Day best - a dress courtesy of Auntie Lynn. She got lots of compliments from everyone at the parade (the parade committee chairman stopped just to photograph her after spotting her on the sidelines), and she seemed to eat up the attention.

After the parade, we attempted (unsuccessfully) for Virginia to take a little nap, and we then went with some friends to our neighborhood block party. Several homes on our street share a common backyard pool, and they open up their homes for a multi-family extravaganza on a few holidays a year. Virginia swam and swam and also jumped on their trampoline for hours. She then slept for 13+ hours that night - the Fourth was a success!