Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Doin' the Mom Thing

Nan called last week to see if I wanted to join her on a trip to Santa Barbara to help Carter get set up at college.  So maybe he'd already been there a week and all of his stuff was in his room, but she was just feeling like we should go and put a "mom spin" on things.  She didn't have to ask twice!
Nan's trainer and almost family member Matt knows how off the wagon we are when we're together.   We thought we'd off set the countless bags of sugared treats and empty chocolate wrappers sitting in our front seat with a little action on the stairs at SBCC.  The view was incredible and the workout enough to make Matt proud.
 I had to check my google maps three times before I would believe Nan that there were really no Target stores in Santa Barbara.  Not even a Wal Mart.  K Mart was our only option for getting the storage drawers, shelves, bathroom necessities etc that we were certain Carter couldn't live without.  3 stores 20 cardboard boxes, a million plastic wrappers, and several hours later we had our guy all set up!
Project organization was almost complete, but we needed just one quick trip back to K Mart.  While we did get the last few essentials our favorite find was this fancy ride!  I've never seen anything like it.  It was pieces of so many different kinds of vehicles.  Gas tank was in the back of a bottomless truck bed, the seats were from a tractor, the floor was plywood and the front was an even better mish mash of stuff!   
While we were checking it out the guy came out with his pack of smokes and tatted sleeves and told Nan she ought to get inside for a picture!  Who were we to argue?
The creepy guy at 7-11 who told Nan she had a sexy professor look going on may have been a front runner for being Nan's next boyfriend, but the ingenuity in making this car may have given this guy just a small nudge of an edge ;)
The next step was laundry.  Starting off with a gigantic bag of dirty clothes wasn't the best idea for the boy who would rather buy a new shirt than wash one.  Nan and her sack of laundry was almost as good as Santa with his sack of toys!
Don't worry, it wasn't all work and no play.  We had lunch at some great outdoor cafes, shopped for  hours, met up with Carter's roommate Taylor from last semester, and spent time with the always beautiful Julia Carvahal.
We hung out in the courtyard at the apartment complex and got to hear all about the interview  Carter had done earlier in the day promoting his new clothing brand Klutch.
 And best of all we just got spend some time with our guy.  I just love both of them more than I can say, and was incredibly grateful for the invite.  Doin' the mom thing is never a bad thing!

2 comments:

Matt Oliver said...

I would believe your story about running the stairs if I saw at least one of your girls in action. I see a lot of action with the shopping and hanging out, unless that's Nan in the distance running sprints on the field :)

haley said...

I am so glad you get to do the mom thing! I can see the happiness in your eyes. It is an inspiration how Nan and you have figured out how to make it happen.
Also, knowing you, I am not suprised there had to be a conspiracy involved to get you to the point where you are kissing a puppy on the lips:)! Shelby is a very cute dog, I'm sure I'd do the same.