beyond cinderella

Yesterday, Saturday, my niece Chante (daughter of my late brother, Stephen), and her daughter, my great-niece, Josie, came to our house for lunch and a fun-filled afternoon in the pool. Chante and Josie just left San Diego were they lived and are  making their way to Oklahoma, where they will establish their new home. Both Chante, and her husband, Roger, served in the U.S. Navy, and have been stationed in San Diego for the past seven years. Chante has been discharged for some time now and Roger will be discharged in July, then he will join his family in Oklahoma.

When Chante and Josie arrived at my house we enjoyed smoked pulled pork sandwiches with homemade coleslaw and multi-grain chips and salsa. Little Josie could hardly wait to get outside and into the pool. She was so excited she hopped down from her chair as soon as she finished her last bite and started asking if she could help us push our chairs in as soon as we finished our last bite…

Josie will be four years old in July and is an absolute delight.

As soon as Josie had her swimming suit on she was off and running towards the pool with mom and great-aunt Virginia following close behind… Josie’s wanted to know where the pool toys were and all I had were pool noodles so her mom, Chante, showed her how to float around using a pool noodle which Josie thought was pretty fun…

It wasn’t long until Josie decided she wanted to jump off the side of the pool and into the water with her mom catching her.

Fearless, Josie never even hesitated to take the leap.. Then, she decided she wanted me to catch her when she jumped..

After each jump, of course, she wanted to “do it again..”

So, back to the side of the pool we went to do it over and over again..

As Josie gained confidence, we had to remind her to “wait until I was in place and ready to catch her..” Her mom, Chante, said “I’m a nurse and I could give you CPR, but I don’t ever want to have to do that…  But, again, fearless, and kid-like, she made the leap before I was in place… and both her mom, Chante, and I rushed to pluck her from the bottom of the pool..

Scared the heck out of me, but when we pulled her up and I asked her if it scared her, she laughed and said “no, it just gave me a wedgie.” Then she laughed and said “I always have a wedgie..”

What a crack-up this precious little girl is. 🙂

After swimming we sat on the patio and visited until it was time for Chante and Josie to go. I so enjoy spending time with family, and look forward to the next time Chante and Josie come to Arizona. Hopefully, next time, Roger will get to come with them..

Safe travels to Oklahoma Chante, Josie and Roger. Your always in our thoughts and prayers.

Stay tuned!