My sis is coming to visit August 10-20

mom, my daughter- in- law Steph, Mary Ann and me

My sis is coming to visit!

I am very excited. Mary Ann is the oldest in the King clan, born August 9th many, many years before I was born. (I did that for your benefit Mary Ann, a test to see if you read my blog! :-)) She has a high school reunion she wants to attend, graduated from Washington High school, you know, back in the dark ages.. :-)

She takes after dad's side, dark hair, skinny legs. She even sounds like my sweet daddy's sister, Mary.

Mary Ann has lived away from this area since she got married, I was just a wee child when she moved away. She lives in California now. You other gals whom have sisters might not believe this, but it is the honest truth...We never got into an argument. No not once, never. I do remember getting mad at her and her girl friend though; they probably wanted me to get out of their hair. So I made them give my gum back. Yep, spit it right into my hand they did. "That'll teach them!" I thought to myself. Humph!

I saw a movie on THIS tv last night, channel 7.2. The Man in the Moon was the title, with Reece Witherspoon, when she was little. I watched that movie with nostalgia. It was just like Mary Ann and I. She used to brush my hair, I'd brush hers, I'd scratch her back, she'd scratch mine, I couldn't wait to do the dishes JUST LIKE MY BIG SISTER. We used to sleep in bunk beds, hers was on top. Sometimes when we went to bed she would climb down and we would whisper and giggle, gradually getting louder and louder till dad would yell into our bedroom"you girls be quiet and get to sleep!" I looked up to Mary Ann, she was cool, I was clumsy and awkward.

For many years I didn't even know what to do with a sister when she came back for visits. I would ask my friends at work who had sisters what they did for fun together.

Then one year I went with mom and dad to California as their travel companion. They needed alot of help through the airport etc. after dad had his stroke. After we settled in California, Mary Ann and I took off for San Fransico for 3 days together. We had such fun! Laughing, catching up and reminiscing, laughing, walking and sight seeing, laughing, riding the cable cars, and laughing some more. If you catch us around town, we will be the ones laughing!

There has been talk...that when they retire they are moving back here. When I was out in California a few years back, Harold (her husband) and I were alone, and he told me the sweetest thing. He said, "Mary Ann gets homesick sometimes and would like to move back to Iowa, so when we retire I'm going to return her to where I got her from." I told you! SWEET huh? What a guy. Yep, she willed him to me too, said if she goes first I can have him!! I had such a crush on him when I was little. He would tickle me,and ride the scarey rides with me at the All Iowa Fair, what a guy.

Here's Mary Ann suprising Harold with a birthday cake.