A Week with Grandma and Grandpa

I think I need to request a "Guest Blogger" for this week (aka Grandma Sunshine), because I literally spent the entire week away from the kids.


My parents came down for the July 4th weekend, but took the kids home with them that Monday. I then drove up for "Girls Weekend" with my high school friends, and picked them up on Sunday when I was done visiting my friends. So the kids had a full week with just Grandma and Grandpa!

I think everyone had a wonderful week!

I know I didn't get all the details, but I'll share what they did tell me...

• They went to the park every day (the one I grew up "living" at, as it's right behind my parents' house).
• They helped Grandpa mow the lawn.

Check out Dominic's headphones -- I think they're for the car DVD player.

• They played with my aunt's dog, Emmy, until they went back home.
• They played baseball -- and discovered that Amara's hitting percentage increase drastically if she takes a practice swing first.
• They played in the swimming pool in the backyard -- the inflatable variety.
• The rode on a fire engine -- and got to push the siren button!

Amara waving to her adoring fans. It took her quite some time to decide she wanted to ride the fire engine. It was a bit too loud for her liking. However, I think she enjoyed herself.

• They rode the wagon -- by starting at the top of the driveway and letting gravity propel them down. They used the handle as their steering wheel. Amara learned the rules of gravity, velocity, and too sharp of a turn -- but lived to tell the tale with no battle scars.
• They pushed each other around "the circle" in the wagon.

• They visited their Great Grandparents at the farm and got to ride a John Deere tractor with Great Grandpa (why didn't anyone think to take pictures of this!?)

• They went to the Park Carnival - an annual event hosted by my home town where kids do ring toss, free throw shooting, cake walks, etc -- and they got to ride a fire engine there. Small town living at its finest!

• The went to the "big lake" and the "little lake" and built sand castles and played in sea weed. They even swam without their life jackets on.

• They lived at the "big house" but when to the lake to visit the "little house" too -- but refused to take a nap at the "little house."

I asked Amara what she was doing in this picture -- expecting an answer of, "Riding in the wheelbarrow." Instead she told me, "We didn't want to step in goose poop!"

• They rode in a pontoon boat on the lake -- and were towed back by a neighbor when the boat ran out of gas.
• They helped Grandpa drive his boat -- in circles.
• They wrote books about zebras.
• They laced up pictures.
• They made macaroni necklaces and spools of thread necklaces.

• We went to the little hometown bakery - another piece of small town living at its finest.

Think they fit enough activities in one week?

Best of all, my parents were so excited about the time they shared with the kids. My dad said, "I think I've got a new little buddy. Dominic and I really bonded." And of course the kiddos love all their Grandparents -- but it's so fun to see the connection being made, the bond being strengthened.

This "week with the Grandparents" is an annual tradition I know we all look forward to every year!