Let the Fun Begin.....

It's been a busy few weeks, and it's all been leading up to today!  Our oldest son, DIL and 3 grandkids sold their house a couple weeks ago, and are moving into another larger home next week.  However, after having cable, phone etc cancelled as of today, the end of the month, and having things mostly packed up for the move, they are moving in with grandma and grandpa for the week! As I said, let the fun begin...hehehe!

Cade, was here bright and early this morning as mom and dad went to run errands and see the lawyer. There's not much I can say except he's wired LOL!  Wow, to have even half that energy again!  Tomorrow mom will be starting the cleaning of the kitchen and bathrooms at the new place, and the painters are starting various rooms. Smart to have it all done before moving in....so we'll be busy with the kids while they clean and start moving little things in. The movers will take the furniture appliances next Thursday. All that should need doing that day is to set up the beds.

We have enough things to keep them busy on the weekend like decorating gingerbread houses and trains, hopefully going to see Santa as well as the usual painting, crafts etc.

Not sure how sleeping arrangements will work out tonight as when the kids are here by themselves we have set places for everyone...hehehe....with mom and dad, it may be different!  At least the girls will be in school, so it shouldn't be that tiring.  Hannah apparently has been talking about this for days and can hardly wait to "move in" with us :)

So as I said, the last few weeks have been busy. All Christmas presents are bought, wrapped and somewhat hidden LOL!  All the baking is done for ourselves as well as our 3 sons/families.  Can't let the holidays go by without some of their favorites :)

Beds are changed and ready for little feet to climb in tonight.  Grandpa and grandma are sleeping downstairs, although Cade wasn't too sure about that one when we told him today...hehehe! He usually sleeps with Grandpa on the bottom bunk....so we'll see what happens :)

This is going to be tiring, but lots of fun!  Can hardly wait for the hurricanes to get home from school LOL! 

Can`t say that I`m not a tiny bit sad for them though. This will be the last time the school bus drops them off at this home where they were born and raised to this point.  Last night was the last night they got to sleep in this home. Maybe grandma is just too sentimental :)  It will be onward and upward to bigger and better things!

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Ring, Ring....

Yup, the phone rang, but it was me who did the calling this morning.  I wanted to see if our granddog Mylo could come out to play with Sparkles LOL!  Our DIL whispered if it would be okay to bring the kids for a visit....the girls didn't have school today, and they were bored at home...hehehe! They wanted to come to grandma's house. They're in the middle of moving, so most of the fun things to play with, or do crafts with, are already packed.

So they came over for a couple hours and had some fun making Christmas wreaths out of some plastic discs that grandpa had laying around. We also had to keep them from the spare room downstairs....they love to play in there, but all of Mom & Dad's gifts are waiting to be wrapped tonight, so we had to keep a close eye on them :)

After some chicken noodle soup for lunch, away they went.  Cade made sure that the girls were going home too, and not just him....but not before he told mom to go home without them LOL!

Gotta love these days! 

Grandma loves you.
xoxoxoxo

The Season Officially Begins......

A few days ago our little guy Cade, came over for a couple hours and was so excited to see grandma had started to decorate for Christmas!  He went slowly from one thing to another, a huge smile on his face, and wanting to play anything and everything that was musical.  Ahhhhh...such joy in a child's young face :)

He soon figured out which were his favorites and could hardly wait for grandpa to come home so he could show grandpa all the Christmas wonders....as if grandpa had never seen them before :) It was so cute.

We found out yesterday that the Santa Claus Parade was on today, so our DIL asked if we wanted to go with them.  The forecast originally called for rain, but even though the overcast skies threatened all day long, we were only sprinkled on for about 5 minutes before the parade began.
  

Hmmm...wonder who is more excited, grandma &

grandpa or the grandkids? LOL!

   

It was a chilly, but dry evening and the crowds were thick!  We arrived an hour early to find the perfect spot, in front row seats (lawn chairs LOL), and settled in with warm blankets, hot chocolate and lots of anticipation.

  

  

     

I must say, this year's parade was a tad long and about 3/4 of the way through, the kids were all asking when Santa was going to appear.  Even the free candies that were handed out throughout the parade, didn't make it any easier for the kids to sit still.
 

  
Finally, the big guy appeared and all the wee ones eagerly cheered and called to Santa to look their way.  All in all, a very nice evening. It's always great to spend time with the grandkids, but a special occassion like this, to see the wonder in their eyes as all the twinkle lights reflected in them, is as special as it can get.  Hopefully we're around for many, many more Santa Claus parades :)
  

   
Thank you guys for letting us share this wonderful time!

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Dribble.....

Oh the memories of young children in sports!  Good?  Bad?  Funny? Laughable? All of the previous adjectives will apply at one time or another LOL!  Tonight was our night to have an hour of thos adjectives....hehehe...while watching Hannah (5) at her basketball "camp".

Now don't laugh!! I'm sure we can all remember those hot summer days when we went to watch our own kids playing soccer for the very first time.  You know what I mean....the times when at least one kid was sitting at one end of the soccer field playing with blades of grass, while the remainder of their team and the opposing team were all crowded around the ball at the other end of the field LOL!
  

Action shot LOL!

Their team is sponsered by Dairy Queen,

and apparently, they will be going there

next week.  Excitement, joy!  No talk about

actually playing basketball though LOL!

    

Hannah loved the drills and stretching part of the whole thing.  Then it was game time!  She strolled around the middle of the court, one hand on a hip and the other hand up at her mouth, playing with her second loose tooth....hehehe!
 

What makes it a lot more fun is that Hannah's

cousin Isabella (who is 3 days older than Hannah)

also plays on the same team. Yeah!!!

   

Grandpa and I had a great time watching however. Must admit, we haven't laughed that hard in a long time.  Thanks for the chuckles Hannah.

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Vroooom....vrooooom......

This past weekend our Son, DIL and the 3 grandkids went to visit her brother/SIL/kids about 7 hours away.  So as quiet as our weekend was LOL, we did manage to get a few things done.

The phone rang at 8:30 this morning and everything was back to normal :)  Our DIL called and said she was going to town, so I figured I'd go along with her.  I really didn't need anything, but at this time of year, one never knows what you can come across....buy one more present for this one, then that means one each for the other two as well....hehehe!

Cade didn't want to sit in the shopping cart when we got to Toys R Us. What normal 3 year old would want to sit in a shopping cart when in the castle of all toy stores? Not any that I know!

Everything we walked past was "Mama...can you buy me this?" in the sweetest little boy voice any grandma would fall for :)  As mom went one way, Cade and I went another.  Suddenly he yelled "mama, mama....come here for a minute"!  His excitement was evident in the way he was urging me towards him with his hand.

When I started his way, he ran down an isle to the back of the store.  I knew exactly what he was going for LOL....the battery operated cars/trucks.  He does have a great jeep at home already, so he sure didn't need another, but he enjoyed a few minutes of getting into each one, steering, checking out the dashboards then moving on to the next.

I had my camera in my purse so took a picture of him in the first one.  Then I put it back in my purse.  Well, that wouldn't do.  As he got into each one he said "take picture mama" LOL!  So here's Cade, "shopping" :))

  

     
Grandma loves you
xoxoxo

That time of Year......

It sure is hard to believe we're less than two months away from the 'big' day. Although when around wee ones, we do keep getting reminded every few minutes...hehehe!

This past Saturday we were lucky to have Hailee and her little brother Cade for a sleepover. Hannah was at her other grandmothers.  Neither of them wanted to drive to town to hit Chapters and go out for dinner, so we ended up staying close to home, visiting our little Mall, riding on all the Mall rides and eating at the restaurant that's there.
  

Now, you tell me that Play Dough Pizza that Hailee
is working on so diligently, doesn't look good enough
to eat....hehehe!

    

LOL....no matter how hard Hailee tried, Cade

was NOT going to try the pizza!

  

Hailee had decided beforehand that we would go to Dairy Queen for dinner, and of course, ice cream for dessert, but after walking/shopping in the mall, she decided she wanted to stop and eat....now...at the restaurant.

I have to say it was a great meal.  I think it's the very first time grandpa and I didn't have to urge her to eat her chicken fingers LOL!  She ate them all, no fuss!  Somehow I think the lure of ice cream for dessert that goes with all kid's meals, may have had something to do with it :)

Hailee had chocolate and Cade had pink ice cream.  Shopping is hard work. Hailee had a hard time deciding what to buy and after much indecision, figured she would go for the Play Dough...which grandma had run out of quite a few months ago :)  Cade was happy with two little Dinky cars, so I told him to pick another. He was so excited LOL!

Of course with our infinite grandparent wisdom, we forgot that it was the night to set our clocks back. Yup....that definitely meant an early morning on Sunday LOL! And nothing new for breakfast....regular old crepes....blue this time :)
  

  

      
Dad, mom and Hannah came over around 10:30 so I thought I should take advantage of the situation and get our Christmas tree decorated. A tradition we started when Hailee was old enough to put decorations on the tree :) They really do a great job! Now we have Hannah and Cade who are also both more than happy to oblige grandma and her traditions LOL!
 
  

Hannah putting Daddy's Red Wings ornament

on the tree!  That ornament has been a fixture of

all our trees for decades :)

Unfortunately that scratch on Hannah's left cheek

is remnants of a "skirmish" with little brother Cade!
   

       Cade and grandpa. Great job guys!
  

Then there was the little fact about the silver Christmas tree that we keep in the bedroom where the grandkids play and sleep.  I bought that little silver tree a few years ago, especially for the grandkids so they could have their own special tree, for all the special occasions...Christmas, Easter, Valentine Day etc.  Yup....I buy all the decorations at the Dollar Store and they have a ball setting up their own tree. 

    
   

Once lunch was done and we played a bit, we all decided to go for a walk around the block.  Hannah had Sparkles on a leash and Hailee had Mylo on a leash.  They walked ahead with mom and dad, then grandpa, Cade and I came up behind.  What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon!
  

     
I forgot to mention that the gang had to stick around until after 4:00....oh my, what a hardship LOL! They bought a new house and had viewings of their home on Sunday afternoon.  The new house is a little further away, so it will seem strange not to have them only 5 minutes away....it seems like it will be on the other side of the world.  We are SO lucky to have them so close though.  I really feel for the grandparents and grandkids who only see each other perhaps once a year or so because of distance. 

The gang is going away this Friday for the weekend, so we get to have Mylo with us.  It will sure be a quiet weekend, but maybe the Christmas gifts will get wrapped without prying eyes popping in LOL!

Have a great trip.
Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Grandma, grandma....

Were the words I heard as I walked down the isles of a local fruit market this morning. And around the corner came our little grandson Cade running towards me, chomping on a slice of baloney from the Deli....hehehe!  Our DIL had tried calling me a few times on my cell phone, but I was pressing the wrong key to answer, so never got to talk to her LOL! She knew I was in town and wanted to see if I would go for lunch. Silly question...hehehe!

Anyway, after we shopped we went for lunch at a favorite local restaurant.  I called grandpa on the way from town and he met us there also.  A fun way to spend a couple hours on a rainy, wet Fall day :) Thanks guys!

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Eeeeeerrrrrrrriiiiiiiiieeeeeeeee.......

Yes, that night has finally arrived and all the neighborhood ghosts, goblins, monsters and vampires were out in abundance.  It had rained for a couple days before and today was no exception.  Hubby and I managed to get a few decorations up in the driveway yesterday, and we finished today inbetween rain showers.
 

  

  
Keeping the faith and our fingers crossed, it did stop raining around 5:00...yeah!  Although everything was soaked, it still meant the kids wouldn't get soaked while going house to house....and....my new fog machine was able to get a good workout!!  Money well spent!

The last check on lights, placement of "scary" props, scary music ready to go and making sure the fog machine was full, and we were set.  Sadly, Trick or Treating in our neighborhood isn't what it used to be.  Gone are the days of over 100 kids knocking on our door. For some reason I still find the need to buy for over 80....just in case :)  I'd hate to run out on any given year because I didn't buy enough! So this year I didn't buy any chocolate....I can't resist, and I don't need it....so now hubby can nibble at the big bags of Doritos that are left LOL!
 

  
Of course Halloween night wouldn't be Halloween night without a visit from the grandkids!  They looked so great in their costumes, and Hailee's best friend Olyvia came along for the ride. The kids have dinner with Olyvia and her family each Halloween night, and then they all go out for treats.  After visiting here they go back their for hot chocolate. A nice way to end a nice evening.
 

The girls, their friend Olyvia and our fireman Cade!

   

Cade was so darn cute in his Fireman costume...hehehe!  He even wanted to share his stash with grandpa and I.  He came up to each of us with a bag of goodies that he had collected and was so proud to be able to share :)) What a sweetie. And no, we didn't keep the bags LOL!

The girls were so excited and came running up the driveway looking at the creatures, lights and fog! Hailee was yelling "it's just like a haunted house grandma"!  What more could I ask for? 

There were a few kids during the evening who were even too scared to come up the driveway and I had to bring the goodies to them...hehehe. A few were saying they love coming here each year to see what I have up. Yes, even in my senior years I still have it when it comes to Halloween decorating :)

Our DIL asked the girls if they wanted a Halloween party next year....and that grandma could decorate.  The response was a loud and unanimous "Yeah"!!

So until next Halloween....

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Happy Day.....

Another beautiful, sunny Fall day is upon us. A nice change from the rainy, wet days we've had lately.  Our DIL was helping Hailee decorate her pumpkin at school this morning, so that meant lucky grandma would have Cade for a couple hours!  Yipeee!
 

Hey, you'd better not be drinking that Coffee Hailee LOL!

  Love that pumpkin :)

  

We played inside for a while, then he decided he wanted to go outside. So we bundled up...poor little guy has pneumonia....and went out to rake the leaves from the deck for Grandpa.  Then we took a little walk around the huge brush piles in the back corner of the yard, as well as fix the fencing that the bear trampled through last night....ugh. Darn bears. Don't they realize it's time to go to sleep for the next few months?

The time went way too quickly, and before we knew it, mom was in the backyard calling to us.  We played a game of hide and seek so she had to come look for us.....and find us she did. Just look at the great pic she took when she found us :)

  Grandma's going to have to stop crouching down

like this.  My old knees can't take it too well LOL!

     
Tomorrow we have Hannah over for a sleepover, so we'll have to think of some fun things to keep us occupied :)

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Pumpkin Fun....

Just in case you didn't know, it's pumpkin time!  And the little kids at schools from our area, and I'm sure from across the country, are spending some time this week choosing and decorating their very own pumpkins.  Some kids, like our little granddaughter Hannah, are lucky enough to take a field trip to a local grocery store where they tour the store and then decorate their own pumpkin to take home.
 

   
Now really, how exciting can a tour of the grocery store actually be? LOL!  I doubt there was any child in Hannah's class who hasn't visited a grocery store at one time or another with their parents, but the school feels the need to make them walk around and tour, when all the kids want to do is get to their pumpkins!
  
I think someone finally wised up, because instead of actually cutting out a pumpkin face and getting seeds/guck everywhere, they used various craft items and glued them to their pumpkins....markers to scribble on the pumpkin faces....and lots of creative thought processes :)
   

      
Hannah was quite proud of her prize pumpkin as you can see from the smile on her face :)  We do remember the last time Grandpa went with Hannah's older sister Hailee to carve her pumpkin at the grocery store. Mom and dad were a little busy at the hospital that day, waiting for Hailee and Hannah's little brother Cade to be born.  Afraid he just wouldn't wait until the next day so mom could carve a pumpkin with Hailee.....hehehe!  We waited and waited and Cade finally arrived late in the afternoon...5 weeks early, but still weighing in at 7lbs 1oz.  To say mom was relieved he was early, is an understatement LOL!
     

Wow, will you look at that baby face!!

Hard to believe it's been 3 years since Hailee carved

her pumpkin, or since Cade was born!

 



So now all that's left to do is wait until the 31st for the ghosts and goblins to come around with their trick or treat bags wide open, waiting for to see what each house is handing out. 

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Wheeee....wheeee....wheeeee.....

Guess who's THREE??  Yup, our little guy will be 3 years old tomorrow, but we all celebrated his big day yesterday. And what a beautiful day it was, inside and out.  The rain of the past week finally stopped and the sun was shining brightly. Just in time for Cade to ride his big red quad that a few of us chipped in to buy.  He's a natural and was riding that thing around the yard like he'd been born to do it LOL!

For weeks Cade has been saying he wants either a Tow Mater cake or a Spiderman cake.  I was trying to pin him down to which he wanted, when last weekend he completely changed his mind. Well, it's a little grandson's perogative, isn't it? LOL!

He loves to look at pictures on our laptops and kept saying he wanted to see the choo choo train cake.  It finally clicked in when I realize he wanted to see his Thomas the Train cake which I had made for his second birthday last year!
 

 
Well, all he could talk about was having a choo choo train cake again......this year!  As hard as I tried to change his mind back to Mater or Spiderman, he wouldn't hear of it and only wanted a choo choo train cake....hehehe! Sooooo I took liberty with my decorating and made a Tow Mater train cake.  It turned out pretty good, even if I say so myself.

Cade thoroughly looked at last year's cake and wanted the big chocolate tree and zoo animals as well. He's a guy who knows what he wants :)

All week our son and DIL said whenever anyone asked him how old he was going to be, his reply was "choo choo train cake" LOL!  He'd also go around the house with his arms stretched out saying that was how his chocolate tree was going to look. Such a smart little guy :)

I must add that it took me a long time to decorate the cake on Friday night.  I've been sick with the flu and a chest cold for over a week, and had been worried that I'd even get the cake done....but with a lot of breaks, it was finished.
 

   
  
Cade's Godmother was also celebrating her birthday yesterday, so I wanted to include her on the cake.  I have such a poetic mind....hehehe....and came up with banners. One said "Wheee....wheee...wheee.....guess who's 3?"  The second said "Matante Carole says, it's not me" LOL!  Matante is Auntie in French. 
  

  
So two special people who mean so much to each other, were able to share a choo choo train cake and enjoy their special day :)
  

That smile says it all :)

   

 

    Cade with Grandma and Grandpa!

    

Cade with memere and pepere!
  

The birthday boy got to spend the night with us last night too, so it was a doubly special day :)
 

On your mark, get set, gooooooo........

   

Hailee had plans to go to her BFF's Olyvia for a sleepover, and Hannah ended up going for her very first ever sleepover to her cousin Isabella's place!  Hannah was supposed to spend the night here too, but when Uncle Paul asked if she wanted to spend the night with Isabella, she was so excited.  I'm so happy that it worked out. It's a big step to have your very first sleepover at someone else's house, and not at one of your grandparent's homes....hehehe!  Yeah Hannah!!  To top off her big accomplishment, she also had Moose meat for supper, and she liked it!  You go girl...hehehe!

Having grown up myself in a hunting family, my days of eating wild meat are long gone, so I applaud Hannah for her two big steps yesterday.

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Path of Destruction....

Arrrggghhhhhh....not about GK's today, but rather the path of destruction I viewed when I lifted the bedroom blind this morning. Darn bears!

All my feeders were on the ground, the majority of them shattered, all the shepherd hooks were bent way over, and our big trash box was overturned and garbage strewn across the yard. Can we say mess?

So out we went to rake/pick up the trash....I was able to straighten up the shepherd hooks so they'll still do the job they were meant to do, and made a mental note to myself to bring in the feeders before it gets dark for the next little while.

This is the latest we've had bears. Guess global warming isn't just affecting humans, as with the warmer Fall weather, the bears have longer to fatten up.

Grandma loves you
xoxoxo

Cough, cough, sneeze, sneeze....

Sadly along with our Indian Summer and the changing Fall weather, we also have lots of nasty bugs to deal with.....head cold season...ugh!  Poor little Cade was up most of the night last night doing exactly the cough, cough, sneeze, sneeze thing.  So when mom didn't want to drag him grocery shopping this morning, he came here for an hour or so.

As usual, the first thing he does when he comes in is say "I eat Mama" LOL! And so the buffet begins. Of course this morning it started with a purple popsicle....hehehe....as is evidenced by his little purple tongue that he was more than eager to show everyone :)

     

         
Our time together went way too fast, but don't despair. He's coming for a sleepover tomorrow night...yipeeeee...and yes, there are more popsicles in the freezer!  See you then big guy!

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Splish Splash...

Yeah.....both girls passed their swimming classes and are moving on to the next levels!  They sure enjoy being in the water. They already swim better than I do LOL!

Next week is a "fun" week, so no instruction, just play time!  Don't worry, grandma will be there with a lunch as always :)

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble

Yes, it's that time of year again for us north of 49!  Thankgiving weekend, which usually mean lots of over eating, more over eating, and more over eating LOL!  Saturday was no exception, and neither was today!

Yummy!  Pumpkin pie is always a favorite
at our house!
     

Our weather has been unbelievable this Fall, so after stuffing ourselves on Saturday, the grandkids, daddy, mommy and grandpa went outside to have a fun game of road hockey! It's a good thing we saved all those old wooden hockey sticks from days gone by. Cut down, they make perfect sticks for the kids :)

Finally when the street lights came on and it was getting too dark to see the ball as it travelled out of range of the street light, it was time for a bath to get the days "dirt" off  LOL!

As it turned out, all 3 kids were going to stay overnight, then it slowly dwindled down to only one, Hailee, and as the rest of the family was pulling out of the driveway, even she decided to go home to sleep....hehehe!  Hope you all had a great night!
    

Oh my....when was the last time we were

able to do this on Thanksgiving weekend?
  

This afternoon we headed out to another relative's home for the whole family gathering. There should be around 35 people....more food, pies...over eating LOL!  What more can a person ask for on Thanksgiving weekend :)  They live on a small lake in the city and it was an absolutely gorgeous afternoon.

   

It definitely doesn't get any better than this :)

  

Perfect picnic weather with grandpa!

       

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Bend, twist, groan.....

Wow....I'm feeling the pain and I didn't even do anything LOL!  Last night was Hailee's 3rd dance class and I went to "spy" on her and see how she was doing.  I don't think I was ever able to get into the positions that these young girls were able to get into! Absolutely amazing.

They're preparing for their spring recital, so are wasting no time is learning the moves, bends and twists that will be on display for all the eager parents, grandparents, friends to be witness too in May.

Hailee just loves her class and we're all so happy. She's rather shy and this will be great for her to come out of her shell :))

This afternoon Grandpa went to school for a treasure hunt with Hailee and her class. He said it was a lot of fun :)  They sure are growing too fast for our liking. Before we know it they'll be graduating!

See you girls at swimming tonight!

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Field Trips......

Having been a stay at home mom for our three sons, I was able to spend lots...and lots...of time helping at school, going on field trips with their various classes each year, and baking lots and lots of cakes for all the holidays. That's one decorated cake for each son, for each celebration LOL!

I've been very lucky to be involved in the same way with our two oldest grandkids, Hailee and Hannah :))  Grandpa however hasn't been as fortunate. Being a teacher for almost 30 years before he retired, he wasn't able to go on any field trips with our sons.  Sooooo he is now thoroughly enjoying Field Trips with Hailee and Hannah.

Over the last couple of years he's carved pumpkins at the grocery store a couple times, toured grocery stores, and has been involved in a few other things that this grandma's brain can't even remember LOL!

Today was no exception.  Hannah, who is in kindergarten, was having a Field Trip to the library in town.  Some of the chaperones were allowed to go on the bus, as room permitted, so Grandpa made sure he was at school early so he could ride the school bus with Hannah :)  One of her little friends was sitting with them on the bus as well, and another little girl came up to them and said she wanted to sit with Grandpa too....hehehe! Hannah let her know they didn't have room. She's very "protective" of her grandpa and doesn't like to share...as was evidenced by her holding his hand the whole time :)

All went well and she asked Grandpa if he would go with her the next time they go on a Field Trip :)  The smile on his face was huge, and makes me happy that he can enjoy doing things with the grandkids that I took for granted with our own sons.

Later this week he'll be at school with Hailee as her class has a treasure hunt. Should be fun and I look forward to hearing all about it :)

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo
P.S. Speaking of our Hannah, she didn't have a very good day yesterday.  Our DIL got a call from school, saying the little girl sitting with Hannah on the bus to school, was sick...all over Hannah :((  So our DIL brought fresh clothes etc and was able to get Hannah back into class with little lost time.  The thing I think that upset Hannah the most is that the girl was sick all over her new backpack :( It couldn't be salvaged.

I had been shopping in town and called our DIL about finding Fairy costumes for Hannah for Halloween. She asked if I could possibly go to a certain store to try and find the same backpack that she had to throw out.  Luckily I was able to find the same color...purple...but it had Pandas on it and not cupcakes as her original one had. She was still very happy, and so was I.

It's amazing at how things that can seem so insignificant to adults, mean the world is falling apart to a little child.

Laughter, Giggles and

   

Screams of delight!  Yes, it's that time of year again when the ghosts and goblins start to make their appearance in neighborhood yards, in anticipation of real live ghosts and goblins knocking on doors, anxiously holding Halloween bags wide open to see what bounty will be poured in :)

It all started with a phone call last night from Hailee. She wanted to tell me that she, Hannah, Cade, mom and dad were all walking over here this morning.  She was a bit worried that she may be too tired to ride all that way with her scooter, so I assured her that grandpa would come pick her up if she called along the way.

LOL...I should have known better than to offer that suggestion.  About 10 minutes from their house, our phone rang.  Come pick up the kids....hehehe....they had already stopped about 10 times and the kids said grandpa would come to pick them up :)

I knew they'd be hungry...as they always are....so I decided to make orange colored crepes, which they love, in honor of the season. Sure enough, they came in like a whirlwind and found the crepes immediately.... "where's the syrup, where's the Nutella, where's my fork??"

With full bellies, they ventured out to the garage with Grandpa in seach of Hannah's favorite Halloween decoration, the infamous witch she fell in love with when she was two, and has HAD to see first every year at this time! So that's why our garage and driveway were filled with lots of laughter, giggles and screams as all 3 grandkids and grandpa, dutifully emptied all my Halloween decorations....making sure to bring each new treasure into the house to scare mom, dad and grandma LOL!

  

They wanted to set everything up and were disappointed when we told them it was a month away and way too early to put it all out.  So a couple spiders and sheer ghosts with happy faces, made the cut. 
 

    

As they pulled out of the driveway, they were disappointed they couldn't stay longer, but the girls were off to their first Can Skate session this afternoon. No doubt there will be some sore bottoms and elbows later tonight LOL!

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Ready or not....

Here we come! 

Those were the resounding words we heard through out backyard last night as Cade and Grandpa, and Hannah and I paired up for a game of Hide & Seek.  We have a lot of nooks and crannies in our yard that make the best places to hide. Mind you, this grandma couldn't quite squeeze into some of the "holes" that Hannah could, and she couldn't understand what grandma just couldn't do it LOL!

Cade is so funny....he can't stop talking or laughing, so he made it very easy to know where he and grandpa were hiding, but I told Hannah to pretend we were having a hard time...hehehe!  What fun. They didn't even want to come in for bath time!

Once they were bathed, in pjs, with snacks in hand, we all settled down to watch Spooky Buddies. Hannah was so tired she fell asleep before it was even over, and Cade decided he and grandpa should go watch the hockey game in the bedroom LOL!  Didn't take long before he had grandpa taking him to bed.

Both kids slept well all night and at 7:30 the first thing from their mouths was "pancakes grandma" :)  Blue ones this time!

Mom called around 9:30 to say daddy would be here to pick them up, and both yelled "no, we're not ready....we have to have another sleepover" LOL!  Cade is such a little smartie pants.  When grandpa said he should get his shoes on, the panic was evident in Cade's voice...."no, daddy not here yet". As if it would prolong his time here if he didn't have his shoes on when daddy arrived LOL!

Time goes so quickly...for the grandkids and especially for us grandparents! And as tired as we are when they leave, we can hardly wait for the next visit :)

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Let The Music Begin.....

Seven year old Hailee absolutely loves to dance...to the beat of her own drum...but she still loves to dance :)  A few years ago she took a few dance classes, but didn't enjoy it, so she quit...one of many things she has tried, and has refused to continue with.

This year our DIL decided to try again and brought her to a different dance school last night.  Poor Hailee kind of freaked out when she realized she was going to be in a class with some 10 year olds.  So the owner of the school gave her some hugs and said she would see how she does and then place her in another class next week once she saw what she could do.

Well, she loves it!  She did very well and is very flexible, so she's dropping down one class with kids that have already been dancing for a couple years, but are more around her age.  Quite the accomplishment Ms. Hailee!!  Grandpa and I look forward to attending your recital at the end of the year :)

Lucky us, while Hailee was at dance class (just across the highway from the subdivision where we live) we got to spend some time with Hailee's little brother, Cade!  LOL...as soon as he comes in the door and goes to find Grandpa, the very next thing he always wants to do is eat!  "I want eat Mama"....he's called me Mama since he started to talk, so I'm wondering if it will stick :) So cute.

After some snacking, play time and a bath, mom, dad and the girls were here to pick him up. It's amazing how much you can cram into an hour LOL!
Tonight the girls have swimming lessons.  Not sure if I'll be going as I have a darn head cold that is making my life miserable today.  Regardless, I'll make their little lunches for them and Grandpa can take it to them :)  Think I'll go have a big bowl of homemade lentil soup that I made this morning.

Grandma love you
xoxo

Feeding the Ducks...er...gulls LOL!

As if my Birthday weekend could get any better, we had Hailee, Hannah and Cade for the day yesterday. Yipeeeeee!  A beautiful sunny, cool Fall day, 3 kids who had energy to burn....it all added up to "we need to get out with them" LOL!  So naturally that meant feeding the ducks.
 

  Off the kids and grandpa go...Cade struggling with

a loaf of bread under his arm...to see if the swans

were back at another section of the lake.

 

    

 

   
The kids were all excited and so were grandpa and I. It's always such fun.  However for some reason today there seemed to be more gulls flying around screeching, than there were ducks or geese.  It didn't matter though. We were loaded down with 4 loaves of bread as well as a big bag of buns, and whatever was able to get to the pieces thrown out on the grass and into the water, was more than welcome to have it.

We all had a good laugh when one gull grabbed a half bun from the water and tried to take off with it....s/he was followed by a dozen or so other gulls, all trying to get s/he to drop the bun LOL!

I'm not sure though who had more bread....the kids, or the birds LOL! 

Everyone say cheese!

Funny how kids are always attracted to "rocks"!

   

Can it get any better?

 

Pretty good smiles considering the sun was shining

right into their faces :)

 

All in all it was a great weekend!  I had packed lunches for the kids, which they could hardly wait to get into. Food always tastes better when you're outside :)

When we were done at the park, we took a little drive to visit Great Grandma and Grandpa.....

 

It was time to leave and get back home.  More plans...the playground is calling...but not before everyone has a snooze LOL!

You can just get a glimpse of Hannah sound asleep

in the back seat....ahhhh....quiet :)

 

Hmmmm....maybe this grandma will stop counting birthdays this year and I can be 60 again next year!

To add even more excitement to the weekend, our little Hannah lost her very first tooth This morning!  Yup....it had been loose for a few days, and she was quite upset that it hurt and was bleeding a wee bit. So I convinced her to let me look at it and then convinced her to let me flick it.  She wasn't too sure, but I talked her into it as this happened before we left to feed the ducks.  She, or none of us, would have a very good time if she had a wet paper towel in her mouth the whole time. So bravely she opened her mouth and let me take it out.

 

See.....hehehe....it's right there on the bottom left :)
 



Pop....just like that. Out it came....sooooo tiny. Wonder if the tooth Fairy will be able to find it LOL!

 

Grandma loves you

xoxoxoxo