And he's off......

To new adventures, new friends, not knowing that this day will change his life forever.  As I type this I have many tears coming from my eyes.  Our little grandson is spreading his wings....is he ready for the cold, cruel world that awaits him?

Yes, I do realize that we all have experienced this BIG day in our lives, and yes, we all survived, but for some reason I have more of a grandmother's need to protect this little one....protect his innocence, protect his kind nature from the reality that we all know, kids are cruel.  Will he be hurt emotionally....of course; will he be laughed at at some point...of course.  It's the circle of life coming around.

This grandma isn't ready for it though.

Grandma loves you.
xoxoxoxo

Run....run....kick hard...atta girl!

I'm assuming from the subject line you can guess we were at soccer playoffs this weekend LOL!  Yes, in the rain, cold north wind and just plain miserable weather.  All was fine though!  Hailee's team didn't do as well as they had hoped for, but just look at the trophy they all got for doing their best!!

Even little brother Cade received a trophy for the "one" game he went too....hehehe....if you remember, he did not like soccer...at all.  But he was soooo proud of the trophy and said he was putting it on his dresser :)

Mmmmmm....yummy pizza to end the year!

And just have a look at this!  When we arrived home from the last game, grandpa took all 3 kids into the garage to look for daddy's very first soccer trophy!  Imagine that....we kept the trophies from all those decades ago LOL!

What goes around, comes around :)

It was also a busier weekend than grandpa and I had planned.  Hailee was going to spend the night with us alone....then it developed into an "I want to go too, I want to go too". So yes, we had all 3 kids overnight. They were soooo tired from the wind, rain and running around that when we got home from Hailee's last game, it was bath and pj time!  It didn't take long for them each to fall asleep....well, except for Hailee....hehehe....she and I watched Hoarding, Buried Alive and even at the young age of 8, she couldn't believe that people lived like that.

There were tons of questions as to why, where do they sleep, where do they eat, where's the kitchen, where's the bathroom, why does she have to get dressed out in the driveway....you get the picture LOL!  I didn't think it would be so difficult to explain to an 8 year old how people like this are "sick" and need help. That it's like an addiction and they can't help it.  I did my best, but she went to bed, I'm sure, realizing that what mom is trying to teach them about keeping their rooms clean etc, is a pretty good idea LOL!

It was orange pancakes this morning...yeah!!  Mom and dad made it to the championship round in their golf tournament yesterday, so were playing at 11:11 again today.  They came to pick up the kids a little after 9:00, but after she and daddy ate some breakfast, the kids didn't want to leave...hehehe!

Mom said that they'd better ask grandma, and the response was "it's okay, she'll say yes" LOL!  So yes, they stayed until almost 11:30 then grandpa took them home, but not without a stop at the Dollar Store first for more rubbery creatures like worms, dinosaurs and spiders LOL!

All is quiet for now, but until the next visit.....

Grandma loves you.....
xoxoxoxo

What are those Red things Grandma?

That's the question that was placed to me tonight as I was walking along a trail with Hannah and Cade, while waiting for big sister Hailee to start her soccer game.  As it turned out those red things were wild raspberries :)  Those, along with all the "flowers"...read it as weeds LOL...that lined the mulched trails around the soccer complex, completely took us away from Hailee's game for the first half...hehehehe!

We did make our way back to the empty lawn chairs that were waiting beside the soccer field...and beside grandpa, mom and dad with a huge boquet of lovely "flowers" for mom, and tales of yummy red, albeit, tiny wild raspberries :)

Ahhhhh memories :)

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Helpers....

We had another nice surprise this afternoon!  Hailee called here this morning and talked to grandpa...I was out shopping.  She said she wanted to come over for a visit :)  We hadn't seen them except for a Skype call, over the weekend. They were busy, busy, busy enjoying the long weekend, and it was beautiful weather to enjoy :)

When I got home from town grandpa told me the plans, so we patiently waited for them to arrive.  Mom was heading back home after dropping them off as they had Matante Melissa coming over this afternoon.

As usual, as soon as they came in the door it was time to eat....hehehe!  Hannah saw the noodles in the fridge, so she had that with some cheese on it....Cade grabbed whatever he could get his hands on and Hailee couldn't make up her mind LOL!  Mom was shaking her head as they had just finished lunch. But you know, there's something about coming into grandma and grandpa's house that turns on that hungry switch....hehehe!

It truly is amazing what we can get done in just a couple hours, and the 3 of them had a great time dressing grandpa and I in some of my old clothes :)  And who knew that Tiddly Winks would be such a great hit with this young generation!  Grandpa spent a lot of time cleaning out the garage on the weekend and we found some old games from when our boys were young. 
  

Yup...Tiddly Winks is a definite keeper :)

 Oh my, grandpa never looked so good LOL!

 

Oh the things we do for our grandkids LOL!

  

Yes indeed....Must Love Grandkids :)

    



They're also growing up...fast!  I mentioned just once that they had to clean the bedroom before they left and you wouldn't believe what a great job they did! They even moved things around and swept the floor!  Then as they waited for Grandpa to get off from a phone call, they took the swiffers and dusted for grandma!  Wow...great helpers guys, great helpers :)

Grandpa just left to take them home. We'll see them tonight at Hailee's soccer game. So until then.....

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Grandma....grandma....come see...

These were the yelling words I heard a couple days ago when Hailee came running into the house.  I just HAD to go see the baby mouse in my Fairy Garden...hehehe!

Grandma, grandma....you have to come quick, come see the baby mouse, come on grandma before it runs away!

Hailee was showing her friend "J" my fairy garden in the backyard, when Cade lifted an old decorative birdhouse from the top of a stump.  Well, wouldn't you know it, a mom mouse and a baby mouse jumped out!  The kids said the mommy mouse ran up the tree, but the baby mouse landed at the base of the stump and wasn't moving...but that the mommy mouse was still watching them :)

I have to admit, it was really, really cute....hehehe! So I picked it up in my hand and let the kids have a good look. Then I told Cade to hold the birdhouse up and I put the baby mouse back into the nest that had been made inside the rotting stump.

Never a dull moment when the grandkids, and their friends, are around LOL!

They wanted to stay when it was time to leave, so grandpa said he would drive J home on the way to drop off Hailee and Cade home.  It was only for a hour, but it was a busy hour playing hide & seek. How many places are there to hide in our house, just ask 3 young kids....hehehe!

Grandma love you...and your friends :)
xoxoxoxo

Quality Time......

Grandpa and I were lucky this weekend. We were able to have Hannah all to ourselves!  Big sister and little brother went camping with Memere and Pepere....Hannah is not so crazy about the bush, or about sweating, or being hot....hehehe....all of which would have hit her this weekend with the weather we've been having.

So the other two went on their merry way and mom and dad dropped Hannah off here yesterday morning.  I must say she really is easy to have around when she's by herself.  She isn't into needing to "do" things. All she wanted was to go to the playground a couple doors down from their house. So...that's what we did. We even offered to go to the movies and she said no.
 

   

See....just like a monkey LOL!

  

It was a nice overcast, almost chilly day considering the scorching weather we've had lately. It was a perfect day for grandma to be outside!

Hannah is such a combo between wanting to be a Tom Boy and a Princess....hehehe!  She was not happy that the slides were wet. By wet I mean a few drops from the rain their area had before we arrived at the playground.  So grandpa walked back to the deck and brought back a towel to wipe down the slides for Hannah LOL!

We asked her what she wanted to do after we left the playground and all she wanted to do was go swimming. She's like a fish!  I tried to talk her out of it as it wasn't exactly swimming weather. Beside the cooler temperature there was a really strong wind blowing.  She wasn't going to be persuaded any differently, so after stopping to pick up Subs for lunch, we came back here to eat, change into bathing suits, gathered towels and away we went.

Brrrrrrrrr is all grandma can say about stepping into that pool LOL!  Wow, it was really cold. But I do have to say that I was the first one in. Hannah stood on the steps, shaking, for a few minutes...and grandpa was still sitting in a lawn chair on the deck!  Come on chickens. If grandma can do it, so can you.
 

See....just like a fish! Hence....Fishmonk!
And there she goes LOL!

Sorry for grandma's get up...but with
my vitiligo I have to stay covered up.

Once we were all 'wet' and shivering, grandpa decided to try and warn up so started walking around the edge of the pool. I waited until he was halfway around and I started walking in the circle too.

Hannah asked what we were doing, and I tried to explain that we were making a whirlpool....if she waited, she would see how it worked. It didn't take long for the current to take her around the pool, with her giggling the whole time. She tried to swim back to the steps and she couldn't get there, so more laughing ensued....hehehe! We had a great time!

After 45 minutes my body was getting goosebumps. It was time to get out!  Hannah wanted to swim underwater just one more time, between my legs to the other side of the pool first.  The little stinker made it too.  Between her love of water and the way she climbs on the monkey bars, I started calling her "Fishmonk"....hehehe! She wasn't impressed.

We came home and she wanted to make a puppet with all the craft stuff I had on the table from the other day when Hailee and Cade were over.  She is SO precise in how she wants things to look, and gave me perfect instructions how to sew this, that and the other thing onto her "dragon". It turned out really well and we spent almost an hour role playing with the puppets.
 

 Battle of the puppets!

 

Grandpa had her in stitches when he took over.  It's amazing how goofy we will act to get a laugh out of our grandkids LOL! Wish I had filmed her....she couldn't stop laughing and was almost falling off her stool....hehehe!

Of course she didn't think she needed to have a bath because of being in the pool, so I let her get away with it last night :)  Pj time, snack time, quiet time and falling asleep time on the couch...with her leg in the air because she was hot.

LOL....there's Mylo laying at her head.

They were both out cold!

Hannah was not impressed this morning when grandpa

showed her this picture. She said she had better not see

it on Facebook....hehehe! She really wanted us

to delete it! We think it's cute, so it stays LOL!

   

Grandpa moved her to our bed...she decided to sleep with me last night....and grandpa went to the spare room. I have to say, grandpa and I have slept apart more in the last 8 years since grandkids came along, than we have the other 32 years of our marriage LOL! All for a great cause however, all for a great cause :)

As normal on mornings after a sleepover, it's pancake time and Hannah was excited to be able to crack all the eggs by herself this time. She even got to choose the color she wanted....GREEN!

Mom and dad came around 10:30 to pick her up and we visited for a while before they went on their way.  Hannah picked up all the goodies she wanted to bring home....puppets (Hailee & Cades as well as her own), wallet, clothes and Star. Her sleeping buddy. Actually, she has SIX Stars and knows the slightest difference between them all!

It was back to boring regular stuff once they were gone....laundry, dishes, laundry. I did manage to sit out in the gazebo to get some birdwatching in before it got too warm outside though. So I was happy.

Today was also our youngest granddaughter's 1/2 year birthday!  Imagine that! Aislin is already 6 months old. She'll be crawling before long. Can't wait until our next visit!

     
Until next time.

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Quality Time....

Hailee always wants to come to our place for a visit, but there's a catch...she wants to come by herself....hehehe!  So yesterday was the day.  The night before at her soccer game, grandpa told her she could come the next day (yesterday) or today....her choice.

Well....at 8:30 yesterday morning the phone rang and all I can hear is "grandma, last night grandpa told me I could go to your house today or tomorrow....can I come today?"  There was a catch, but a different one than I expected.  She said Cade wanted to come too....and that she was okay with that :)  I mentioned that she wouldn't be "alone" if he came, but it didn't matter. All that mattered is that she was the only "girl"....meaning, no little sister hanging around....hehehe!

I had to go to town for a few things so I said I'd pick her up if she wanted to go shopping, which she did, and that we could pick up Cade on the way back.  When I told grandpa our plans, he decided to come to town with us...anything for his little granddaughter LOL....so by the time we stopped to pick Hailee up, Cade had decided he wanted to go shopping to. I think he was afraid that we wouldn't pick him up on the way back home LOL!

Off to town we went....stopping of course for breakfast first thing :))  Then off to Michaels for some craft stuff. They both saw furry puppets that they wanted, but grandpa suggested that we make sock puppets at home, so we bought a big container of things we could decorate the puppets with. Grandpa kindly donated some new socks that he didnt like....hehehe! Thanks Grandpa :)

Hailee didn't finish hers yet, and I did Cade's according to his instructions, but he wouldn't let me get a picture of him with Mr. Rufus on his hand :))  I'll catch him one day when he's not looking LOL!

We were all playing and suddenly it got very quiet...there was Hailee watching her tv show and our little man was fast asleep on the couch....sitting up LOL!  Naturally I just had to take a picture before laying him down...or before he could complain about having a picture taken LOL!  How cute is this??
  

  Ahhhh.....all tuckered out

from playing too hard :)

For supper they decided they wanted bacon sandwiches....yes, you're reading right...bacon sandwiches.  I may or may not have mentioned in past posts about what a fussy eater that Hailee is, and how difficult it is to get her to eat anything but "white stuff"...but she does love bacon. Bacon is meat? Isn't it? LOL!  And don't forget grandma, it has to be crisp enough to break....hehehe :)

So bacon sandwiches and chicken noodle soup were our on our gourmet menu last night. Good to the last drop :)

Cade doesn't like to stay overnight if Hannah isn't around, so he decided to go home to sleep....after his bath of course :)  So grandpa drove him home while Hailee and I waited for him to get back so we could have a tea party for her bedtime snack....which had to be before her bath. Another one who was afraid that the tea party may not happen if she didn't do it NOW...hehehe!

It took her a few minutes to decide who she wanted to sleep with, but she finally decided to go downstairs where it's cooler, with grandpa.  I had our bed all to myself....except for Sparkles....and it was hard to sleep!  I'm used to having grandpa beside me, or one of the kids, but I managed to have a good night anyway.

And Hailee had a very good night, not waking up until 8:15!  I felt badly as I had to head to town for an early appt, so she couldn't keep sleeping.  She even went home in her pjs, and without breakfast. Who can eat at that time of the morning anyway? LOL!

In a couple days we have Hannah and Cade for the day and overnight, so it will be more fun and games. Looking forward to it.

Grandma love you

xoxoxoxo