Summer has been going full force around here. This is a picture heavy post as I thought it would be a fun way to share the shenanigans going on in our family!
About two weeks ago Ray and I spent a few days at my son’s house. Andrew needed some help building a swing set for the girls. Ray’s helped with the building and I helped distract the kids from “helping”.
The chief supervisors of the swing set project sat in the ‘spiderweb swing’ and made sure all was going according to their plan.
While we were over there, we celebrated Ray’s birthday. I made an apple honey bread pudding. The cool thing was much of what was in the cake was grown by Andrew and Naomi. The eggs came from their chicken coop, apples from the trees, honey from their beehives and the challah bread was made by Naomi the day before. Delicious!
One day the kids wanted to have a picnic outside. H grabbed a quilt and headed out.
It was adorable to see the kids on that quilt three years later. Look at this round little face three years ago when I first gave it to the girls. (Sure look like they need a bigger picnic quilt now).
Part of my ‘duties’ while the swing set was under construction was to take the girls to swim lessons. This photo makes me smile; H is quietly picking blue glitter out of her little sister’s hair. Apparently at dance lessons the day before, the dance teacher sprinkled ‘fairy dust’ over the girls’ hair and I am certain it will be a while before all of it is washed out of A’s curls.
The girls came to our home the following week for a three night sleep over. Andrew has been wanting to try a mountain bike/camping trip. He biked over trails for 25 miles, camped for a night and then rode back out. He got a much deserved break and we got to enjoy the girls. (Unfortunately, Naomi was working – she has had a really rough schedule this summer).
One day we did a fun paint project and I thought it good enough to share for the other grammy’s out there. Cover the work space (this gets a little messy) and put a piece of paper down. The girls chose six colors and I put a generous dot of each one at the bottom of the page (toward the artist). Then I laid a sheet of plastic wrap over the paper and paint. They used a small rolling pin (made for them by PePaw) and rolled the paint out. This was a good challenge for them. The rolling pin had to have some pressure to really move the paint. But they absolutely loved the process. So much so, each girl very happily waited for their turn since we only have one rolling pin. The idea came from Crafty Morning. The only thing I would change for the next time is to have better paper on hand. I used regular printer paper which was a bit thin. Card stock would be better. I am sure there will be a next time – it would be fun to do seasonal colors for fall or Christmas, etc.
Time in the sewing room is also a favorite thing with these girls. However when I have both of them, it is a challenge. The attention span of a six year old is much greater than a three year old. So when little sister was napping, we snuck in some time to make a project. H designed a drawstring bag. She chose black dotted minky and adorned it with pink pom-poms and gathered lace. I think she achieved a bit of a victorian vibe here. She was thrilled but not ready to stop making things. She pulled out bits of animal print minky and asked what we could make. I suggested head bands. I wasn’t really sure how that would be received because the girls don’t generally wear head bands. But they really liked them. It was so cute to see their faces with their hair pulled back. If you want to make stretch knit headbands for kids or yourself, this is the tutorial I would suggest. They are super easy to make.
Beautiful weather called us to the beach one afternoon. These girls made themselves right at home. It was low tide so the water was very far out and there was too much muck to climb through to get to it. But they had no problem keeping amused on the shore.
Sand castles were constructed.
We had to walk this little trail a few times to scoop up water for the moat. How many kids have endlessly filled a sand castle moat only to see the walk drain down and then need more? Countless times.
At one point H called out to me, Grammy, this thing is alive. Not a good phrase to hear, I walked over and they were looking at sea anemones. Touching each one to watch it shrink up. This fascinated the kids and I was pleased to see they were really gentle about it.
After beach time, we went to Dairy Queen for a treat. Much to A’s joy, there was an ambulance in the parking lot. She often tells us she wants to be an ambulance driver when she grows up. They EMT’s were having a snack inside so when it looked like they were finished, I took the girls over and introduced them. These EMT’s were amazing. They talked and talked to the kids and even let them go in the ambulance. It was really a special time for them. H chatted with them and A became shy and hardly said a word. But I think she enjoyed it.
It was a fantastic (and tiring!) two weeks to be sure. School will begin at the start of September and then it won’t be as easy to spend this much time with our grand daughters. Life gets so busy! The house is quiet again and I am back into the regular routine. I am ready to baste my Positivity Quilt and (hopefully) will have it quilted soon!
Thanks for sharing your fun with the grand-girls! What joy to be with them, right? And, tiring. Time in my quilt studio has been minimal this summer, not sure where the summer has gone! I have been knitting more than working on quilts. I have an addiction to making socks, now…🤪
I am not a talented knitter! I have tried now and then but it is so difficult for me. I can do a bit of crochet but that’s about it. Socks are impressive to me! They seems so hard.
I had been playing at knitting on and off for years, never making anything that had to fit. I don’t remember what got in my head a while ago, but I started with socks for the new grandson and then a sweater for me! I’m finishing my fourth pair socks now. (Socks are a really good summer knit since there isn’t anything on your lap!) YouTube has been is a great way to learn a new skill like knitting socks and sweaters!
It looks and sounds like you are making the most of the summer and your ability to spend time with the girls. I’m still so tickled for you with how perfectly the move there seems to be working out.
Me too Yvonne. This is exactly what we hoped for. ❤️
love love love!
The grands are getting big!
So big and so fast! I just want it to slow down a tiny bit.
Your pictures were darling. Made me wish my grandkids where still little. I have 12 grandchildren aged 31 to 1yr 10 months. I have 4 great grandchildren aged 10 to 2. Life is grandd.
So many grands!! You are blessed. Thanks for leaving me a note. I love hearing from everyone. 🙂
What a fabulous two weeks. I get how tired you feel!! Also love the dessert you made from their work. I think I should be spending more time sewing with Young A who is 6. I am lucky to have one on one time as they live closer. She and I will have to think about a first project. Thanks for the inspiration.
So far I usually let H guide the fabric while I control the speed, or she does the speed (I can set my machine to go really slow) while I guide the fabric. She likes the latter best. It is so much fun. She loves going through the fabric and picking things out. Have fun Bernie – 🙂
I think I have a couple of ideas in mind. Thanks for the inspiration for this.
I enjoyed all your pictures! Your grands are just precious 🥰. They are going to love the new swing set , it looks great. Happy for you living closer now😻
Thank you Pam. The girls love playing in the yard so this will keep them busy for sure. Yesterday the little one brought her lunch up to the fort for a little picnic. It was so cute!
What a special time to have had with the family. . .especially those wonderful granddaughters! They will have good memories of your time together-
Thank you Terry. Time flies by so quickly and I really enjoy spending it with the girls. It won’t be long until they are older and have lots going on with their friends and school. So, I intend to make the most of these early years. 🙂
Ah I enjoyed this post so much, I love that you are close to your girls and have such good times with them. It is priceless. Love the tutorials you linked to – I’m definitely going to see if Laney would like to make a headband. Her bangs are often in her eyes! Everett would love your girls. 🙂 They are such beautiful little girls. H is growing into a lovely young lady – hard to believe. Kudos to the EMTs!
We were supposed to go stay with Everett this morning, but Jenni texted last night that her plans had changed. Although we were dreading the early morning drive down there, we were actually disappointed!
Thank you Linda. I know you enjoy your littles just as much as we do ours. I get the disappointment about your time with Everett. I can’t remember if Laney is older than H? What grade is she in? Has school started for her yet this year. H starts the last week of August. Crazy!
Laney is a second grader! She turned 7 in April, and her school started last week. Ev is 4 and wants to go to school with his big sis so badly! On the other side of the coin, our oldest granddaughter will graduate college next spring. Our oldest grandchild – our grandson – lives south of us in Dallas and graduated college in 2021. Fun times!
Wow! That is really cool though. You are lucky to have the ages spread out so you can enjoy all sorts of family time with them. Hope Laney has a fun year of 2nd grade!
Bernie, it looks like you had the best time ever with the girls, and that picture of baby A is just so adorable. You’d know it was her anywhere. They’re both so big now! This was the perfect two weeks for grandparents, I know!