Friday, August 30, 2013

Gramma Camp

With school starting next week, this week teachers were back on the job getting ready, so we had the kids during the day Monday through Thursday.

The first day it was very hard to get up early to an alarm clock, so camping out in front of the TV for the first hour was the order of the day. 

Irene was pretty put out that I got to still be in my PJs, so I hurried off to shower and get dressed too.

I fed them breakfast each morning after an hour of waking up.  Not every breakfast was as grand as this one.  I had left over waffles, black berries and nectarines.  Irene is fond of whipped cream.

Each day we had a field trip.  On Monday we went to the library.  Isaac had finished his books and needed the next two in his series.  Irene got cat books, and played on the library computers.

At ages 10 and 8, they don't need a lot of entertaining, and they had fun discovering old toy friends in their designated bedroom.

 Soon they were spread out across both rooms, which was fine with me, since nothing was underfoot in my domain.


On Tuesday the kids and I went to the Cedar River Trail, where the kids rode bikes and I got a three mile walk.




 On Wednesday we went over to our neighborhood park, where Tom and I walked and the kids rode bikes and played .
On the way back home we stopped at an overhanging blackberry bush and refueled.

 Of course there was also lots of sedentary screen time, but I did make an effort to limit that.

Wednesday after noon Isaac and Grandpa harvested crops and Irene and I picked flowers for her to arrange.
 You won't see many posed photos of Isaac.  He does NOT like to be photographed, especially when he knows he could end up on my blog.  Irene, on the other had, has no trouble at all posing.

 She wants you to see that her arrangement has two sides, the fun, sparkly side, and the "wedding" side.
On Thursday the plan was to go to the Burien Farmer's Market.  Heavy rain showers were in the forecast but we hoped we could get there when it opened and have a clear window between storms.

Well, we got there for opening at 11:00 all right, and for the opening of the sky as well.  We took shelter until the worst was over.


 I love the colors of the fruit and vegetable displays.  I bought a few ears of corn, something we do not have in our garden.

 Irene saw this bouquet and announced that she was in love.
 It was only $5.00, so I bought it.  She says she wants her wedding bouquet to look just like this some day.
 Isaac loved his still warm kettle corn.

 It rained off and on the rest of Thursday but Tom and Isaac ventured out to use the chain saw to cut up some wind fall limbs from last winter that had been stacked in the back of the garden.
It's always a job getting the chain saw started.  I didn't stick around for the guy fun, but Tom reports that Isaac was very careful and did OK on his turns with the saw.  Isaac reported that it was "kinda scary".  Indeed!.

We got them delivered to Jill in time for her to get them to soccer practice, but just as soon as Irene was dropped off the next storm hit, with lightning and torrential rain.  Soccer practice was rained out, as was a whole lot of other stuff in the area.

Today Jill and the kids went to school to get her room ready.  Jill had been in meetings all week.  After our usual Friday morning breakfast, we joined them to finish up and get them on their way to Whidbey Island before noon.  Then we came home to a quiet, slower pace.

Tomorrow I'll make picnic food and we'll join family on the island on Sunday for a scaled down Phosie-Gertie picnic.  

And then, for kids and school staff, and most other working folks, summer will be over.  For me, summer is over September 22, when the calendar says it's over.  I love retirement!

Happy Labor Day, everyone.

12 comments:

  1. What a whirlwind of activities! Looked like a lot of fun, though.

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  2. Appears as though you all had fun!! I don't miss those days of giving up on summer, readying my room, and attending pre-school meetings!! I'm with you, retirement is the best!

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  3. Irene is so photogenic, no wonder she doesn't mind the camera. I love her doll house. And we got plenty of rain on our hike on Thursday, but it sounds like it was way heavier down your way. We needed the rain, and now we have a beautiful weekend! Going skydiving today. :-)

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  4. Those kids have a great Grandparent Camp! The flowers are beautiful. Tell Irene that her bouquet is every bit as beautiful as the one you bought!

    My summer ends when I can't swim because the lake gets too cold - hopefully late September or even October. :)

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  5. Ah! The Phosie-Gertie reunion. I always enjoy it, and I'm neither a Phosie nor a Gertie. Anyway, you always give your grandchildren rich experiences when they visit you. Flowers vs. popcorn: I'd have a difficult time choosing. Those fresh vegetables at the market are so colorful and beautiful. They've got "nutritious" written all over them.

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  6. That sounds like a really busy week for you, but oh so much fun! That rain on Thursday was crazy! But the gardens sure needed it, and it meant I didn't have to water. I like the look of the Burien farmer's market, I've never been. It's not too far a drive, I should check it out.

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  7. I just loved this post, Linda. You are the best grandma in the world. In fact, I want you to be my grandma. In fact, I want to live with you. Your house has so many fun things to keep a person young or old occupied.

    I love kettle popcorn too. Lucky Isaac! Irene has a natural talent for flower arranging. What? $5.00 for all those flowers? That's incredibly cheap! I want to go back to Seattle.

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  8. Ah to have such good grandparents! They are lucky kids! I love Irene's Bouquet...did you show her how the Obedient plant works, the tiny flowers can be posed on the stem:)

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  9. It is just wonderful for all of you that you are able to take the role you have with those gorgeous grand kids. My own parents were like that with my kids and provided them with so many fun memories.

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  10. What a great week! Your grandkids are lucky to have you in their lives and the memories you're creating with them will be treasured throughout their lives!

    I'm only a little envious of your retirement. I can retire in five years but think I'll probably work longer. Why not? I love my job (today.)

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