Let the tradition continue!! Grands' Camp was SO MUCH FUN!! The guest blogger for this post will be - MIMI!! After we left, we had her sit down and recount the week. Thanks for everything, Mimi and Papa!!
Everyone arrived at Mimi and Papa’s Sunday afternoon!!! We were SO excited!!! With three two year olds, Mommies, Leslie and Sarah, came to camp this year. Yay for that God Wink!!!! Nia is with her dad and we really missed her being here.
The tree swing was an immediate hit!! Papa did a great job of making a fun swing that would go SO high and everyone had a turn. After a good nap and dinner, we all went out in the backyard for swinging and bubble fun. Jeffro had some fireworks, so we sat in the back of his truck while he shot them off. Then he took all the kids and Leslie and Sarah on a ride around the block. That was really fun!!
Part of the fun at Grands’ Camp is that everyone gets to sleep in a different place! We tried to put the ‘sleepers’ together in one room, putting them down in shifts with the two years going down first. It worked most of the time. Caroline and Anna, the sleepers, slept together in a room towards the back of the house. Jack, Mr. Ready to Go at 6:05, and Nellie, Miss I Wake Up at 6:30 every day, slept at the front of the house. Don’t mind saying that when all were asleep, it was good!!! The adults checked their emails, watched some TV and fell asleep on the sofa!!
Monday was the first beach day! We were on the beach at 8:30 and it was gorgeous!! Les and Sa loved it as much as the kids did – they were home! After 3 hours playing in the sand, swimming and playing in the waves, we stripped everyone down at the showers and rinsed. Pools of warm water were waiting for us in the backyard, so naked swimming was the best to get rid of all of the sand! Lunch and naptime! When everyone woke up we painted our t-shirts. We made crabs this year out of our hands. It was really neat to see that they are old enough to follow directions- they are precious! Outside play and naked swimming was a hit after dinner and served as the bath for the day. Bedtime!!
Tuesday was a little iffy on the weather, so we took lots of bread to Hugh McCrea Park to feed the pond animals. We saw ducks, fish and lots of turtles. We headed to the FBC Activity Center because geese live on the pond there. We got out of the car with bread and there were 50 or so hungry geese that met us. We were pleasantly surprised that they were so nice and willing to wait for bread – except for one that took the bread right out of Caroline’s hand – bread that she was planning to eat herself! Man, did that goose ever get a piece of her mind!!!!! We went to the mall, got a rainbow cookie and rode the train that carries you all over the mall. Mimi rode with all the grands and it was fun!!! We then had lunch and naps. Les and Sa took Mimi to a spa for a massage for her birthday. AWESOME!! Papa and Anna listened out for the babies napping. Luckily, it was quiet when we got home and we were able to enjoy our relaxation, but not for long!
Wednesday the weather was better, so we had SlipNSlide and pool day. Everyone with their suits on had their turn on the SlipNSlide, even Mimi and Papa! SO much fun! Mimi, Les and Sa found a great way to lay out and get some sun sitting on the slide with the fountain keeping us wet. CHILLLAXING! There was pink ‘nemalade’ (as Nellie calls it) for the kids to serve themselves and they thought that was a big deal. Papa got out his tractor, hooked the wagon to the back and with him and Jack driving, gave the girls a ride up and down the street. Anna drove the tractor with Papa and turned the wheel all by herself. Big Stuff!!! The kids ate a picnic lunch outside, played a little more and then naptime!! Our cousin, Oren, came and joined us for the rest of the week. He slept in the room with Anna and Caroline-a sleeper. Our one night out for dinner – Krazy’s – and it was delicious!!! We stopped by Halyburton Park and played until bath time!! That was fun!
Thursday was back to the beach! It was great for a while and everyone was playing in the waves, sand and just enjoying. Dark clouds started forming and some passed us by, but one didn’t! The rain dumped on us quickly! We covered our bags with our chairs and just kept on playing. We looked around and Papa was body surfing in the rain! We cut beach time short and went back to the pools in the backyard where the sun was just a shinning! More naked swimming!! Lunch, naps and dinner then we all walked, Anna rode her bike, down to Holly Tree School to play on the playground. The sprinklers were on and Caroline and Nellie headed straight to them – precious!! Bath and bedtime! Yay!!!
Friday was aquarium day! We had to drive through monsoons (5 inches of rain) to get there, but we were there when it opened. The kids had a great time seeing and touching all of the sea creatures. We got a front row seat at the dive show and the diver gave us a high five on the glass and an okay sign for our Grands’ Camp t-shirts. It was great! When we got to Mimi and Papa’s, Will and Jason had arrived for the weekend! Anna, Jack and Caroline were glad to see their daddies. Greg and Tucker arrived, too! You talking about everybody sleeping everywhere!!!!
Saturday started at 5:00 am with Caroline waking up the ‘sleepers’! Some of us took a ‘Pajama Walk’ down the street to get those awake out of the house! Holy Moly!! We hung out and played and ran and played! It was Mimi’s 60th birthday, so after naps we went to the Activity Center where there were more aunts, uncles and cousins. We played, ate pizza and just visited with family. A fabulous Apple Annie’s cake just made the day complete!
Everyone was gone by 10:30 on Sunday morning. The house was oh, so quiet – bitter sweetly so. Mimi’s heart was full and she felt like she could still hear them if she was quiet. Grands’ Camp was over for another year. With three two year olds, the theme was ‘sharing’ and ‘go with the flow’! Mimi and Papa are already talking about what next year will be like!
