Grandbabies are the Best!

This summer has been a blast with our grandkids!
The oldest, Rannen, came with my mother and me to an art show in a garden for one of my mom's favorite local artists. I use the word "local" in the broad sense - we had to drive up to Camano Island to visit! Rannen did great on the car ride, and we had a lovely walk through the gardens and enjoyed viewing lots of paintings/prints. There was also an associate of the artist's there with a metal sculpture exhibit. I guess the two artists collaborate on showings to share expenses. Not a bad idea!

I also enjoyed several lunches out with my daughter and my grandson, Griffin. He is 9 months old now, and loves to EAT! Whenever anyone else is eating, he wants to eat too - regardless of how recently he's eaten. He loves to try new things, like Mexi-fries at Taco Time. He likes avacadoes, tomatoes, potatoes, bananas, tortillas, and all sorts of things. Even a bit of a Bugle the other day (much to mommy's chagrin...) - grandma needs to remember he can't have everything he wants :) But he's become such a joy in the past few months - not the grumpy little fellow he was at first. They came for a visit yesterday, and he crawled across the lawn and straight into the kiddie pool... clothes and all! The little tank had no problem crawling right over the pool wall and into the water. We had to strip him down after he soaked all of his clothes... Later, he crawled out too, and we had to ride herd on him to keep him out of the bark beds! Why is it always so fascinating to try and go somewhere we're not allowed? I hope it's a long time before he learns WHY we don't want him crawling into the bark, especially when he comes fresh from the pool, buck-naked! I can't wait for THOSE pictures :) He has also taken his first few steps - for grandma, of course! Now he will do it for mommy too, and we are all so proud! He crawls at light speed... can't wait until he starts running too!

Aeries has beena constant joy, and even having a baby (and her parent) living with us again is no problem. (Her parents are another issue...) She also like to eat everything whenever we are eating, and tomatoes are her favorite! I cut some up the other day and showed her how to stab them with a fork and feed herself - and she did it! She'll be one year old next week, so this is another landmark for her. She actually ate about a dozen pieces with the fork before reverting back to the fingers. It was so much fun to watch, and she was so proud of herself! she learns new things every day - and even knows the sign for "tomato," along with "more" "please" and "ball." she's starting to verbalize more, and we can almost tell the difference between "mama" and "grandma," which sounds kinda like "mamaw." Soon, she will start walking on her own too!
Being a grandma has got to be the best thing ever!

Summer Fun!

There's nothing like summertime and good weather to create fun outside with the grandkids! Griffin got his first boat ride with Mommy on Grandpa's boat, and Rannen got to drive while her proud Daddy watched. It was a lovely day and a fun ride, especially for the little ones. Even though they weren't big enough to ride the inner-tube toys on the lake, they made good use of our "sea of green" to have some fun. They tired us all out pulling them back and forth! Griffin thought it was fun at first, but decided it really wasn't worth spending too much time on :)

Bubbles make everything better, so Rannen sent hunders of sparkling orbs into space for our enjoyment. Check out our site on Shutterfly for more photos - there is a link above to the right.

Enjoy your summer! I know we will have a great time with the kids and grandkids around.

Spring Time Fun

Deployment Ceremony

Today was the Deployment Ceremony for Michael's unit, the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division of the Stryker Brigade (5/2 ID (SBCT), based out of Fort Lewis, WA. The speeches were stirring and patriotic, along with inspiring the troops to fulfill their mission in Afghanistan. We heard from Brigadier General Jeff Mathis III and Colonel Harry Tunnell IV, listened to the Army band play patriotic songs, and joined the unit chaplain in praying for the soldiers and the families they leave behind for this mission. It was interesting to hear that the 5/2 ID (SBCT) is one of the newest units with the most advanced weapons and technology used by a ground combat formation in history, or anywhere in the world today. Their digital network connects all ground troops to each other and to air support for supreme battle command and minimal fratricide. They have more than 100 soldiers fluent in Arabic and 50 in Pashtu. They have trained hard for this deployment and are ranked as a supreme combat formation, ready to fight and win under any conditions, against any enemy, anywhere in the world!
As part of the 8th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment "Blackhawks," Michael will be traveling with a great group!
Prayers for all our soldiers' safety and peace of mind for their families are welcome!

Summer is on the way and the kids are loving it! We've had birthday celebrations (with chocolate cake, thanks to Vicki!), picnics in the park, and lots of fun times. Rannen really "got into" the special chocolate cake we had in honor of Michael (her daddy), Scott & Darlene's birthdays in May. She loved posing with her messy face! It was great to have her for a visit with the other grandkids and with our niece's kids - Little Adam wasn't as happy with the result, but agreed to pose anyway. He's getting so grown up! The kids chased each other around the house for hours, playing in the pop-up tents and tunnel and having a grand old time! Rannen was quite defensive about her pink tent, but eventually, the kids were all over all of them. Fortunately, the tents are fairly resilient and have so far handled the uproar with only one rip - and that was put there by Grandma! You just can't have too much fun, apparently. It's just hard to resist the charming Princess Rannen when she invites you into her pink princess tent to read a story! I'm sure I wasn't the only adult wishing I could get away with crawling through the tunnel with the little ones too... Though after filling ourselves with all the good food everyone contributed, I doubt anyone would have been able to squeeze through! Thanks to all who joined us for the family dinners - it's been a great time catching up and watching the little ones grow and develop that bond with each other :) The next Dinner planning is under way - an old-fashioned BBQ this time! Check your email for your Evite!

Dinner out for Scott's 50th birthday was a jolly family time at Red Robin, though he didn't let us tell them it was his birthday. He wanted a low-key celebration this year, and we let him have his way - Just wait until the 51st birthday - then we're going to throw a PARTY!