Grandchildren Archives - Ordinary Grandma

Vacation Time – West Yellowstone, BearWorld

Vacation time– Road trip to West Yellowstone and BearWorld. Yes, summertime is here and that means vacations. Whether you take a long road trip or a short road trip, just getting away is fun. We just returned from a fun 3 day getaway with my middle child Jared and his wife Kinlee and there cute little family of girls ages 8, 5, 2. We didn’t go far away, but where we went and what we did was so fun. We decided months ago, that we would go up to BearWorld just outside of Rexburg, ID. I have been there with my other 2 sons and their families, and it was time to take Jared and his family. We rented a large SUV that would hold the 7 of us, and we loaded up on a Thursday morning and away we went. This trip was about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Jared’s home. We played several games in the car such as “I’m going on a trip and I’m going to take…?”. This is a fun game to while away the time in the car and reduce boredom. We started at the beginning of the alphabet, and each person had a turn to take something with the letter that fell on them as there turn came around. They really enjoyed it, so we went through the alphabet again, but used “I’m going on a picnic, and I’m going to take…?”. We really had fun. I had been to the “Dollar Tree” several days before the trip, and had picked up some car bingo games that came with a marker that could be erased and the game used again. The girls really enjoyed that also.

In our travels, we went to some BEAUTIFUL falls that were named “Mesa Falls”. These falls are located just outside of Ashton, ID just past Rexburg, ID. There are Upper Mesa Falls and Lower Mesa Falls. The view and scenery were breathtaking. It’s a little bit of a hike (not a hard one) to the upper falls, but well worth it. If you are into camping, there are campgrounds located close to the falls. It is a well paved road and if you follow the road on past the falls, it will eventually take you to Henry’s Fork by Island Park, ID. Coming down from the falls, in the little town of Ashton, there is a little old fashioned soda fountain, (I can’t remember the name darn it) where we ate dinner.

We also drove to West Yellowstone, and on the way, went exploring for a place called Big Springs. This is in Island Park, ID. It’s a little bit off the main highway, but a fun place to explore. The girls had fun here also. There is a little pond, where the water bubbles up from underground springs. No fishing, swimming or wading. It is so clear, that you can see tadpoles swimming around in the water. There are also campgrounds located by Big Springs. In West Yellowstone, there is a fun museum all about Yellowstone and the beginning of visitors there. They have a couple of fun games for the kids to do as they go through the museum looking for things. The girls loved this. It took us a while to find some of the things on the list.

BearWorld was the whole plan for the trip. I enjoy going to BearWorld. I think it’s a little expensive, but the girls all had fun. This is a place where you can drive through a large area where the bears roam around. As we got close to BearWorld, the youngest granddaughter with us, Berlyn, couldn’t wait to see them. She just kept saying, “I’m so cited, I’m so cited”. We had to really slow down to almost a crawl as some of the bears were crossing the road. They have a petting zoo (no bears) with goats, deer, chickens, pigs that is fun. There is one goat that knows how to turn the feeder knob with his nose, and pushes the other goats away.

On the way home from the trip, the girls were sad our fun trip was over. We really did have a fun time, and will probably go back to this little part of our world again. We stayed at the Marriott Springhill Suites in Rexburg, ID which was really nice, and offered a hot buffet breakfast each morning.

All of the things we did on this trip can be found on the internet.

I love playing games with my grandchildren

I LOVE playing games with my grandchildren. Sometimes it’s a challenge for everyone to play the same games, but we manage. My 8 yr old granddaughter Ady loves, loves, loves to play games, and is really good at understanding the rules. I spent a weekend not long ago tending 3 of my granddaughters while there parents had a weekend away. I took a new game up to their house with me, and taught them how to play it. We played Blokus, Headbandz and a game about the states. Ady’s pretty good with games, and enjoys beating me. We played the Headbandz game until we had exhausted ALL the game cards. A couple of weeks later, they came down to my house to stay for a couple of hours, and I got some of my games out. We played Yahtzee, Rack-o (one of my grandsons Nyxon calls it Morocco), Connect 4 and Race to the Treasure. Even the 4 & 5 year olds like to play some of these games. I treasure every minute I spend with my grandchildren, and like to listen to what they have to say. l I have learned that Ady has to be singing a song while she concentrates on playing games. I don’t even think she knows she is singing, but her perfect little voice is so cute to listen too. I have learned that Lainie plays for a few minutes, then is off doing something else. I have learned that Nyxon likes to shuffle the Rack-O cards his way (they end up every which way) and that is OK. He also plays by his rules. However, they are learning. They are learning rules, they are learning how to take turns, and they are learning how important relationships are. They are learning in life you don’t always win, or always get your way. These are all good life lessons that will help them throughout their life. I will always have time to play games, read books, or just plain talk to my grandchildren about whatever it is they need to talk about.

Thanksgiving in Disneyland

Thanksgiving in Disneyland? How about Thanksgiving dinner with the characters? WELL, that is exactly what we did this year. This magical vacation had been in the planning for 3 years as a whole group of family members were going to be descending on Disneyland.

We saved, planned, saved, planned, saved and planned some more. My granddaughters even made a list of what they wanted to see and do. We anticipated this trip, couldn’t wait for the months/years to pass by. FINALLY, the time came for us to pack our bags and head to the airport. Some of us arrived many days before the others as we had other things that we had added to our trip. I will cover that in another blog. Eleven of us in all descended on Disneyland.

Our first day at Disneyland it rained, rained and rained some more. It did’t hamper us at all. Disneyland is so fun and magical a little rain can’t stop us. We are a Disneyland family. We rode ride after ride, waiting in lines, eating our pineapple spears and dill pickles, still delighting in our magical vacation.

On Thanksgiving day, we had reservations to eat Thanksgiving dinner with the characters at Paradise Pier in the PCH Grill, where we feasted on a fun buffet and had Minnie Mouse, Stitch, Micky Mouse, Pluto visit our table and sign autograph books. The grandchildren were in heaven. Their faces were lit up as they waited patiently for the next character to join our table. Even the 18th month old wanted a “hug” from all the characters and was shouting it out with such love. We adults smiled from ear to ear watching the kids have so much fun. This wasn’t your traditional Thanksgiving dinner. The buffet had pork roast,turkey,salmon,potatoes, pumpkin ravioli, just to name a few, hotdogs for the kids, corn on the cob, and I’m not even sure what all the deserts were as I was too busy enjoying the fun my grandchildren were having.

We have eaten at PCH Grill in the past, and it has never let us down. The atmosphere is so friendly. The waiters and waitresses are so friendly and willing to get you whatever you need. A huge shoutout to them as they are always working really, really hard.

Our last day in Disneyland was loaded with trying to fit everything in that we wanted to do. HOWEVER, in the later part of the afternoon, the rain decided to come again. This time we bought Disneyland ponchos for everyone to wear, so we could keep going. Which we did for a little while until we were too cold and wet.

We are a Disneyland family, and visit it quite often, some of us more than others, but some of us try to get there at least once a year. Disneyland you have been so good to us and will visit you again.

Fuji mini instant camera-review

So I purchased this Fuji mini instant camera to take on our Disneyland family vacation last month. The thought behind this was the grandchildren would have a character sign their autograph books, I would take a picture and we would put them immediately in the autograph books with double sided tape. We called this the “magic camera” as the picture would develop right before their eyes. In theory this was a really good idea. However, it was a major FAIL!

We went into Disneyland with so much excitement with 5 grandchildren looking for the Disney characters so we could get autographs and pictures. As we all know most of the characters are outside in Disneyland, and our first character picture came out awful as the Fuji mini instant camera flash went off EVERY time we would try to take a picture. It didn’t matter what the camera setting was on, the flash went off causing all of the outdoor pictures to over expose. We would make sure the setting was for outdoors, and still the flash would go off. We tried this time and time again with no success. This was pretty disappointing for my grandchildren showing them and explaining that the “magic camera” wasn’t working as we hoped it would. The only time the Fuji mini instant camera worked, was when we were indoors at the restaurants where we ate with the characters, as the flash was needed indoors.

Hopefully there were enough phone camera’s to capture the moments to add to the autograph books later.

I will keep this little camera for indoor activities that we will take pictures for and hang them up on our family wall. But for outdoor activities, we will have to depend on other cameras to capture the moments.

Unfortunately, I will not be recommending this product to anyone as it was a major disappointment to me and my grandchildren. This is strictly my opinion and I am not being paid for this review.

When life gives you lemons

Does life ever give you lemons? Have you ever thought about the trials you are going through or have gone through? Do you say to yourself, “Why me”, or do you look on the positive side and say, “what am I going to learn from this?” People deal with life’s lemons in many different ways.

My sweet, sweet sister Annette was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. This isn’t her first round of cancer, as she is a breast cancer survivor of many, many, many years, but this is a different, maybe scarier form of cancer. Within days of the diagnosis, she was given the good news, that she was a candidate for a surgery that is only given to people who have the right markers. There is a specialist here in Salt Lake City that does this specialized surgery. How lucky we are to live here. Annette went through the long 8 hour surgery and came out with a great positive outcome. Yes she does have to do 6 months of chemo, but she has a very positive outlook on life. My sister is a a HUGE example in my life. She is a HUGE example in her grandchildren’s life, in her great-grandchildren’s life. She is known as “the grandma down the hill”, “the grandma with the smarties in her purse”. How she is LOVED by her children, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, cousins. She is a shining light, and a friend to everyone. She has Christlike qualities that I want to exemplify in my life. I look up to her for her unselfish love. She is an amazing artist with her oil paintings, a great alto singer and the perfect sister. We have many more years to laugh, share good books, sew, quilt, and party. Your positive outlook is an inspiration to everyone.

So, when life gives you lemons, squeeze out the juice, add a little sugar, a little water, and a lot of love and pass the lemonade around.

What is in your grandchildren’s “bucket lists”?

Have you ever asked your grandchildren what they wanted to do during their life? I was explaining “bucket lists” to them, and was telling them some things in my bucket list that I want to do. I was amazed at what they came up with. Here are a couple of the grandkids lists.

My 4 year old grandson’s bucket list:

Own a phone, go to school, water the flowers, be a Marine just like daddy, pick up dog poop (yes he really said that), drive a car, and do handwriting. That’s a pretty good list for a 4 yr old.

My 8 yr old granddaughter’s bucket list:

Go to Disneyworld, go to London, be a schoolteacher, and go to New York with me to a Broadway Musical. That’s also a pretty awesome list.

My own bucket list:

DisneyWorld with my grandchildren, travel through Europe, publish a children’s book, learn to oil paint. This is just a portion of my bucket list.

I can already see things in their bucket lists, that I would LOVE to do with them. My 8 yr old granddaughter takes after me. I LOVE to travel and would LOVE to travel with her to some of her destinations. I know as they get older, their bucket lists will change and will grow. But for right now it’s a good start.

As a grandmother, I will continue to ask them about their “bucket lists” and help them to accomplish their lists. Share your bucket list with your grandchildren. You may have several things that are the same that would be fun to talk about or even do together. I challenge each one of you to ask your grandchildren what is in their “bucket lists” and write it down along with the date so they can remember. It is a fun conversation to have and to look back at with them.

Heart to Heart

Have you ever had a heart to heart with your grandchildren? We spent Saturday trick-or treating at the zoo with all of my grandchildren. Each one so special with their own personalities that shine. After continually telling some of them several times to “stay by us or you are going to get lost”, I decided to explain to my little 4 year old grandson how important it is to stay by us. I explained to him that we are going on a vacation to Disneyland and that if he doesn’t stay by us, he will get lost. His response was “why”? WHY is a big word in children’s vocabularies and we need to take the time to explain to them. “Just because” isn’t a good enough answer. I knew I needed a good explanation. I asked him to look at me in the face, so I knew he was listening. I let him know that Disneyland is a big, big place with so many things to see and do, and so many people there, that we wouldn’t be able to see him or his cousins in the crowd of people if they didn’t hold our hands. I told him that I was going to bring a child leash that attached to my wrist and then attached to his wrist so he couldn’t wander too far away. His response was “how about we put them on our legs”. To which I replied, “I will fall down and break my nose”. His response was priceless. “I will hold your hand”. BINGO. I accomplished what I set out to accomplish. The importance of staying close and helping each other. I will be taking the child leash with me, and I will put it on our legs, and I’m sure our wrists too. I love that they say what comes to their minds. They don’t need to think about their response, it just comes out of their mouths naturally. I love to listen to their little conversations between the cousins. The innocence they portray. As their Grandma, Paypams, or Muck, I want them to know that I will always be their to listen to them at any time, and in any place.

GRANDMA

Grandma “a mother of your father or mother”. Hmmm I think a better description of a grandma is a grownup version of a little girl. I love being with my grandchildren. Some of my grandchildren call me “Muck” some call me “Paypams” and some just call me “Grandma”. I love reading to them, I love listening to them, I love talking to them, I love sitting in the back yard watching them play, I love playing the piano with them, singing with them, I love traveling with them, I love playing games with them, I love watching them experience new and exciting things. I love just making memories with them. I think the role of a grandma is a very important role, one of being an example and a cheerleader. They watch everything I do, they listen to everything I say and how I act towards others. My goal is to be the BEST grandma my grandchildren deserve and for each one to know how much I love each one of them.