Grandma Karen and Grandpa Rick- Part 1

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Ok, I don’t know how many parts this little series will end up being and I will probably end up writing stuff out of order and making a mess of things, but I know I need to just start writing before I can’t even remember all the fun we had! (Well, I will always remember, but you know what I mean!)

Grandma Karen arrived on November 20. Grandpa Rick couldn’t get quite so much time off work, so he didn’t join the party til later, so no worries if you don’t read anything about Grandpa at this time! Grandma arrived at a very, very busy time…moving time! She quickly stepped into help wherever help was needed, and that help was invaluable. Tyson and Jori were still in school when Grandma arrived, so she spent a lot of her day helping me wash walls, clean floors, paint, sort, carry, organize and all the other stuff that goes along with moving. I’d disappear for the afternoon and come back to a freshly painted bedroom. It was pretty awesome.

Not only did Grandma help with the move, but she helped out with the little kids. She loves giving cuddles and if she wasn’t here or in her cottage, I knew just where to find her! All of you who know Karen already know how much she loves kids and how fantastic she is with them, but for those of you who don’t know her, she is amazing!

Grandma Karen also spent a lot of time being a grandma to Tyson and Jori. They loved every moment spent with their grandma. She played cards with them, let them have sleepovers, watched them swim, made them treats, watched movies and so much more. She even went to their school to help out with their class parties. That is more than their own mother has done! Grandma was able to go to the honors program and see Tyson and Jori receive awards for doing well in school. We even celebrated with a trip to McDonalds!

Some extra special things Grandma Karen did when she was here on her own are as follows: She watched Tyson and Jori so that Darin and I could go to Swaziland for a couple nights. Darin had some business stuff to attend to and we decided to make a quick trip of it. I enjoyed endless amounts of internet usage and we went to a small game reserve and did a little hiking. It was wonderful to get away together and know that our children were being so well cared for. Grandma also ate a bug with us. Yes, it was an after Thanksgiving mini-feast. The Van Gilders brought a lovely Thanksgiving dinner for us to enjoy, then we came down to our house to hang out. We started “toasting’ flying ants/termites on our bug zapper and, good sport that she is, Grandma Karen joined it. What fun!

This is just a smidge of the fun we had with Grandma Karen and here is a link to some of the pictures. Stay tuned for more fun!


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