Silly Glasses

Another weekend has flown by. It was a girlie girl's weekend!! My Carissa and I went shopping at the New Target near her house and to the Science Museum to see sharks and butterflies. It was obvious she was quite at home in the New Target. She was comfortable in telling Grammy which way to go to check out the toys, we needed a blue icee and popcorn, and she needed another movie. I was just going to run in to get a couple of tee shirts for her to embroider Disney characters on. We ended up spending about an hour or more just checking out the store.

After our fill of Target, we headed into Houston to the Science Museum to check out the Shark Imax and the butterflies. We had to wear silly glasses that didn't fit Carissa very well. She didn't really want to wear them, but when the lights were dimming; and she saw all the kids putting them on she was fine. We had to adjust them throughout the show, because she would knock them half off when she was trying to touch the turtle and sharks swimming in front of her. She came out of her chair and stood a couple of times trying to touch the ocean critters. I enjoyed watching her more than the show.

We headed over to the see the butterflies next. I was totally impressed with the butterflies. I was not interested in all the bugs. I am just not much of a bug person except to see dead bugs. I have no fascination whatsoever! We took our time walking through where the waterfall and butterfly feeders were. As you can see by the picture there were some absolutely beautiful butterflies. There are beautiful butterflies flying everywhere. We made a pit stop at the gift shop on the way out, stopped for chicken nuggets and headed home.

We have played store, watched "The Fox and the Hound" a couple of times, and Grammy put Pluto on a pink tee shirt for my Carissa. When Carissa likes a movie, she REALLY likes a movie. She can sing the songs along with the movie, she loves the characters, and will watch a movie over and over until another one comes along that captures her fascination. We ate a late lunch with Granny and Pawpaw Slaughter, took Shasta shopping for new dog food and treats.

Sunday night when my babies are all gone, the house is empty and Shasta is usually stretched out recouping her energy from playing with her favorite friends.

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My Grandmother

I think I have already established that being a Grandmother is one of the greatest pleasures in the world. Today, if my Mamaw was still alive she would have become a centurian! I lost her five years ago and still forget sometimes that she is not there to share something with. She taught me to quilt, embroider, crochet, sew, ceremics, the love of flowers, and along with my Papaw to fish. I loved the fishing part. It was the being quiet while we fished that was hard. I don't get to fish much right now, but sitting in a boat as the sun rises with a line in the water is in the top 10 of my favorite things to do!



My grandparent's loved birds. My Mamaw loved canaries, and my Papaw loved parakeets. There is a picture floating around somewhere of a picture of one of Papaw's parakeets taking a ride on a cat (I think the cat's name was Dude). My grandparent's would leave a parakeet in my Mom's care when they went on vacation. My Mom was vacuuming out the bird cage one day (yes vacuuming!) with the bird in it. She accidently sucked the bird up. She had the bird by one hand, the vacuum hose with the other. She was screaming for my Dad. The bird was squawking at her. My Dad rushed in and unplugged the vacuum cleaner. My Mom sat the bird back on it's perch, and it would fall off. After a few minutes, the bird was able to sit on the perch. The rest of the time that we kept that bird, it hated my Mom. If my Mom would walk by the cage the bird would screech at her. I think that may have been the last time my Papaw left his parakeet with Mom.

Mamaw would make homemade biscuits in the morning with homemade blackberry jam. I could make biscuits and blackberry jam all day long, but it would just not taste the same as what my Mamaw made for me years ago. My husband and I are some of the lucky ones. We were both blessed with loving grandparent's who's homes we hated to leave growing up.

Hunter has a fit for about 20-30 minutes when we load him in the car to head home wanting to stay with his Grammy. I remember begging my Mom to just let me stay one more day. My grandparent's lived all of three streets away from my parent's house, but it didn't matter. My in-laws tell a story of a time that Pete (my husband's brother) and Odie didn't want to leave their grandparent's house. They lived about 175 miles from their grandparents. Their grandparent's lived in the country. Their parent's were telling their grandparent's good bye; the boys were saying they didn't want to leave. When their Dad got in the car, there were no keys in the ignition. The boy's got back out to play some more while the parent's and grandparent's searched for the keys. Come to find out, hmmm, someone threw the keys down the well.

I hope that I can be as good of a grandparent to my grand babies, as my Grandmother was to me. I still miss her and think about her often. She was almost 95 when she left us and was ready to go and meet back up with my Papaw. I thank her for the imprint she has left on my heart and in my life. May she rest in peace.

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Don't Lick the Battery

I haven't had the joy of spending time with any of my grandbabies in a couple of weeks now. I think I am having withdrawals. I spent the weekend in Ohio and the subject came up about four wheelers. We own a couple. This past week, four wheelers for kids have been taken off the market. It may be a temporary thing, but below is an interesting read. Our boys love to ride, but I am extra careful, when it comes to riding the four wheeler. I do not let them ride unless my husband or a parent is here also. We have it at its lowest speed and helmets are an absolute requirement.


http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=100149

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The Best of 2008

I had a two hour flight today and forgot to take a movie, so decided to work on organizing my 2008 photos.(over 2000 photos) It was a good year. In January my son (Travis), daughter in-law (Jonda)and I took Hunter and Carissa to the winter carnivel. They played in snow (Carissa was very upset that her snow ball melted); rode a camel, horse, and school bus; and sat at the wheel of a fire truck. Pawpaw and I took Justin and Hunter to the Monster Jam. We had so much fun, it will be a family tradition until the kids outgrow wanting to go. This year we took all of the grandbabies.

February brought Carissa's second and Hunter's third birthday's. Carissa's favorite toy was a toy drum that I think came from her great grandmother. I love to watch my babies with their instruments. Carissa has a keyboard that plays demos as she dances for whoever will sit in the rocker and watch her.

March and April brought a trip to the zoo and playing in the dirt at Grammy's. There are pictures of wagon rides, the merry go-round at the zoo, popping up in the prairie dog domes, and at the Brazosport sea center. There is a picture of a Grouper named Gordon that Carissa was extremely fond of.

In May, Pawpaw and I took a vacation without any grandbabies and had a wonderful time in Colorado. We ended the month at my in-laws in east Texas pulling the kids in a wagon and all of them piled on the 4 wheeler with Pawpaw.

The summer went by in a flurry with Pawpaw working out of state. I would have one or two of the grandbabies every chance I got.

In September I took Hunter to see Pawpaw in Georgia. It was his first plane ride and train ride. As we were taxiing down the runway, he would say are we flying yet? After about the fourth time he asked, the plane lifted off of the ground. His eyes were huge as he looked at me as we were going in the air. WOW, Grammy, we are flying.

October brought Halloween Festivals. Pawpaw and I went to one in Bay City with two small knights (Alex and Hunter) and the dragon (Colton). The next night we went to one in Pearland with a Pumpkin (Carissa) and one knight and dragon.

November and December flew by. Christmas with the grandbabies was as fun as ever, but our house had quite a bit a damage from hurrican Ike. It was the first year EVER that I did not have a Christmas tree. It seemed that Christmas crept up too fast, and as I blinked 2008 was over. I look at the pictures of 2009 to the pictures of 2008 and my beautiful baby Hunter is already starting to look like a little boy, a toddler, no longer a baby. I want to hold onto Carissa for I know that this time next year that baby softness that still clings to her today will start transforming into a little girl.

Earlier this week a subcontractor of mine welcomed his first grandbaby, Jack, into the world. He sent me a picture of a beaming Grandpa holding a very tiny, beautiful baby in his arms. I sent him an email forewarning him that life as he knows it will never be the same.

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