A Busy, Busy Summer

The summer has been crazy!  With many, many doctor appointments, a few camping and side trips, reunions and then just the run-o-the-mill summer things going on, the summer has been flying by!  I had such good intentions of doing so much more!!  My most long-awaited and loved plan was to have "Grandma Camp" for the grandkids.  The older group was set for a 4-day, 3-night block of time and we were all set.  It was planned that Kaden, Noah, Jarom and Caleb would come for the first camp.  It was the day of the night of their arrival when Grandma Fackrell fell and was taken to the hospital and I was called to Blackfoot.  Of course, that is where I needed and wanted to be, so camp was postponed.  Grandma had a hard recovery but thankfully, no broken hip as we had first been told.  When I returned home, I again began making plans for "camp".  With my upcoming knee surgery on the 9th, our time was running short and so we decided upon August 3rd through the 5th (only 2 nights and 3 days ... but that was better than not getting it in at all).  The problem with those dates was that Jarom also had Scout Camp.  I felt badly but we went on with the plans and the three boys came.  We had a great time together!  


The first night activity was "movie night".  The boys chose to watch "National Treasure"(?) with the approval of parents.  Noah loved the movie but the others were a little apprehensive about all of the suspense.  I think they all liked it, however.


We got up Thursday morning to a pancake and ham breakfast and a day full of activities.  We headed out to hit "shag balls" at the golf course, lunch at McDonald's, the "Smurf" movie, making HUGE bubbles and playing on the "slip and slide".  We did a craft and then had a hotdog roast and picnic when Grandpa came home from work.  The boys ended the day by spending time on the "Whoopie" with Grandpa.  (I conveniently stayed in the house for that "adventure" since Grandpa lets the "boys be boys" and it usually ends up making this Grandma a little nervous!)

 Setting up the "Slip and Slide"

 Working together

 Noah's turn

 Incoming Kaden

 Then Caleb ....

A good time for cooling off from the summer heat!

 Making ID Holders

(Kaden to Caleb:  "I know somebody is going to steal these".

Caleb:  "Who would want to steal them?"

Kaden:  "Everybody in my family are thieves!")

It is these conversations that make a Grandma smile!!

 Noah watches "National Treasure 2"

(Too much "action" for Kaden and Caleb)

 S'mores after having hotdog roast.

 Good to the last lick!

Since Mike, Grandad and I had to be in Salt Lake for a birthday celebration for Uncle DeVon, we left Logan early Friday morning to spend the day in Ogden while Mike worked his Friday shift.  So Caleb went home before we left and Kaden and Noah traveled with us so that their parents could pick them up.  We spent the day shopping, lunching and just "hanging out" together.  Luckily, Quilted Bear was having a "Webkins Tour" so we went there and the two boys had a great time.  It was sad to see our time together come to an end when the parents met us downtown Salt Lake that evening.  


Hopefully,  Jarom and Caleb will be able to get together with me soon to go to dinner and a movie to round out our Grandma Camp for the 10-year-old-and-over group for this year.  I am really looking forward to camp next year with these four boys!  So much fun .... at least for Grandma!!!


P.S.  Next camp will be the 7-9 year olds!  Hope to be able to do that in the very near future.

Technology

Blogging can be tiring!  Three blogs and trying to keep up with them is exhausting.  On the other hand, it is such a "cool" way to keep in touch with family.  So it can be rewarding, too!!  Maybe it isn't just the blogging ... it is technology itself.  The more I learn the more I want to learn and do.


I have added to my technology recently.  I not only have a Mac laptop, an iPod, and my iPhone; I now have an iPad.  If someone were to ask me which one I like best or prefer, I'd have to reply "I don't know".  They all seem to be important to me depending on where I'm at .... so I end up carrying nearly all of them with me where ere I go.  I look like a "geek"!!  I keep my iPhone and iPod in my hip pockets, which looks like I'm a quick-draw "tech-slinger".  I usually have the iPad in hand and if I go anywhere longer than a day, I pack my Mac along, too.  Something is really wrong with this picture!


At this point, my email is always overloaded.  Everywhere I go, my "pockets" seem to be "dinging" with mail alerts.  Pretty funny to some!!  But what the heck, I'm on the go and in the know .... right?  And if I can't be reached by phone, email, or messenger, then "Ping" ... "Textie" .... or "Kik" always works.  Yep!  I've got them all!


I carry my journal, all of my photos, genealogy, finances, library (books), movies, music ...... all of it is "onboard" not matter where I am!  


What can I say .... my sons have made me into a "junkie"!!

Morning Thoughts

Every morning I make it a ritual to check everyone's blog to see if they have written since the day before. Most of the time I am so disappointed to find that no one has updated.  But then I realize that neither have I!  It is so hard to keep up, isn't it?

I love having children in our house again .... especially if they are my grandkids!  I am so happy that Mike, Christina, Caitlin, Carter and William have had to have a "stop-off" place to stay a few weeks while they are waiting to get into their new home.  It is so nice to hear those little voices every morning as they wake and get ready for the day and the good morning hugs that I get when the grandkids are around.  I miss that part of our younger life.  (It gets awfully quiet after the kids all leave home and all that is left is "old" people.  We can get awfully repetitive and boring!)

Once when our own children were little, I had them all lined up on the bench at church and they were being especially irreverent.  I knew they were disrupting the meeting for everyone around us.  As I was trying to get them under control, an older lady sitting behind me leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Be patient and love them.  They grow up all too soon."  I smiled and thought to myself, "It's easy for you to say.  You can sit there, listen to what is being said and not have to deal with it."  I couldn't imagine that the day would come when I would feel the same as that dear sister was feeling.  But how true it is!  Although I wouldn't want to begin again to raise children in today's world, I miss having the "patter of little feet" in the house.  I am so grateful for times when we have grandkid's come so I can remember the wonders ... yes and trials ... of motherhood.  And I find myself thinking and sometimes saying, "Be patient and love them.  They grow up all too soon"!

First Post of 2011 - Resolutions, Thoughts and a Lot of Rambling!

Why does time pass so quickly?? I can't believe it has been nearly 2 months since I've made a post on this blog. So much is going on in life and we let the little things pass us by. I want to take notice of the small things this year ... be aware of them and enjoy them.

Resolutions:

I am learning that there is so much to be thankful for ... the top on my list is my family. Each one has such unique qualities, personalities and attributes. I am proud of each of them and look to them to teach me, buoy me up during difficult times, and to remind me of my "younger years"and much more. I can look in their eyes and remember what life was like when they were young and dependent on me. Now I find a new dependence that I have for each of them. They are my friends! I am so blessed!

Resolution #1: Tell my family often that I love and appreciate them. Don't take it for granted that they already know.

I have spent so much time in my life looking forward. Looking forward to when Mike and I had a family ..... to when the kids were old enough to do things on their own .... to when I could leave them alone for a while without worrying every minute I was gone (I know, that was wishful thinking! I always worried!) .... to when they were grown .... to when I had time to do the things I put off like genealogy work, studying scriptures, reading a good book, spend more time with parents, ..... to when Mike and I had more time to spend together (guess that time is behind me, when we worked together professionally cause it seems like we see so much less of one another now) .... to retirement (the only retirement I can foresee is getting "tired" and then getting "tired" again). Yep! I've spent much of my time looking forward and not truly enjoying the moment! Need to work on that.

Resolution #2: Take time to read 2 books a month, try to schedule regular "date nights" with my good husband, and work at knowing my ancestors by doing at least 1 project a month in family genealogy.

This year I want to become a better person but I am going to begin by making only two resolutions. I don't want to make it so difficult that I can't accomplish them. So there you have them .... in writing. I have always been told that if you write them down, you have more of a chance to actually do them. We will see how that works for me!! In 2010, I resolved to try to become more patient. I still have a long way to go with that one so I have to continue on that as well. I've always been a slow learner!!