We flew out the day after Amelia's birthday to Texas to start our grand "Grammie Camp" adventure. When we talked with Grammie & Pappy about taking the kids for a few weeks this summer, they made plans for a blow-out 2 weeks.
How this family gets to the airport: 5 carry-ons, 5 roller-board suitcases & 2 carseat bags. It's so much easier traveling with bigger kids! I had these shirts made as a surprise for my parents when we arrived in Texas.
We split up - Dad with the big 2 and Mom with Colleen. We got settled in our seats and took off. During take-off, Colleen started to fade into sleep - definitely NOT what I had expected. She snoozed solidly for over an hour. I thought I had hit the jackpot! Then she woke up crying, and I realized that we had not put on "travel undies" since I had never dreamed of her falling asleep. Needless to say, with the dozens of flights I have done with children, this was my first potty accident all over an airplane seat. The flight attendants were super-helpful, and we got her cleaned up and able to enjoy the rest of the flight.
Grammie & Pappy surprised Amelia with a donut cake.
We took the kids for a swim on Monday, July 1 at the neighborhood pool. We were the only ones there so the kids could be as goofy as they wanted. The pool has a 1ft wading pool which was considerably warmer than the big pool!
Knife skills while helping Grammie at lunch
It won't be long until Amelia (8) is taller than Great Grammie (90).
We took the big kids back to the pool in the afternoon. When Colleen woke up from her nap, Grammie kept her busy with playdough and dinner prep.
Great Grammie squawks at Pappy many days when he comes home from work; the game gives her a great laugh. So Amelia and she did so together.
Colleen got a hold of the chickens later.
Story-telling
After tucking them into bed for the night, Patrick and I left for the airport hotel for our early flight the next morning. The kids woke up to the official start of "Grammie Camp" on Tuesday, July 2. Each day had a fun game, a craft project, food to make and activities or an outing.
Pappy had written a cheer for the kids. They LOVED it.
On this first day, the kids went to Rush Fun Park, which they deemed as their favorite outing. They jumped and climbed and swung and played.
Their daily project was to create a Wobblebot. These were super-cool.
Amelia really just took upon herself so much of giving Great Grammie attention and care. My mom would send me photos and comments throughout the visit of how Amelia would get Great Grammie her breakfast and afternoon tea, tuck her in bed at night and sit and visit with her.
The new "Turnado" car for Amelia to drive.
Wednesday, July 3 started with tie-dyed waffles. As you can see, Amelia was pretty keen on wearing her tiara nonstop.
Then the kids were told they were going to get to camp out in the garage later that night! So they helped Pappy put up the tent.
A few photos with their welcome sign.
Their first stop for the day was a riverboat tour. Mom is jealous as she is the only family member yet to do this.
Lunch at the Rainforest Cafe
Then an afternoon at Legoland. Colleen has no idea how much of a sacrifice it was for Grammie to get on a ride that went high into the air while pedaling to make it go up and down.
The kids' big afternoon activity was chipping away at these blocks of ice that had been frozen with all kinds of trinkets and goodies inside. Apparently Amelia kept trying to use the croquet mallet instead of the assigned hammer.
Thursday, July 4 started with the kids getting ready to be part of the neighborhood parade!
Starting their luminary project by painting the cans
Getting ready to watch Pappy's fireworks
Friday, July 5 started with the excitement of a road trip to the Austin Aquarium. There the kids were able to feed turtles and birds.
Later they started drilling holes in their painted cans.
Saturday, July 6 was full of driving the cars, swimming in the pool, an obstacle course and finishing the luminaries.
Sunday, July 7 included a trip to a big inflatable play place and starting their rock cacti art project.
Colleen's first time driving alone. Apparently shortly after this, she did run into the tent leg and bent it in half.
They had make-your-own pizzas this night; Amelia apparently assembled most after taking orders. My mom would send me texts throughout the kids' stay of how helpful and responsible Amelia was. It was nice to know she's learning something!
Monday, July 8 started with plans to go bowling in the morning and a different evening outing.
Helping grate blocks of cheese
Unfortunately, while they were returning from bowling, Great Grammie called them in great distress about her breathing struggles. Pappy took her to the ER, and she was admitted for pneumonia. While she was there, her Alzheimer's symptoms worsened. So Pappy & Grammie took turns staying with her and the kids. So Tuesday through Thursday were survival days for my parents - keeping the kids busy at the house while trying to manage Great Grammie's care. Pappy was able to build birdhouses with each kiddo and make a really cool dried flower hanger.
She LOVED practicing her cooking skills with Grammie.
Puzzles
Great Grammie was discharged on Wednesday afternoon.
Going for a walk
Patrick and I were able to change our flights and return to Texas on Thursday evening, just after the kids went to bed. Friday, July 12 was the big Grammie Camp Finale, and we got to be part of it! My parents rented a giant water slide for the backyard! The fun thing was - although they only contracted for 4 hours in the middle of the day - the company dropped it off early and didn't pick it up until 645. So we ended up using it for the entire day!
At one point in the afternoon, Patrick & Austin realized that folks on the road that backs up to the fenced yard were staring at them. Austin loved the attention and wouldn't stop waving at them.
What a fun way to officially end Grammie Camp! Tired and satisfied, we enjoyed some family dominoes that evening.
Saturday, July 13, Patrick and I took the kids out for the morning so Grammie & Pappy could take a breath. We took the kids to the Witte Museum in downtown San Antonio. We were there for about 2 hours and only saw part of the museum grounds. The main building had exhibit floors of Texas animals and plants. They had a special art exhibit; as soon as we walked in, Amelia noticed a piece by Georgia O'Keefe (we had read about her). So we got her photo in front of the piece.
Davy Crockett was an exciting one too!
Another building had 3 floors of exhibits on the body and health. The kids got a card they could scan at each station and collect health information that was printed out on a report at the end.
The building rooftop had outdoor instruments, including gorgeous wind chimes that were loud!
The "under 5" area was pretty lame; but Colleen climbed around for a few minutes.
As we were leaving, we met the local fire department who was parked outside to talk with kids about fighting wild fires and show off their equipment. The kids loved it, despite the heat they were standing in.
This is how Colleen washed her hands while in Texas.
Grammie & Pappy were able to get an early dinner out while Dad took Amelia & Austin to the pool. So Colleen and I took care of Great Grammie for a couple of hours.
More family dominoes to end the day
On Sunday, Uncle Jimmy & Aunt Kim were in town for his work conference. So we were able to enjoy them all day. The kids were able to show off their driving skills, play outside and play a lot of dominoes.
Uncle Jimmy is also an engineer and so gracious with Austin. He asked Austin to help him invent a lawn mower that could handle the hills of his home in West Virginia. So he and Austin sketched and worked on it for awhile in the afternoon. Austin was over-the-moon with the attention.
We traveled home to NJ on Monday, July 15, all of us except Amelia as she was staying a few extra days with my parents. We were definitely sad to leave but airplane travel is always so much fun for the kids.
Her head wound had healed so well while we were away.
After gathering all our things and getting through Newark rush hour traffic to get home, we arrived to find that the tree we've been asking to be removed was in the process of being cut down! So the kids were entertained during our entire unloading.
What an amazing couple of weeks for our kids! It's so hard for everyone to see each other only a couple of times each year; but the kids very much enjoy having their year's worth of grandparent spoiling crammed into 2 weeks.
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