Our oldest grandchild, Christopher, flew home with us after our visit to his house and spent the first two weeks of August here at our house. Although he visited us while we were living in Maryland three years ago, this was his first solo visit to our home in Arizona and he was VERY excited. So were we.
Christopher wanted to spend A LOT of time in the pool, see some Arizona sights and just spend time with us. He would also celebrate his tenth birthday while he was here so he wanted a little family party. We wanted to spend lots of time with him and spoil him just a bit - we are, after all, grandparents!
I remember my mother and my mother-in-law telling me how helpful and polite our children were when they stayed with them. Sometimes I wondered whose children they had and what had they done with mine. But now it was my turn to experience the grandparent end as Christopher helped me with household chores like taking out the trash, emptying the dishwasher and vacuuming the tile as his mother wondered who this helpful and cooperative child was we had at our house. I let a lot of my chores slide while he was here but having help with the bare necessities meant we had more time to play and have fun. To do things like...
Christopher dramatically improved his swimming skills as well as learned to snorkel... but not before getting several mouthfuls of water. And, of course, sometimes it's good to just relax!
.... and, of course...
We saw THREE movies (Despicable Me 2, Planes and Smurfs 2 - all good flicks!). We tried out a new (to me) coffee place where Christopher had his first (decaf) mocha - definitely something he wants to do again! We both like to do jigsaw puzzles and he picked out a challenging (ages 12 and up) 250-piece puzzle. We had a great time working on it together and finished it the day before he left!
After seeing Despicable Me 2, Christopher decided he wanted to make Minion cupcakes for his birthday party. HE found a recipe online and we went to work. Actually, the only thing I did was put the cupcake pans in and out of the oven and frost the cupcakes - he did everything else!
Aren't they cute? He had a family swim party to celebrate his 10th birthday here and then another party once he got home.
Seeing some Arizona sights was a high priority for Christopher... we wanted to escape the heat for a weekend... so we headed up to Flagstaff to do some exploring. He REALLY likes the song Route 66 (Chuck Berry) and we listened to it many times in the car and finally opened up the sunroof and blasted the song, singing at the top of our voices, as we drove along a portion of Route 66. Then we drove through Winona ("You'll see Amarillo...Gallup, New Mexico... Flagstaff, Arizona and don't forget Winona...") just to see where it was... and to say we've been there. After all, how many 5th graders living on the east coast can make that claim?
Meteor Crater was a hit (what 10-year old boy doesn't like stuff from outer space crashing into the earth?) as was Bearizona. The ski lift ride up San Francisco Mountain was a little scary for both Christopher and me, but we persevered and loved the view from the top. A trip isn't complete without picking up a few geocaches - after all, what 10-year old boy doesn't like searching for treasure?
We spent two weeks making memories and really getting to know our oldest grandson. It was a very special time for us and could only happen during the summer!
I LOVE SUMMER!!!
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