thankful thursday - one at a time

We have six grandchildren, five of whom live across the country from us. We are blessed to be able to see them three or maybe four times a year. Most often we fly to North Carolina and visit them because it's easier with school schedules and less expensive for two people to travel than it is for seven.

But when each grandchild turns ten, they get to come to our house by themselves for two weeks. It's become a rite of passage separating the little kids from the big kids. It's something they look forward to for years - as do we. And this summer it was Nick's turn to come.

Nick came out to Arizona with his whole family in a cross-country road trip. The rest of the family left from Flagstaff to go back home but Nick stayed with us and we did a little more sight-seeing in the high country.

We went to Meteor Crater - it was MUCH larger than Nick thought it would be! Then we enjoyed the view out this fabulous "window!"

We also spent a weekend exploring southern Arizona. Nick was surprised to learn that Arizona has both cool pine forests and scorching deserts.

Our first stop was the top of Mount Lemmon where the ski lift was a big hit. We stopped at some of the hoodoos and other rock formations as we drove down the mountain. The next day we stopped at the Titan Missile Museum where Nick got to turn the key to "launch" the missile. Then we drove through Saguaro National Park on our way back to the valley. Nick's favorite cactus is the prickly pear although he was intrigued with the saguaro skeletons.

While we were out traveling we introduced Nick to the wonderful world of geocaching. He caught on very quickly and talked Grandpa into giving him his old GPS so he could geocache at home! 

Before Nick left Arizona, he used his GPS to find a geocache near our house all by himself - well, I drove to the site but he told me which way to go and then he found it. He was soooo excited to put his own username in the log!

Nick likes breakfast... a lot! He learned to make pancakes at his great-grandma's house in California and wanted to practice while he was here. And then he wanted to learn to make waffles. But Nick also likes to experiment so we added cinnamon chips... or chocolate syrup and cocoa... or bacon. Every day was a new adventure! I think he may be a chef one day!

His favorite creation was a chocolate waffle topped with red velvet ice cream, chocolate syrup and a cherry on top. I was out of whipped cream or he would have had that on it, too! He got pretty good at making Mickey pancakes and thinks I should buy a Mickey waffle iron for the next time he comes to visit. Sadly, he had never had Jell-o Jigglers so we made Minion ones - which he proclaimed good and fun.

Some days we worked on projects. 

Nick wanted to learn how to crochet. He is left-handed and I am right-handed. Although he is left-handed (and I am not), he learned pretty quickly how to make a chain and then braid them into a friendship bracelet. 

We got a kit for making bouncy balls. He loved making them and then explaining how they were made from polymers and other geeky stuff. Another day he wanted to put blue food coloring on a piece of watermelon to see if it would turn purple. It did not.

And other days we went out to do errands or something more fun.

Movies are a great way to escape the heat! While we were at Chick-fil-A for lunch one day, Nick arranged a kitchen tour for the following week. It was really very interesting (and clean!) and they feed you! We got ice cream cones since our tour was in the afternoon - and Nick got a stuffed cow!

And, of course, almost every day we went swimming!

Snorkeling was great fun but Nick REALLY liked talking through his snorkel! He quickly learned to hold his breath when Grandpa flipped him!

We had a lot of fun. I laughed a lot!

And I learned a lot about Nick. He is interested in current events. We had a long and involved discussion in the pool one day about illegal immigration. He has a soft heart and cares about God's creatures. A bird hit the living room window and fell to the kool deck, dead. Nick was very concerned about the bird and his family. Nick doesn't like to be alone but can work or play independently without interacting with someone. And he still isn't too old for a big hug and a smooch!

Before we knew it, it was time for Nick to go home. The house was once again quiet (not necessarily a good thing!) and I didn't have to go grocery shopping every other day (growing boys eat a LOT!). And I missed the ten-year old conversation and doing things on the spur of the moment. I am thankful we have the opportunity to hang out with our grandchildren one-on-one and really get to know them. And I am thankful they want to come visit us!