Grandkid HEAVEN!

People always rave on and on and brag about their grandkids. I used to cover my mouth with my hand and politely yawn while my eyes glazed over a bit. Roald Dahl talked about parents who were enamored of their offspring, as witness this quote from Matilda:

“It's a funny thing about mothers and fathers. Even when their own child is the most disgusting little blister you could ever imagine, they still think that he or she is wonderful. Some parents go further. They become so blinded by adoration they manage to convince themselves their child has qualities of genius. Well, there is nothing very wrong with all this. It's the way of the world. It s only when the parents begin telling us about the brilliance of their own revolting offspring, that we start shouting, 'Bring us a basin! We're going to be sick!' "

You could substitute grandmothers and grandfathers for Dahl’s opening line! No one wants to hear endless paeans of praise about children they don’t even know. But now that I am a grandma, I GET IT! I get the whole bragging thing. I get the “my grandkids are the cutest little creatures on the face of the earth” thing. So this post is about MY grandkids…whom(see how grammatically correct I am?!)I hardly ever get to see because all of the little critters live in Colorado or northern Utah. Growl.

The very day I got out of school for the summer break, I had grandkids visiting. (Their parents came too—but it was the KIDS I wanted to see. Sorry, parents. You know I LOVE you!!!)

The first batch was the Gifford family—Hunter, Blythe, Gavin, Seth and Tate. Such adorable and talented children!!!!

Hunter gives Grandpa Gifford a big hug! Look how tall he's getting!


Hunter and Blythe...good pals!

While they were here, they helped their mom, Jill, (who is talented and adorable, too!!!) take down the wretched wallpaper in my front room. (Andy, my second son, and the above-named Gifford kids’ dad, had to go back to Springville to work.) Blasted work…it gets in the way of all the fun.

Gavin (Bob!) is nothing if not enthusiastic about this wallpaper removal!








Let me just say right here that WALLPAPER IS THE DEVIL! If you’re ever tempted to paper, just think again. Those who follow after you will love you more if you just say NO! NO, I tell you!!! Seth is working HARD!

Tate was the electrician for the job!

It was not all work, though—we took time out to do things like have a cookout in the back yard—tin foil dinners and chocolate cupcakes cooked inside of scooped-out oranges, wrapped in foil, and baked in coals. It was so much fun to have the kids visit.




































The next batch of grandkids was the Diaz kids from Colorado—mom Shauna with Oliver, Elliott, and baby Matilda Jane. Dad Ty stayed home to—you guessed it—W-O-R-K! (It IS a four-letter word!)
What fun to see these cute little kids!
M.J. (Matilda Jane) is at that adorable stage that everything she does is precious. The whole family (and I mean EXTENDED family, too!) is ga-ga over her.


Her older brothers, Oliver and Elliot are BUSY boys, 5 and 3, respectively. Talk about ACTIVE and on the go!

















Elliot especiallly loved our cat…but the Fix did NOT love him back!


















Mostly we just hung out and had fun while they were here. (That’s a cop-out for the fact that I really don’t remember any specific thing…just that it was fun!)












Next, Katie came from Colorado with Harrison, Jack, and Becca.
Their visit overlapped with Shauna’s—so it was a true grandkid/cousin madhouse for awhile!







The adults visited, ate, visited, checked out the new improvements since the last time they were here, and HUNG OUT!








Harrison and Jack were so patient (mostly) with the happy adults who were slackers as far as anything extreme and fun. No four-wheeling, no jet-skiing, none of that folderol. Harrison bought a Nintendo DS from Ebay with his own money. He could take pictures with it, as well as play games…AND he read the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books while he was here. He was such a sweetheart.

(Don't look too closely at this porch swing. It has been wanting, yea crying out, yea screeching for a coat of paint lo these many years. If you are reading this, YOU should do it!)
Jack cuddled with his grandma, and she LOVED it.

Becca loved checking out our sock supply and eating leaves off the bushes in the back yard.



















Don't Matilda Jane and Becca look adorable in their matching outfits???? Well, Shauna and Katie are cute, too, but this is about grandkids!

We had another cookout while they were all here…



And Harry and Jack got to ride on the Bergman with Grandpa...who also took the Gifford kids for a ride, but I don't have any pics....



















This picture of Grandpa with our youngest grandchild epitomizes it all: Grandkids ROCK!