Summer Fun at Grandma's House

Our daughter asked us to watch our grandsons Owen age 7 and Finnley age 3 for a week in June. I was excited about what all we could do but was concerned they would miss their mom and dad. Shana gave us some money for fun activities and a trip to Toy R Us so we decided to have an action plan for each day and things they would look forward to doing.

Day 1 - Zoo day, we rode the train twice and walked 3 hours looking at all the animals. Owen reminded me of his Grandpa Jerry as he wanted to look at every animal, reptile, and insect and we had read all about them. For our evening activities, Owen wanted to have a domino tournament so each evening we played a game.

They chose crocodile grabbers as their souvenir

Day 2 - Cousin Kate came over to play and then we made two trips to Toys R Us. This week I learned everything you wanted to know about Rescue Bots and Lego Star War people. Evening domino game.....

Day 3 -  Went to their house to let the boys play and enjoy their backyard swing set while Jerry watered the grass and plants. Then we ran some errands and went to Braums. Their mom said not too many sweets so this was a treat. Owen and I played several games of Candy Land during Finnley's nap time. Evening domino game...

Some of Owen's Lego Star War People

Day 4 -  This was a packed day as we went bowling and they each bowled two games, then McDonald's. That night we rented Zootopia movie and had popcorn. Evening domino game...

Day 5 - This is the only day I was away from them for 3 hours as I had an appointment at the Microsoft store.  My great-nieces Lauren and Abby came over, one to babysit and the other to entertain the boys. I brought pizza home after the meeting and they loved that. Evening domino game...

Lauren & Abby

Day 6 - I went to their house again and when they watered the plants Owen found 2 nice tomatoes that we took home and had for dinner. I also went to the mall that day with their cousin Kate, rode the carousel, ate at Chick fil a, played in the kid's zone, and a stop at Starbucks for Memaw!
Evening domino game....... 

Yummy tomatoes from Shana's patio garden.

My daughter Lisa rode the carousel with the kids

Cousin time with Kate, Owen, and Finnley

Day 7 - I went to Chuck-e-Cheese and they had so much fun. Got whistles and spiders for their token rewards.  After dinner, we packed up their clothes, sorted all the toys that were theirs, and toys that stayed at my house and took them home to await the arrival of their parents.

I have a new appreciation for their mom after that week. They loved their late morning and late afternoon nutritional snacks so I figured out I prepared 28 individual stacks that week not counting meals. I learned everything you could possibly know about Minecraft, Rescue Bots, and Star Wars. 

They were able to Face time with their parents each day which helped them not get homesick. We keep them so busy throughout the day that they sleep all night without waking up. They were used to coming over to our house so it felt like a second home to them. Going to their home three to four times helped them be around familiar surroundings and gave them an assurance that they would eventually go back home when their parents returned. 

Oh, by the way, Jerry won the domino tournament!!

Owen loved playing dominoes every evening