The Marx's, sans Michael, arrived Friday evening and were able to stay till Sunday morning.
Friday evening the kids found my candy canes. I've had these left since Christmas. They are in a mug on the island in our kitchen. Each month when I go to visit Linda, I carry two of them in the outside pocket of my purse. Linda's two little grand kids know I have them, at least they hope that I have them. They come over to the chair where I am sitting with my purse on the floor by my feet and they try to sneek a peek inside my purse pocket. There are always lots of grins when I pull them out and give each of them a candy cane.
Hayden was very happy to find them. He and Bailey didn't even try to open them to eat them. They just started trying to find things they could pretend with them. Here are a few of their ideas:
On the way to our home Friday evening. Andie bought the kids dinner at McDonald's. Hayden's food came in one of those hamburger boxes. He looked at that box and determined it would make a great computer. I asked him what other supplies he needed to make his computer. He gave me some ideas and I went searching those things and any others I could find that he might like to use. One of the things I brought up was some pipe cleaners I have on hand.
Andie got her idea when she saw the pipe cleaners. She asked me if I had any barrettes. I have a few that you can cover with ribbons and/or flowers to make homemade barrettes for little girls hair. I brought those up to her and we were off and making projects. Hayden making a computer out of his box and Andie making Antlers for Bailey's hair.
I did not get a picture of Hayden's computer. Andie has that on her camera. He did a masterful job. He wrote out a keyboard and put it in the bottom of the box. On the top he had a foil screen for the monitor portion with a card of Mars on it to look like that was what he was searching.
Our ward (congregation) at Church had a day of service last Saturday. The week before we delivered bags to our neighbors requesting they donate food to the A.M.E.N. House in Georgetown through our collection efforts. Saturday was the day we were to pick up our neighborhood donations and drop them at the Church in Georgetown. There is a crew at the Church in Georgetown that sorts the donations and loads them in the trucks to take to the A.M.E.N. House. So Saturday morning I needed to walk my neighborhood and gather the donations from my neighbors.
Bailey wanted to go with me. She and I walked the two streets in Eagle Bend collecting food. Then we called Andie and she drove down and picked up our bags. This left Bailey and I free to go down to the creek and the bridge.
She had a great time finding sticks to toss into the water and watch float down the creek. She loved tossing rocks in the water. We picked the flowers on the weeds down there. Papa drove down on his way back to Georgetown to feed Mimi. He parked his car and joined us on the bridge. It was cute to watch him pick up Bailey and hold her so she could toss things over the top of the rails on the bridge. I can't pick her up anymore and she was happy to have Papa get her up a little higher. She gave him her first bouquet of flowers she picked. Then I asked her if she wanted to give him a 'running hug'. She was really into this last weekend. As we walked down the street she would say, "You stay here Ma." Then she would walk back a little way from me and run with her arms outstretched. As soon she got to me she would jump for me to grab her and squeeze her really hard. I would kneel down and be smothered in hugs. These are some of my very, very, very favorite kind of hugs. Bailey was delighted to share this treat of hers with Papa. She had him stand on one side of the bridge and she stood on the other. Papa could tell what was going to happen and he quickly said, "Hold these" and handed me the flowers. Bailey ran at him full force and he scooped her up for an extra long hug. Great stuff.
Bailey and I walked down to a flatter place along the creek edge to toss rocks in the creek and Papa headed on into Georgetown. Every now and then a stick Bailey tossed in would get stuck on a rock close to the shore. I found a longer stick and used it to drag the stuck stick away from the rock. Miss Bailey was sure she should be doing that as soon as she figured out what I was doing. She took my longer stick and tried to toss a smaller stick in so it would run up against a rock and not move. Then she would work with the longer stick to move the stick that was stuck. The more I write this, the more I think it sounds like a limerick.
Bailey and I also found clam shells along the creek edge. I learned after moving here that you can get clams in the rivers. I never knew that before. There are lots of them in our creek. Bailey and I collects some nice ones and put them in my sweatshirt pocket. We even found one that was big with a tiny little one on the inside.
After we got home we showed Hayden our find. He was really enthusiastic about this discovery. I split the shells up between the double sink in my kitchen. We moved a stool over for Hayden and one for Bailey in front of the sinks. They spent the next little while cleaning those shells. I told Andie that is what you call a 'cheap thrill'.
One of the things I love about my grandsons is their love of cleaning floors. When you have family around the floors get dirty with crumbs and things more quickly. Paul and Hayden both love the Swiffer dust mops. This time I showed Hayden my little vacuum. He was so happy. He set to vacuuming the rug under the breakfast table and then the one under the dining room table. Thank heaven for grandsons!!
After quiet time we went to Georgetown. We would visit Mimi while Claude dropped our food donations at the Church for the A.M.E.N. House. We found Mimi in her room. They had just gotten her up and dressed for dinner and put her in her wheelchair. Hayden and I figured out how to put the braces on the wheelchair for her legs. Mimi was aware enough to hold hands. She could even catch some of the little ones movements and get a peek at them. Bailey rubbed Mimi's cheek. Hayden drew math problems on her back with his finger. Andie held her hands. It was a good visit for Mimi and the grandmonsters.
Next we were off to Papa's to deliver his surprise birthday cakes. We gave Hayden and Bailey each the cake they decorated. They entered Papa's apartment and sang "Happy Birthday" and gave him his cakes. He was so surprised and very happy. The kids had so much fun running through his apartment checking it out. They especially seemed to gravitate to the room in the back with all the guitars and amplifiers. Hayden said, "I could stay here forever!"
We would watch Polar Express for our bedtime movie on Pa's big TV.
Sunday morning we had cinnamon biscuits and eggs for breakfast. We packed up the Marx family and said goodbye till the next visit. It was a great visit.
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