This is my grandma's absolute favorite picture of herself, or maybe she said that she hated it ;) , either way I had to put it up.
A few weekends ago, I went down to St. George to hang out with my grandparents for the weekend. Growing up, they always made a big effort to be involved in my life. They would come do my house for a few weeks a couple times a year and I loved it, especially as a kid! We would play games and cards and just have a blast. I would even get up early and do my chores just to get in that extra games of cards before school. When I got into high school, I was so extremely busy that when they came down, I didn't get to spend as much time with them. Now that I am in college, I try and call them a couple times a week and really look forward to it. I think I enjoy them more now than ever before. I think even more than when I was a kid which is hard to believe. I love hanging out with them, talking to them, and asking them for advice. I loved every minute of being at their house and it just flew by. I wish I would have had a whole week there with them!
I decided to make a countdown of my top 10 things about visiting my grandparents...
10)swimming in the pool -- This is one of my favorite memories growing up at my grandparents. Grandma would go swimming in the morning for exercise and we would go with her. I always remember that grandpa never wanted to allow me into the jacuzzi because the rule was that you were supposed to be 18. This time at the pool, we found one of those undwerwater torpedoes and played catch with it. It was pretty funny and grandma had a good time. I was not that great of a thrower and grandma was often diving under the water with her goggles, ear plugs, and swim cap to retrieve the torpedo.
9) our inside jokes-- Without a doubt, hilarious things are constantly going down at the grandparental's house. We laugh a lot and many inside jokes are created among us. Personal favorites are "count em up!" (said originally by grandpa when he was kicking my tush in cards), "your face is as round as a pie" (said to me by grandma when I gained weight during my freshmen year. I think it was funny).
8)not having to get dressed-- I am not trying to impress anyone and so I almost never put makeup on and get dressed in comfortable clothes. My grandparents love me even when I look ugly. :)
7) Following an old people's schedule-- My life is pretty hectic right now and I don't have a ton of time to relax. I am constantly doing stuff, and on the rare occasion that I can relax, I get kind of bored because I am so used to having to do stuff. Also, I usually am alone during this time and that makes it get boring even faster. At their house, we just chill, everything is low key, and we do what we want. I love it!
6) Grandma's adventures in the kitchen-- My grandma is a delicious cook and always makes yummy food but she never uses recipes. She just makes it up and then tries to remember it. Also, she does not like to waste food. Consequently, we have some pretty fun adventures in the kitchen trying out new things. A personal favorite last weekend was banana creme pie soup. Also, it is so so so nice to have her delicious home-cooked meals.
5)grandpa's bread-- My grandpa has become quite the excellent breadmaker and he made it a few times while I was there. Nothing compares to warm, freshly baked bread especially with butter and honey. We also used it as delicious french toast. I think I gained 5 pounds from his bread alone.
4)the warm weather-- I love the fact that my grandparents live in St. George. It is extremely difficult for me to go to school in Provo's cold climate. I am a born and raised socal girl and need the warmth! It buoys my spirit and my skin pigment to be in such a warm climate like St. George.
3)I get treated like a princess-- There is no question as to whether my grandparents love me or not. They are so beyond kind to me and help me with anything and everything I need. Ex: I don't have to do any sort of chores unless I volunteer, they have my bed all ready for me, and we always do what I want to do. They are so great and I sure hope I treat them as well as they treat me, especially because they are in their 80s. Oh and grandma always does some sort of sewing work for me, usually hemming. And Grandpa took me to get the oil changed in my car and see his mechanic friend in regards to my car.
2)card games-- I love love love playing cards with my grandparents. We have done it since the beginning of time and the two are completely associated with each other. We have so much fun and laugh and talk. It's just fabulous. I dare you to try and mention a card game I haven't played and am not absolutely amazing at. :)
1) long talks and learning about their pasts- As I have gotten older, I have realized that I don't really know anything. It is so nice to get advice and talk to people that have wisdom. I think they think they might bore me but I really enjoy listening to stories about their pasts. In fact, I loved reading my grandpa's life hisory book and their joint book after their marriage, and am currently really enjoying reading my grandma's personal book (she is going to think that I am just saying that, but it really is true grandma!).
Moral of the story: I love my grandparents very much and really really enjoy spending time with them and being their friend.
