Bright and early Monday morning Chrys brought Little Miss by and Grandma Camp began! First thing on the agenda was making sweets for the week. I had settled on oatmeal cookies because they were healthy, or at least they sounded healthy. :-) I gathered all the necessary ingredients and set them out in the order of use and put Little Miss on a stool so that she could reach the mixing bowl. Now, Little Miss is an independent little lady, so she insisted on doing the measurements and cracking the eggs. This grandma was really impressed with her willingness to listen and do exactly as I told her. While cracking one of the eggs, she had a huge grin and said, "Mom would never let me do this." "Why?" I asked. She just shrugged and said, "I don't know; she just don't." Guess I will have ask her mother why!
Her shear happiness made this grandma's heart swell. We decided to make oatmeal bars, so we divided the dough into three parts and added raisins to one third, pecans to one third, and left the remainder plain. I placed these parts next to each other in a 9x13 backing pan and put it into the oven. While waiting for it to bake, we played school. This little one is a mean teacher! Not anything like her grandma was. :-) But, she enjoys it, so I allow her to crack the whip, so to speak.
After taking the pan out of the oven, we headed for the trails. She had arrived with her workout clothes on, so we were going to do some walking. Getting onto the trails we saw a stick that resembled a snake and she was quite reluctant to continue. I had to prove to her that it was indeed a stick. :-) We started walking and I seriously thought she would want to walk a short distance and then turn back, but this little eager beaver was ready for some serious walking. She loved the little bridges and the creek that ran along side the trail. We would stop and examine various plants and discuss the animal tracks in the cement. When we came to the area that runs beneath 183 she was absolutely stunned. How did they put the trail under the highway and why had she never seen it before? Did Mom know it was here? We continued walking. When we had gone to the .75 mile marker I said we needed to head back, but she wanted to go a little further. At the mile marker I told her we better head back, and her response was, "Let's run!" Run??? I told her that I had never run, and that walking was just fine, but she insisted on running to the next sign. I told her she could and I would watch! She did! Running from one spot to the next became her little game, and I followed at a quick walk!
I am so thankful for bottled water! She probably ran for a quarter of a mile, starting at one spot and running to the next and stopping to wait for the grandma. She loved it. She is definitely her mother's daughter. :-)
By the time we made it back to the freeway area, she was worn out. She asked to sit for a minute on the bench.
Poor baby, she is really tired.We FINALLY made it back to the car and headed to McDonald's for lunch. We ordered takeout and headed home to cool off and eat. She was really hungry and was finished in no time. She had an oatmeal bar for dessert.
Now, it was time for our second activity. I had a vase and acrylic paints, plus shells and glue. She would be making a vase for her mom. Isn't it amazing how little eyes can light up. Wow! A real glass vase and she could paint it. Yep, I could see the pride in her eyes.
Finally, grandma ran out of stories and we brought the vase back in and started gluing the shells onto it. She started off making a smiley face and went from there. She would choose the shell and tell me where to put the glue, and then she would place the shell. Team work! She was very pleased with her finished project, and I hope her mother enjoys the vase on which she labored so intently.
For the rest of the afternoon we watched a couple of Max and Ruby shows. Mom came around 4:30 and Little Miss was so proud of the things she had made. We had a plate of oatmeal bars ready to take home and her vase was ready for mom's approval. One happy little lady, one tired grandma, and one day of Grandma Camp had come to a close. :-)
Day 2, Tuesday
This day started bright and early. I had to have the vacuuming done prior to my little guest arriving, and I always spend some time reading my bible. Little Miss arrived about 8:30. Daddy dropped her off on his way to work. This morning we needed to feed the birds before we did anything. Little Miss loves doing this and has for a couple of years. She gets a little irritated when a squirrel comes and sits his fat self down in the middle of the feeder. But, hey, it needs to eat too.
After we got the birds fed, we came inside to work on her first project. This was a dinosaur terrarium. Yep, it even came with its own little dinosaur. We put in the soil, added the lava trail, set up the larger lava rocks, placed the dinosaur and the fossil before planting the seeds. One plant was a hydro plant that needed to be put into its little cup of water, so we did that, and started adding the special soil for the seeds. We planted dinosaur vegetation, tree, and one other (can't recall it) and put the top on. One proud little lady!
Next, it was time for some blue berries and magic milk! While she ate her berries, I broke up bread to take to the Y to feed the ducks. She was really looking forward to doing this! :-) We left the house around 11:00 and headed for the Y. (This is also where the trails begin, but she was in no mood to walk today. :-) ) As we got out of the car, I noticed that the ducks were sitting on top of the little amphitheater. We crossed the parking lot and headed towards them, and they saw the bag of bread crumbs, or they just really liked us. Whichever! Anyway, they started a fast waddle toward us and Madison let out a scream. I started laughing and told her to throw some food. She threw one piece and the ducks swarmed, which caused another scream. I said, "Throw a hand full Madison. The ducks won't hurt you; they just want food." By then she was trying to hide behind me and squirm her way beneath my arms; I was laughing, and the ducks were quacking like mad. I kept reassuring her that they would not hurt her, and eventually she calmed down a little. Once the bread was gone, the ducks left us high and dry!
We walked to the little pier to say good-bye as they swam off before walking back to the car.
I asked the little one where she would like to get lunch, and she giggled and said McDonald's. So, off we went: another kid's meal and salad for grandma. The only problem we had was that she received the same Smurf as she had the day before. Not good! :-(
After lunch, we began our next craft. This one was making some tiered rings, ten of them. She really got into the stacking and the colors. Hopefully, she enjoyed this too.
With those done we had a little more magic milk and a cookie while watching Max and Ruby and waiting for Mom.
Day two of Grandma Camp was nearing its end, and the little one seemed to be very pleased with her day.
Day 3, Thursday
Day three started early for this grandma because I like to have the floors done before Little Miss shows up. We had a special project to do this morning, and everything had to be clean before we started. Chrystal and Madison arrived a little after nine, and Madison had a big grin on her face. She told her Mom that we were going to go buy her a birthday present, and then she looked at me, and nearly winked. The little stinker!!!
Our first project was to make her Mom's birthday cake. I set out the things we would need, placed the stool for her to stand on, and we began the task. Madison did it all. She poured the mix, broke the eggs, added the oil and water while this grandma looked on. When I put the mixer in her hand, she lit up like a light. She really gets into the cooking. :-)
I helped her pour the batter into the pans, and I put them in the oven to cook. While they cooked we played school again. She is one serious task master!
Once the cakes came out of the oven and were placed on the racks, we headed out to feed the ducks again. This time we had about four times as many bread crumbs!! Yep, those ducks were in for a treat! Walking across the parking lot I noticed that the ducks were not in either of their usual places, and I was a little worried that we would not find them, but I heard one and then another and saw them swimming towards us from the middle of the lake. "Look Madison, they see you! Get the bread ready." This time she stood in front of me and started throwing the crumbs. We were, again, surrounded by ducks, but Little Miss was having a good time. We saw one with a broken wing and several small ones, and she asked if she could pet them. I told her she could try, but they may not let her, and they didn't. :-(
Once more we left the Y and headed for lunch. We went to a different McDonald's and as we were waiting to order, Madison asked me to tell the lady that she did not want the Smurf Clumsy. I did, and when we got to the window to pay, the clerk handed me two Smurfs, neither of which were Clumsy. Talk about one happy little lady!!! And, to top it off, the Smurf in her meal was not Clumsy either.
After lunch we started decorating Mom's cake. Again, little miss independent, did it all. She frosted the cake ( and licked some), she wrote the Happy Birthday Mom, she added a few little frosting flowers, and stuck in the candles.
It is a cake any mother would love! Madison was so proud. We boxed it up and wrapped it like a gift. Mom would be really surprised! Little Miss was simply delighted.
Our next craft was the making of an ornament. This one was a little tedious and time consuming, and we were not able to finish it. But, next time!!!
Mom arrived a little after four, and my little camper played a trick on her mom. She hid in my bathroom and had me tell her mom she wasn't there. She simply loves playing tricks! I think she had a good three days. I know I did. I heard earlier today that the cake made it to Padre and Mom loved it! Grandma Camp 2013 has come and gone, and hopefully, memories were made. I know I will not forget it!
