Tuesday, March 2...Poppin’ A Wheelie (The Aquabats!)

   Not up real early but shortly after I did wake up I was out the door to do some walking before the grandkiddos get here.  Walked to Nutt Rd and back which gave me 3 miles and about 7,200 steps.  Easy peasy to get another 3000 steps just doing general walking around camp.

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   Sunny and 75^o today...I’ll take it!! 

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   No bike ride today because we were engulfed by the WonderKids sometime between noon and one o’clock.   And after experiencing their excitement at finally seeing us it would have felt so wrong to take off on the bikes.  Not saying that we won’t get any rides in while they’re here...just saying that today wasn’t the day for a ride despite the great weather. 

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   When I was going up to the mailbox I noticed a familiar rig in the driveway.  By the time I came around the row of cactus the kids had come around the front of the truck and saw me.  OMGoodness! Dylan screamed ‘Gramma’ and everyone came running and although Charlie was running as fast as she could she lagged a bit behind.  So great to get those hugs! 

   Then we went to surprise Grampa who was in our camper.  I asked the kiddos if they had lunch, if they wanted anything to eat.  I could make them peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  Dylan replied that “I’d eat anything you got except pickles...yeah, pickles and pork chops.  I wouldn’t want pickles or pork chops.”  Goodness, but I sure missed his dry, comical statements.

   The kids had to check out everything in our camper...the bathroom which leads into the bedroom and then there was the storage area under the bed, our closets, etc.  As they came out of the bedroom, Dylan said, “Your bed looks short, Gramma, your feet must hang out the end a lot.”  Of course I had to demonstrate that “No, this really is a regular sized bed, the way the closets stick out beside it just makes it look shorter. See I fit fine if my head is all the way in here.”  Satisfied that our feet weren’t being treated unfairly they were ready to go outside.

   The big thing today was being able to ride their bikes around ‘the loop’ by themselves.  Dylan settled right in to coloring pages in a dinosaur coloring book that I brought along.  Clayton, after proudly demonstrating his ability to pop a wheelie, just wanted to ride his bike.  Even though our campsite is spacious as far as campsites go, riding his bike through it wasn’t the safest thing to do. So I suggested he go down one road to the end and come back down the next road...make a loop.  I’d be able to see him once he rounded the curve and I thought that would be a safe ride for him to do.  He hesitated and then quietly said, “Is it okay if I go ask my mom about it?  I’ll tell her that you said it would be okay.”  Callie said it was fine and off he went.  It wasn’t until later that I found out that the kids hadn’t been able to ride by themselves yet, hence his hesitation.  Callie usually rides with the kids so this was a big deal for Clayton to do it on his own.  Of course, one time around and Shelby wanted to join him; next time around Dylan was asking to go too.  They rode the loop a few times then decided it was too hot and came back to eat peanuts, pretzels, and Trix cereal...basically anything but pickles. 😏

   Then we were off to the playground where they demonstrated their various newfound skills.  Dylan and Shelby can do flips on the rings although Shelby hasn’t learned to keep her eyes shut to keep the sand from her feet from getting in her eyes and Charlie likes going down the slide now.  Clayton mostly rode his bike around the play area.  He had found a couple of painted rocks and was on the lookout for more.  Eventually six rocks were found, one for each member of his family.  A youngster with the initials DMC had some fun painting rocks and some other youngsters had fun finding them. 😊

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   While waiting for supper to get done Kim and I took the kids for a walk down to the big tractor tire. I thought it would be an easier climb for them than it was for me a couple years ago.  Dylan and Clayton scrambled up rather quickly by themselves, then Shelby and Charlie went up with a little help from Grampa.  Shelby thought it was too scary before she ever got to the top so she was back down in a hurry.  Dylan, Clayton and Charlie also pronounced it to be scary up there but were willing to pose for a couple of pictures before getting down.  Charlie just dropped into Grampa’s outstretched arms while the boys figured out how to climb down by themselves.

   On the way back Grampa was pushing the stroller and ran a bit to get ahead of me.  Every once in a while Charlie would look back and say, “Go fasta, pease, Gampa.”

   After supper we had the birthday cake and blew the noise makers so much that they fell apart. 

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   All in all it was a satisfying afternoon/evening.  I got almost 16,000 steps and I’m tired!  The kids were all suitably tired also and I bet they’ll sleep soundly tonight.

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