Playing in Tents - A Kid Favorite!

Knowing that my grandchildren love to play in tents I just had to add these two small tents to my grandma bag of tricks for outdoor play! These small two man tents are perfect for children to play in. I purchased them at WalMart for just $20 each. They are easy to set up and simple to move around. They are small enough that they could be used for indoor play too.

The kids were indoors when it started to rain outside. They quickly ran out and sat the rainstorm out in their tents. The tents were a big hit and a great addition to my Trunk of Treasures!

Just Being Silly

Just being silly and making her grandma laugh. Pure joy for both of us!

Outdoor Cooking of Sorts

This is a creative and fun activity that you can do when you are in the outdoors. I gave each of the girls a plastic plate and I asked them to use their imaginations to create a plate of food to serve me. They searched the forest floor and came up with some great meals.

We have a plate of spaghetti and meatballs with a side of salad, a hamburger and a side of fries, and a hearty serving of an all meat plate with chunks of beef and ribs.

Fort Building....the next generation!

It is so much fun to watch the next generation do the same things that their parents did as children. The grandkids worked long and hard to collect the wood and rocks they needed to create their fort. The children were very proud of the huge building materials that they had found and hauled to their building site.

The parents however thought it looked more like a fire danger since the "Fort" looked a lot like a huge bonfire ready to be lit. Don't tell the kids!

Checking Out the Big Outdoors

This little guy wonders around nonstop checking out checking out his new surroundings on his recent visit to Flagstaff. He loves chasing the lizards, chipmunks, and squirrels. He also keeps his eyes on the bigger kids and takes it all in. He is as very happy camper when he is playing outdoors at his grandma and Papa's house in the forest.

Down Time .... A real rarity at the cabin in Flagstaff

Climbing trees, a hike to the pond, carrying piles of bones back to the house, chasing Squirrels, building forts, taking down a pine tree, riding bikes, and everything else they had spent their day doing looks to have been exhausting.

After enjoying some afternoon TV and a short rest they were ready to go again!

No Front Teeth ... and Couldn't Feel any Cuter!

"Don't I look cute without my teeth Grandma?" She was very surprised to learn that even Grandma had lost her two front teeth many years ago!

A Beautiful Display of Teamwork!

It was so much fun watching the grandkids working together to get this tree down. You should have heard all of the commands and suggestions that they were yelling out to one another. A lot of muscle, cooperation, and an enormous amount of energy was put into this challenging feat of determination. For grandma.....it was a beautiful display of teamwork!

Monkeys or Grandkids?

I won't kid you . . . . this very loved activity makes me very, very nervous. When these granddaughters visit there is no keeping them out of the Pine Trees! They are on the ground one second and the next they are yelling out; "Grandma, look at me!" I look up and they are half way up a Pine Tree.

The younger kids just look up in awe, wishing they too could be up there. These are very well rounded and very active girls. They are as happy climbing a Pine Tree as they are all decked out in a frilly dance costume covered in sequins with their hair and make up done for a Pink Carpet Premier!

Their Teachers Would be Very Proud

The cousins are out of school for the weekend. They and their parents came for a weekend visit to the cabin. The oldest cousin who is nine was the pretend teacher and she turned the back patio into a classroom and school was in session. They worked hard on their assignments and then played hard on on their very frequent recesses climbing trees and building forts.

I love seeing my grandchildren playing together as cousins and good friends!

Our Littlest Mountain Guest

This little guy (my youngest grandchild) stays busy and on the move checking things out when he visits us in Flagstaff. He loves being outdoors and seeing all of the forest animals scurrying around the yard. He has discovered the bunny's hiding place and he loves seeing the bunny run away when he heads that way. He likes to chase the Squirrels and Chipmunks and watch the birds eating from their feeders. He is ALL boy and his clothes and shoes prove it when it is time to come in to the cabin.

Butterfly Crafts

My grandsons were great sports with this cabin craft. I had purchased two craft kits to have on hand to help keep the grand kids busy when they visited. They were both glitter art kits. I had purchased one of birds for the boys and one of butterflies for the girls visit. Well on the boys visit I could not find the bird kit that I had purchased for them. They willingly and beautifully completed the butterfly project. Being the boys they are they would not touch the pink glitter that the kit included! They insisted that they were making all boy butterflies. They were very proud of their artwork and they were as tickled as they could be to be doing crafts with their grandma.....even if they were butterflies!

The birds have still not turned up. I know they are hidden somewhere in the house to stay safely hidden as a surprise for the boys. I will be the surprised one now when I finally happen upon them!

Papa Sharing Big Boy Toys

This was a very exciting activity for our three grandsons who were visiting us in Flagstaff. Their Papa had a water trailer at the house with a fireman hose attached. Papa gave them each a turn at holding and running the powerful water hose. A very simple everyday thing for their Papa....by sharing it with his grandsons.... created what will be a long remembered memory.

Helping Papa with Cabin Chores

Three of our grandsons each had a turn getting to climb the ladder and helping their Papa fill the bird feeders on a recent visit to Flagstaff. It was also watering day for the plants. The watering pan for the animals was also cleaned and filled with fresh water.

They had way too much fun with their Papa to even know that they were helping with the chores!

Yummy Fireside Treats

All of my grandchildren love helping to build a camp fire. It is a must do (and a well supervised) activity when they come to visit us in the mountains. This night we roasted marshmallows and the kids made S'mores for their treat. The adults enjoyed a really yummy pineapple upside down cake that my daughter and her husband baked in their dutch oven. It was perfectly baked and sooooo good!

Hello, Mama Bear

Let me introduce you to Mama Bear and her baby. This life size bear is part of the decor in our temporary mountain home. She stands right next to a bank of windows on the back of the house and next to one of the patio doors. It took me the longest time to get used to her standing there. She frightened me for weeks when I would catch a glimpse of her when I was home alone.

I have since made friends with her and I now greet her every time I enter the house alone. (Not to worry.....I know I'm being silly.) My youngest grandson has made friends with her too. On his last visit he entered the house and the first thing he did was give the bear and her baby a huge smile like he was visiting a dear old friend. He waved and waved to the bear and kept telling her hi! He was a bit puzzled and very disappointed that the bear was not sharing in his excitement of seeing one another again.

Pop Star Treats Inc.

Early Saturday morning we received a knock on the door. To our surprise we opened the door to find our nine year old granddaughter who lives right down the street and her friend who was spending the weekend with her.

We were greeted with a well rehearsed sales pitch. They had created a sign reading "Pop Star Treats", a product and price sheet, and a folded up cutout from a Halloween Costume catalog of two Pop Star costumes that she and her friend wanted to earn the money to buy . Their presentation of the cupcakes and their sales pitch were both adorable.

They had spent the day before baking up a storm and they had a WAGON FULL of cupcakes for sale! They had also made mini cupcakes on picks as free samples for their potential customers. They were confident that just one bite of their tasty free samples would greatly sweeten their revenues!

We were thrilled to be their first cupcake customers. Later in the day they hit us up for a car wash, and even later in the day they hit us up for some housework. Each time they returned they had a bit more cash in their tightly clinched fists. When they left our house in the late afternoon they had earned a total of $54! Not bad for a days work at 9 years old.

Creative, hardworking, and adorable are just a few of the words I will think of with this precious memory!

Peek-A-Boo

All of the school age cousins peeking out of McDonald's Playland. I thought they might enjoy the play time as cousins with Papa and I. They ended up LOVING it! Simple things, great times, precious memories. What a wonderful gift for both grandchildren and grandparents!

Grandkid's Back to School Party Favors

Pencil boxes (with their names printed on them) filled with a few school supplies were the party favor for this years Grandkid's Back to School Party. The items included new pencils, erasers, a pencil sharpener, a bottle of glue, some stickers, a back pack package of Kleenex, a box of crayons, and some sweet treats.

Before the party started I had a list of rules. (much like you would see in a classroom.) Each child's name was listed and there was a box to check off for each task or rule. The number of tasks or rules matched the number of things inside the gift boxes.

I showed them the boxes at the beginning of the party and we talked about the rules. I explained to them that broken rules would result in a loss of an item or items (of their choice) from the gift boxes.

With Papa and I being so outnumbered and with an outing planned we needed an incentive to help us. Some of the items included following directions the first time they were asked, no fighting, buckling up in the car, being helpful, staying with our group in the parking lot and in McDonald's, eating good, cleaning up, and participating in all of the games and activities. The incentive plan worked like magic. They were quick to remind one another of their potential loss or losses. At the end of the party everyone had earned their complete gift boxes!

The box had to be packed just right to get it all in there. They all loved going through their gift boxes and then the challenge of getting everything packed back in. I was so proud of them as they worked together, assisting one another to get their gift boxes filled again.

Outing to McDonald's with Grandma and Papa

These pics are from our Grandkid's back to school party this year. Believe me, Papa and I got the looks, and all heads turned when we arrived with our seven little ones who were all talking up a storm and all very anxious to hit the playground.

A trip to McDonald's netted hours of fun cousin time of unlimited play, ice cream and food. I don't remember why the raising of the hand but what an adorable photo to catch at a back to school party!