Today was as wonderful as yesterday. The kids slept great, and so did both Grampy and myself. Nobody even woke up before 7:30 and I just decided to let them sleep a little while longer. I had pancakes and sausage ready for them as soon as they were up. It brought a smile to my face when Camden came in the kitchen and said, “Nana, you have just made my day. I love pancakes and sausage.” All nine of them ate their pancakes. I will definitely have to remember that. It is rare to find something that all nine of them will eat. Several of them are very finicky eaters.
Today was the last day for the girls to be with Morgan in cheer, for the boys to be with Trey finishing their birdhouses, for playing fun basketball with Coach Mitchell, and for Amy to be doing arts and crafts with them. All of those things were perfect. They have talked non-stop about each of them. I am so lucky to have my friends and family to be willing to do activities with them that they enjoy. Seeing a fresh new face, besides Grampy’s and mine, ready to have tons of fun with them, works wonders. I stand in awe at the kid’s energy once again. Today it seemed that they just never wore down. You would think at some point they would be tired and ready to rest, but no way. That is why it has been so wonderful having other things planned for “Nana Camp.” It gives me a chance to run errands, buy more groceries, wash clothes, and tidy up the kitchen.
“Quiet Time” did not go nearly as well today though as it did yesterday. They were talkative, giggling uncontrollably, and wanted to do anything but be quiet. Needless to say that all nine broke the “Quiet Time” rule. I have actually had to make a few more rules as hours have drifted by. Things come up daily that I didn’t think of, and that I will definitely have to add on next year. They were sweeping floors by late this afternoon, dusting, and ten new minutes of “Quiet Time” was added for tomorrow. I think that should make tomorrow’s time much more acceptable.
We left for Helen Keller’s Birthplace in the late afternoon and enjoyed it tremendously. The kids were all chomping at the bits to get to Spring Park, so we didn’t stay too long at Helen Keller’s. To tell you the truth I was not looking forward to the park because of the heat. With temps last week topping out at 107 and this week at 103, I was thinking it might be a tad too much, but a rain shower had come down just before we left home and it cooled the temperatures down tremendously. At the park we rode the train four times, some rode the carousel three or four times, and all, except Noah, rode the roller coaster ten times. I think they could have stayed on that roller coaster five hours. Grampy rode the first time with Macy because we really didn’t know how a three year old would handle it. She laughed and hollered, and held her arms as high up as everybody else. Noah, on the opposite side of the spectrum, told us that the operators should not allow the roller coaster to go so fast. He said that he would not ever try it again and for us to quit asking him. He started out on the ride and evidently he had no clue what he had gotten himself in for. I had to go ask the operator to stop the ride because I was afraid he was going to jump out. His face looked like he was running from a stampede of bulls. He was yelling and screaming and I was scared to death for him myself. As soon as I got him off he said, “That will never happen again.” Maybe someday he will give it a try again. I guess only time will tell.
We stopped on the way home to eat at Zaxby’s. All the kids wanted to eat outside, and it would have been fine if not for the pesky bees. I am sure everybody inside heard all the squeals and all the upheaval that erupted on the patio from time to time. Oh well! I remember doing the same thing in my young age. What am I talking about? I still do it. I hate bees. They sting, and it hurts.
We were later getting home than we had expected so we had to change up a few games so we could do all of them inside, since it was dark outside. I am learning so much from these games and I am definitely making notes on the ones to repeat and the ones to throw out the window. The “Quarter Run” tonight was fun. The kids seem to get a kick out of it. Carter came in first, Camden and Caley tied for second, and Marah came in third. Things have a way of working themselves out sometimes. The games that the older ones boast about the most being too easy are often the ones they end up doing poorly on. The “Frying Pan Flip” was a prime example of that. Marah and Caley tied for first, Noah came in second, and Abbie came in third. The older boys were not enjoying the winner’s celebration at all. Of course all I heard was, “Who has ever heard of a game like that anyway?” Everybody wants to win. If they had won I am sure it would have been, “That is an awesome game Nana.”
There are only a very few times that the kids have had the television on. Today we might have had about thirty minutes that I told them they could turn it on. They decided to put in “We Bought A Zoo” knowing they would only see a small portion of it. I definitely needed one of those monitors that bleep out the inappropriate language. I tried to catch the words I was aware of and turn the volume down, but I missed a few. I would explain to all of them though that we never should say things like that. I was feeling pretty bad about letting it happen because Noah told me two times, “I am very disappointed that we are watching a movie with bad words in it. It’s just very disappointing.” I am hoping I will not be in trouble because I am expecting Noah to remember Rule Number 1.
I know that some of the best times we have had thus far is the hatchery we have going on. As of tonight we have one turkey, one chicken, and nine ducks. The incubator was moved to the garage and the kid’s run constantly out there to check on all of them. On the way home today from arts and crafts the girls were talking about all of them and how much fun they were. I told them that later today we would take them out on the grass and sit in a circle with all our new babies in the center. Abbie said, “Well Nana, you will have poop all in your grass.” Macy piped up and immediately said, “Everybody needs to listen to me. The rain will come down right out of the sky and wash all of that poop away and Nana won’t have it in her grass.” The kids are so sweet, and I am so thankful to have this time with them.
Off and on during bath schedules tonight I think every single one of the kids took turns coming and sitting in my lap. It is the first time I can remember Camden doing it in such a long time. He is growing up too fast and Grampy and I realize our time with him, as well as the others, is going to be shortened before we turn around. That is really the one big reason we decided to do “Nana Camp To The Extreme” as I call it. We realize we are on borrowed time with the grandkids. They will not always be as willing, as excited, and as available to come and stay with us. Their lives will get busier and busier with friends, school, and extracurricular activities. It is already crazy how many things they are involved in right now and before too much longer coming to stay for a week will be a thing of the past. It was hard to find a week this year that all nine of them could come at the same time. I know that every year it will get more and more difficult.
Marah told me tonight that “Nana Camp” was the best thing she was doing all summer. That is worth it all. She even asked me when it would be next year.
It is about midnight and I am hopeful tomorrow will not be quiet as rushed. It seems I have been running overtime in many things, so tomorrow we have some catching up to do, especially in the games department. I am excited because Grampy is off tomorrow and Sunday. I don’t know what I would do without him. He comes home and I am ready for some help. He is more than willing to pitch in and do whatever needs to do done. I am the luckiest woman in the world to have such an unbelievable husband. Tomorrow we are going fishing, my absolute favorite hobby. I will chat later. I need some sleep.
Nana
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