frisbee!

 So cute.

Love, Grandma

sandbox progress

People have been working hard all day.

Dani thinks it is a party.

 It's supposed to be 75 degrees on Monday. Should be a great day.  

Love, 

this man's birthday

This wonderful guy was born 134 years ago yesterday, my mother in law's father.  That's Dan on his lap.

With love forever,  Val and Jay and Everybody

 

a little weekend

We were watching kids try to play in the sandbox last week, and at this point it's mostly just dirt.

Kind of depressing.  The turtle sand box we got last summer is just too small.  Kind of disappointing.

So Friday I called for a load of new sand.   They wanted to bring it out right then and there!  I told them not necessary.   The sandbox isn't going anywhere and neither are the kids. There's no rush.

Well, in two hours the dump truck arrived.

Later on we went up to the lake.

Alicia's dad arrived in the afternoon, a nice surprise.  He joined us for supper at the restaurant, and it was a quiet weekend, but that's okay.

And then Sunday we came home again.  

Hope 2026 is a good summer.   Love you all, MOM aka Grandma
 

volleyball

She's improving, getting really good at serving.

We have a kid playing Ultimate Frisbee, which is new.  Don't have any pictures, but hope we can get to a game next week.

And tonight!  They played lacrosse in this cold rain.  Ugh.

Love you all, Grandma
 

davey vs spider

 Julia's video

Love you, MOM

happy birthday

Fourteen!  


 

It has been such a pleasure watching you grow and knowing the fine person you are.

The sweetest little baby turned into a darling, funny kid, who became this beautiful teenager.

This whole family is lucky having you.

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart and all the best wishes for the year ahead.

Love, Grandma and Grandpa

monday guys

There they are, ready for action.

It was a little cold, but not too bad, got outside for an hour.

It is still pretty drab and muddy, but some warm sun will get everything green very soon.

I think we might have to get a load of sand.

The sandbox was supposed to be going away, and yet?

It has so much play value, so much.

We made this sandbox for Baby Jay back in the day, and he's 34 now.  Then we took away the old sand and brought in new for another batch of little kids years ago.

And now it is mostly dirt again.

It would probably be worth it.  We are thinking about it. That little turtle sandbox I bought last year doesn't really cut it.

Anyway, that's the end of a fine Monday.

Love you all so, Val


 

some kids

We hadn't seen these guys in a while and they were so nice to grill hamburgers and spend a few hours with us.  

So much fun.  I haven't laughed this much in a while.

Lacrosse has started and they're off to a good looking season.

And volleyball too, can tell she's getting better each season.

This was the concert and Inventor's Fair, very nice evening.

Joe especially loved the songs that had the recorders playing.

Recorders are actually not that easy to play, and are easily out of tune. They did great.

That's her with the invention--an insert to keep all the items in the lacrosse bag from sliding into a heap.  It was important it not add a lot of weight to the bag.  Seemed pretty successful.

The other inventions were cool too.  One child had a guinea pig cage where you turn a crank and the plastic flooring on a roll slides straight into the trash, little poops and all.  Very useful and creative.

 Lots of love, Grandma

this and that

Okay, that's my feather duster.

Destroyed.

Who, me?

Love, Val

easter 2026

I hit Heidi up to color eggs, and she said to come over there and decorate. It was fun. These contraptions are cool, get some really fancy colorful eggs without much stress.

And then, Easter at Pam and Paul's.

They've done this so many times, its an art, and it's pretty dang sweet.

This child adores air hockey and she's quite good. Also, she does not keep score or get mad about anything, which a grandma appreciates.

Everyone seemed happy to see each other.

 These two are so cute.  They were sick on Christmas, so it has been waaaay too long, and they are friendly and funny as ever.

These guys

And these ones

 The pinata, oh yes the pinata and its many challenges.  Here we are:

Easter egg hunt:

The math is done before the searching starts--number of eggs divided by number of kids.  When you find that many, you are done, and should help the little kids.

My sister's son in law finds this comically bizarre.

In his family, he says, it is pure competition, no ages, no helping the others, winner take all.

Hahaha.

We're trying to avoid crying.

As always, a perfect day Pam and Paul.

So much love, Val and Jay and Everybody