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July 30, 2010

IT'S FRIDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!!

It's been busy around "Granny Camp" all weekend. We had the Dewey's come down on Saturday and Sunday and for once they hit some really nice weather. It seems like every time they have come to visit it has rained. They went out crabbing in the bay on Saturday and managed to catch one crab. They couldn't get far enough down the bay because of the windy conditions, and they just weren't very big where they ended up. It didn't really matter; the kids had a good time anyway. Dave took the girls up to the local emporium and they each got a chance to get something. Dave always gets a kick out of this because they have to make such an important decision as to what to buy. This time they came home with matching stuffed animals and some art projects, and they also got their pictures taken in the pirate scene in front of the store. We also barbecued hamburgers that afternoon - it was a perfect "hamburger" day!

The baby is now well into her twos, and has become an incredible conversationalist. Jordyn is usually receptive to whatever we want her to do, although she has developed "selective hearing" at an early age! While they were down here on Saturday, I asked her to do something and without missing a beat, she turned to me, pointed her finger at me and said, "You got it, Grandma!" You can't invent moments like that! She has two favorite things - Mickey Mouse and her books. We get ready for her visit by recording several Mickey Mouse Clubhouse programs so we can have them ready when she demands to see "Mickey". And the book she loves is "Up and Down on the Merry-Go-Round". She'll find that book no matter where we put it and bring it out to be read. And then she'll move on to the next person and have them read the same book. No matter how much we try to change books, she'll have none of that! Dave even tried hiding it one time - she was so insistent that he had to finally "find" the book and read it to her! She makes us smile!

On Sunday, we left the Dewey's at our place while Dave, his friend Ray and I headed into Salem. I caught my granddaughter Paige's soccer tournament and Dave and Ray attended the Great Oregon Steam-Up in Brooks. We met Leslie and Jason at our designated spot and I jumped in their car and we headed for the soccer game. Dave and Ray left in their car and drove to Brooks. After the game we met the guys at the same parking lot and we brought both Ashtin and Paige back with us to the coast for the week.

It was about 95 degrees on the field on Sunday, and the game was really tight. Paige has a reputation as an excellent scorer, so the other team was double-teaming her for most of the game. She did manage to score one goal but at the end of the game, it was tied 2 to 2. They had to determine a winner by penalty kicks. Unfortunately, Paige's team lost even though - at least in my unbiased opinion - they played the better game. It was very disappointing for Paige because she had NEVER lost a game until then. After her initial letdown and a nice pep talk from her father and coach, she was back to being her old self again.

Dave and I have been busy entertaining the girls all week, or should I say, they have been entertaining us. We laughed all week long. We just never know what they are going to do or say next. For instance, Dave had taken them out for a ride on the river in the outboard boat and as they came back into the dock, Paige asked, "What's that green stuff in the water?" Dave told her it was seaweed and she asked if she could pick some up. Dave said, "No, it's all slimy and icky". To which she responded in her most indignant voice, "Grandad - it's PAIGE!!" Yep, if anyone would relish picking some slimy seaweed out of the water, it would be my little Paigey.

I took them to the beach on Monday but the fog never did lift and because it was so cold, they ended up spending the afternoon swimming at our local indoor pool. They spent a couple of hours in the pool and they had a good time. While I was watching them swim, there was a complete evacuation of the wading pool next to the regular pool. Some little girl had decided to "do her business" in the pool and everyone had to get out while they removed the poo and add more chlorine! I'm beginning to think the lifeguards aren't paid well enough! I am glad I didn't have that job!

We took the girls to Seaside to see the movie "Ramona and Beezus" on Tuesday. What a cute movie, even Dave and I enjoyed it. It was filmed in Portland and the author of the Ramona book series (Beverly Cleary) is from Portland. Of course, the girls have read every one of the books so they were pretty familiar with Ramona and her antics.

We couldn't keep the kids occupied all the time, so they spent a lot of time of the Wii while they were down here. They broke all of the records and even ended up in the "advanced" category in several of the games. It was fun to watch them and we learned all we needed to know about skateboarding, obstacle courses and Kung Fu.

A friend of ours who lives in Montesano, Washington brought his steamboat down to our place this week. Actually, he had driven down to work on a project in Pacific City, about an hour south of here. His boat - unlike ours - is very easy to launch and retrieve, so he often takes it with him when he travels. He loves taking people for rides and has over 300 names of passengers in his log. And that's only in about three years! Anyway, he called us to tell us he'd be in Wheeler about noon. He was interested in exploring the river with his boat and wanted Dave along for guidance. Of course, the girls and I tagged along. We ended up on a 10-mile round trip up the river and back. He has a beautiful boat and it has none of the problems we have with ours, so it was a real pleasure to go out on a cruise with him. We talked him into staying for dinner when we got back and we barbecued more hamburgers.

The girls were excited about watching a TV show called "Billy the Exterminator" and just had to watch it while they were down here. Well, it ended up as a three-hour marathon Wednesday night. It is a show about this Louisiana guy who goes around trapping and then releasing unwanted pests like raccoons, snakes, etc. It is an interesting show and they enjoy it. We have a raccoon that we keep chasing away from my bird feeders and Paige got an idea to "set" her own trap to see if she could catch him. She decided that the spot right next to my garden gnome was the right place for the trap, since the raccoon comes in and helps himself at that feeder. So every five minutes she was outside checking out the trap. So far, nothing has happened. We kept telling her that our raccoons are smarter than the ones in Louisiana and we have never caught one yet. We're still under strict orders to check the trap regularly and to send her a picture of the critter before we haul him off like Billy does.

We delivered the girls back to Silverton Thursday afternoon and then drove to West Linn to pick up our other car from the Dewey's. My sister and brother-in-law left it there after we had loaned it to them for their two-week visit. Since we were driving separately on the way home, Dave called and was able to get in to get his hair cut for the first time in nearly three months. What a difference!

Anyway, after seven straight days of grandkids - we are now back home to a nice, quiet house again. Although - come to think of it - it already seems a little TOO quiet.