Grandma Camp 2020 – Part Two
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Grandma Camp 2020 was a huge success!!! We went with the “Rosie the Riveter” look and everyone came dressed in overalls and a bandanna in their hair. It was so much fun to be with our littles again after months of Covid quarantine! We took the proper precautions for two weeks prior to camp, and everyone was healthy and feeling good.
We started out with Hoppity-Hop races in the backyard, and then came in for the unveiling of their custom designed Grandma Camp tents – personalized with their names and decorated in each of their favorite colors.
A staple for Grandma Camp is always some type of mug or tumbler with a tight fitting lid to prevent spills, and personalized with names cut from vinyl on my Silhouette Cameo. This year I also added a silicone straw to the cute ombre tumblers. I ordered these on Amazon.
Another staple is a place to keep each camp participant’s drink cup, treats, and completed craft projects. This year I ordered the lap desks from Michaels with the side cubbies to organize their things.
A reusable popcorn bucket or container is also handy for our Friday night movie. I try to personalize everything I can to make it easier for the girls to know whose stuff belongs to who. This is either done using Oracal vinyl, or a laminated tag all done on my Silhouette Cameo.
This year we made beaded bracelets using Swarovski Crystal beads and porcelain letter beads strung on Beadalon elastic cording. This is a great craft for kids in a wide age range. The girls got to choose from a variety of bead colors, and whatever words they wanted to spell out on their bracelets with the letter beads. I have now worn my bracelets for over a year, and they still look brand new – I rarely take them off. I ordered all these items online from Rings & Things in Spokane, Washington.
We had our traditional homemade personal size pizzas for dinner. The girls love to make these, especially because Grandpa Ronnie is there to supervise, and these are his invention. We use half of a loaf of Rhoades Frozen Bread Dough for each pizza. We set the dough out to thaw around noon on a greased pizza pan, however, each pizza is made in a full sized pie tin. Stretching the dough takes patience and practice. Then we use Contadina Pizza Sauce from a squeeze bottle, add mozzarella cheese, and whatever toppings they want – pepperoni, ham, mushrooms, or pineapple. We cook three pizzas at a time, and they take about 20 minutes on 375 degrees. Luckily we have two ovens, and can cook all the pizzas at the same time.
After dinner, I surprised each one of the girls with a custom cake in their favorite color made by an adorable teenage girl who lives in my neighborhood. All the cakes were chocolate inside because we ALL love chocolate. Three of them found their cakes before dinner and couldn’t help themselves to a little nibble or two of frosting.
Then it was time to get in our jammies, pop the popcorn, and start the movie. We ended up watching a couple of them. We brushed our teeth after the first movie and started the second movie to fall asleep with. The macramé chandelier lights inside each tent were magical. The big fluffy pillows and soft cozy blankets made each tent a dreamy place to relax and fall asleep! The tents also gave each person a little place of their own, but still allowed us to be together and enjoy each other’s company.
On Saturday morning, Grandpa Ronnie cooked homemade waffles topped with vanilla ice cream and my homemade Strawberry Freezer Jam. The girls think it’s so much fun to eat ice cream for breakfast!!! I couldn’t agree more!
After breakfast, we did more crafting, and then had a late lunch before their parents came to pick them up.
I had bags all ready for their tent pieces to go in. One very large drawstring bag for the poles I made from heavy duty nylon fabric from Hobby Lobby. And a long vinyl dress bag to hang the lace cover, round tablecloth, and pareo sarongs on. The blow up mattress came with its own drawstring bag that was big enough to add the quilted mattress pad cover and the white sheet in as well for storage. Next week’s post will be about the amazing twin size blow-up mattresses I ordered from Amazon. They are so comfy, and this is coming from me – the grandma who loves and adores her king size PURPLE mattress.
The girls were excited to take their tents home and put them up again when they got home. Brynnlee actually had her parents take her normal bed down, and she slept in her tent for weeks!!!
The three littles who were too young to participate in Grandma Camp, received a large bag of fun things for them to do at home with their parents. The rule for Grandma Camp is that you have to be potty-trained and able to do things for yourself with guidance from Grandma Les.
I don’t know if it was the social deprivation we had all experienced from Covid quarantine, or if Grandma Camp really was as magical as it seemed, but no one wanted it to end!!! The girls kept saying “This is the BEST Grandma Camp EVER!!!!!” For the last activity we sat in a circle and I told them how much fun I had planning and putting together Grandma Camp. I told them each how much they meant to me, and how much I LOVE them!!! Then I gave each one a small silver heart and told them each time they looked at it and held it, to always remember how much Grandma Les LOVES them!!! We all cried when it was time for them to go home and talked about how much fun it would be when it was time for Grandma Camp again! I was thinking the next one would be this year, but Ron’s mom Eileen wanted to see the tents. And so we made sure to quarantine for two weeks again, and planned a “Great Grandma Camp” in Morgan a few weeks later – but that’s a post for another day.
Many people wonder why I put so much time, effort, and money into the things I do. And yep, I admit, sometimes I’m a little over the top. The beautiful thing about my relationship with Ron, is that this is one area where we are both on the exact same page. EVERYTHING we have is a blessing from God, and if we are to live by His example, we are to GIVE of ourselves in service to others. This includes our time and our God given talents. You can’t take it with you when you go, and it’s a lot more fun to share and do things together with those you love and care for!!! These are our people!!! Heavenly Father has blessed us to be together, and we very much enjoy one another’s company. Our littles fill our lives with happiness, joy, hope, and most of all LIGHT!!!! They are gifts from God, and we love to show them how much we love them. One of the most precious things you can give someone is the gift of your time. I spend a lot of time on the things I do for the people in my life. What a blessing it is to see the LIGHT radiate from people when they feel and know they are loved.
May we all share of our time and talents as we go about LIGHTING the world each and every day!
Love Ya, Les