Grandma Camp was a huge success! The mailboxes were a hit, but I’m not sure how long they will last. In the beginning I thought they were a good idea. I wish they were a little higher quality and had been painted the way I wanted them straight from Amazon. A huge project that took way too much time and resources. Even at 62 years old, and crafting from the early age of three, I’m still learning! Each year I tell myself I’m going to cut back and simplify, but I don’t seem to have those qualities in my DNA! Even with all that, the kids loved them.

Everyone got along the entire time, and I call that a win. Granddaughter #2 came up with the idea for “Kindness Coins” a few years ago. This is where you receive a toy pirate coin each time you are caught being kind. Once a day, “Grandma’s Toy Store” opens for the kids to buy things with the Kindness Coins they have earned. Each child is given a drawstring pouch to keep their coins in, and they are responsible to keep track of them. The kids were so helpful. I even woke up on Saturday to Granddaughter #4 in the kitchen making everyone fresh lime rickies! She did this for me twice on Saturday without even being asked to help!

This is our signature drink for Grandma Camp. We went through two cases of Sprite from Costco, two big bags of limes, and an entire bottle of Torani grape syrup!

The kids all received a Hydrojug drink mug with their names on them in vinyl, and we filled them throughout the two days they were here. We all had so much fun!

We normally start at 11:30 but Ronnie and I had a funeral of a dear friend and neighbor we couldn’t miss from 11:00-12:00. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I asked my friend Kathy to come to my rescue and be here to help get things started in case I wasn’t back in time. When I got home ¾ of the kids were here, and I needed to quickly change hats from sad funeral mode to happy Grandma Camp mode. That was harder to do than I anticipated, and I was grateful Kathy was able to cover for me while I made that adjustment. She was a lifesaver and I’m so grateful for good friends in my life!

If you’re wondering what our schedule looks like, here it is.

8:00 – 8:30 am – “Jumpolines” comes to set up the bounce house. I choose the dry ones each year because I don’t want to have to deal with wet little bodies running in and out of the house – especially with all the tents set up when they arrive.

We LOVE this company owned by an adorable young couple in Salt Lake City. They are kind, great to work with, deliver and pick-up for a nominal fee, have a huge selection, everything always looks brand new, and their products are clean!

They wipe them down with disinfectant before and after each use. Anyone who knows me very well, knows the germ-a-phobe in me struggles with stuff like this. I have no issue with “Jumpolines” at all! And with a 4.9 Google rating be sure to check them out for your next activity, big or small, wet or dry. They cater to all age groups as well. https://www.jumpolines.com

We’ve done the bounce house for the past three years, and I have to say it’s a lifesaver! They kids can go and play in it in between activities/crafts, and it allows me time to prepare for the next thing on the agenda. I’m not sure who likes it more, the grandkids or Grandpa Ronnie in with them playing “steamroller”.

I don’t think he could do more than two days either, he could hardly move on Sunday. It feels good to be worn out and tired knowing everyone had a great time, felt loved, and made memories. These are all bucket fillers, and bring LIGHT into the lives and hearts of all those involved!

We take the Jersey Mike’s sandwich order in the day before (Thursday) and pay for it as well. That way, it’s ready to pick up half an hour before the kids arrive around 11:30, but this year we started an hour later due to the funeral. Our daughter picked the sandwiches up for us while we were at the funeral and had them here by the time we got home. The mom’s and sometimes the dad’s stay for lunch and to let the really little ones stay and play in the bounce house for awhile and then they take them home for a nap and we get started on our activities.

I have a flexible schedule with about six extra “filler” activities to pull out if needed. So far, I haven’t had to use them. They get tucked away for the following year, or for other family parties throughout the year.

With so many little bodies and the perfect weather, Ronnie set up the shade shelter, and put all the kids tables and chairs underneath.

The mailboxes fit perfectly on our outdoor table, and all the crafts and meals were enjoyed outside for two days! Each time the flag on their mailbox was up, they knew there was something inside to let them know it was time for our next activity.

On Friday we began with a “Family Love Lock” activity, similar to the love locks couples put on bridges in Europe. I’m going to do a specific post for this activity alone next week, so will explain it further then.

But in a nutshell, each family member was able to place a small, personalized heart shaped padlock onto a metal heart I found at one of my favorite shops in South Ogden, Utah – “The Treasure Basket”. This activity was to show that we are all linked together forever as a family and with Jesus. The heart represents Jesus. Once the locks are placed on the heart, they can never be removed.

We continued on with the following schedule:

· Water color activity – my friend Kathy and Granddaughter #1 took the lead on this one and the kids art turned out amazing.

· Floral Arrangements – the kids did an amazing job with these!

· Pressed Flower Jar Lanterns – made from baby food jars, pressed flowers, and Mod Podge

· Grandpa Ronnie’s Homemade pizzas for dinner

· Time to shop at “Grandma’s Toy Store”

· Enjoy our traditional special treat complete with a candle for each attendee to blow out on their own treat. This year it was homemade cupcakes and a tiny ice cream sundae. They got to decorate their own cupcakes with homemade frosting, sprinkles, and little chocolate frogs!

· Get ready for bed – everyone has to have a bath or a shower so they are nice and clean to climb into the soft cozy beds in their individual tents. Thank goodness for three bathrooms and lots of towels!

· Settle in with popcorn for the movie. This year we changed it up and watched “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”. I know it sounds strange to watch a Christmas movie in June, but the moral of this movie was so good that when the “Grandma Camp Committee” (oldest granddaughters) suggested it back in December, I said “ABSOLUTELY” – let’s do it!!!

The kids all loved it, and only three of them had seen it before so that was a win. It is based on the novel by Barbara Robinson, and was directed by Dallas Jenkins, the same guy that is doing “The Chosen” – and I love everything he does!

The goal was to get to bed earlier than we did, but we accomplished a lot, and the last kid went to bed at 12:30 am . . . it’s once a year, and it’s at Grandma Les’ house, they can sleep when they get home right? 😊 I got to bed around 2:00 am after cleaning up the kitchen and getting things ready for breakfast the next morning.

Grandpa Ronnie was up with the early risers preparing our traditional breakfast of homemade waffles topped with vanilla ice cream, and my homemade strawberry jam made just last week. When you’re at Grandma’s house you get ice cream for breakfast – it’s healthy - it has milk in it. 😊 There was more bounce house playing while breakfast was being prepared.

We had a slow morning, and the kids wanted to watch another movie, so I chose “Ella Enchanted” from 2004 with Anne Hathaway. Again, only three of the kids had seen it before so it was a fun choice. This gave them time to lay in their tents and get a little more rest. I’ve found that if I choose the movie instead of asking them and getting seven different choices, everyone is happy and no one is grumpy about the choice.

The rest of the day looked like this:

· Scratch-off bookmarks

· Dice game activity – Granddaughter #1 made this game up and it was a hit. Each kid went home with their own game in a fabric drawstring bag with their name on it.

· Lunch from Chick-Fil-A courtesy of Grandpa Ronnie running to get 90 chicken nuggets and waffle fries for all

· Time to spend the rest of their Kindness Coins at “Grandma’s Toy Store”

· Heart Rock activity – Granddaughter #2 led this one. I plan to do a separate blog post on this one as well.

· Book reading and Grandma Les’ special gift activity. Each year I get each child a copy of the book I read to them. This year I gave them “Switch-A-Rooster” by Steve Driggs & Emma Driggs Roberts. A fun and silly book of mixed together animals. I love to read, and want to share this love with my littles! By now, they are starting to have a lovely collection of children’s books that I hope they will share with their own children and grandchildren someday! The girls each got a monogram ring from “Amy Boutique” in Salt Lake City, and the boys each got an “Enso” Spiderman silicone ring. The girls rings were adjustable, I ordered size 5 rings for the boys which is a common size for kids. They can wear it on their middle finger to begin with, and then move it down to small fingers as they grow.

The parents come around 4:00ish to pick up their kids, and it makes me happy to hear comments like:

“I wish Grandma Camp could be for 10 days!”

“I’m sad, I don’t want it to end.”

“It’s going too fast! Can we stay longer?!!!”

“But I don’t want to go home!”

I’ve thought about adding another day, but I also have to take into account my own energy level and what I can do. I want each child to have nothing but fond memories of our yearly Grandma Camps!

Ron’s mom has often said, “It’s best to have house guests go home when you both feel bad your time together has come to an end. You would never want them to be watching the clock waiting for the time together to be over.”

Two full days of fun, activities, crafts, food, treats, movies, and a little sleep mixed in, is the perfect combination for me. As I get older, I can feel my energy levels dropping. I still feel sixteen inside and can out-stay-up any child or adult into the early morning hours . . . it’s the waking up part that I’m not as good at as I used to be. 😊

Thankfully, take down happens much faster than set-up. Steph and her girls stayed and helped us get our house back in order. I’ve been washing for two solid days now, and just about have all the bedding for the tents washed, folded, and tucked away in the protective storage bags I have for each tent/bed. Now I just need to scrub my floors, and life will be back to normal.

Is Grandma Camp a lot of work? Absolutely! Does it wear me out? Yes it does. However, there is no other way to have the closeness and connection with the kids any other way that I can think of for us. There are so many ways you could do something similar.

My friend Kathy that came to help me calls me her “over achiever friend”. She might have a point to that, but I don’t know how to do things any different. I love serving others, I love helping them discover the hidden talents and abilities they were blessed with. And all these things may make me tired, but they also fill my soul with LIGHT! And I know from the smiles on the faces of our littles, they felt that LIGHT too!

I hope they all know that Grandpa Ronnie and Grandma Les’ house is always a place they can come to and feel LIGHT in their lives, know they are loved beyond measure, and see firsthand how much we cherish our time with them. We’re ready for summer now! And can’t wait to have everybody back this weekend to celebrate Father’s Day! Look for ways to connect with your own family big or small, and watch the LIGHT appear!

Have a great week and enjoy the warm sunshine on your face (with sunscreen 😊).

Love Ya, Les 😊