GRAMMY CAMP 2021
HEY HEY FRIDAY!
We have made it to the weekend. As a SAHM & it being summer time, that means absolutely nothing. HA!
If you've been around this week, then you've probably noticed by now that I am playing catch up & trying to get these 13,574 pictures off my phone onto my blog! Today wraps up the recap & maybe, just maybe, I can start to keep up.
If you want to see the other recaps, you can find them here ...
Today, it's all about Grammy Camp! What's that you ask?? A long weekend of just Grammy, Pop, & the grandbabies!
However, I'm not going to be the one who shares today. My mom is! She loves to journal & when I told her I was working on this post, she sent me all the things she wrote about from that weekend!
So, without further ado ...
Hi, my name is Pam. Also known as Mom & Grammy. I am Whitney's perfectly imperfect mom. I wanted to share my first Grammy Camp experience on her page since it was her idea that I do a camp for all my "grands." I am so glad she did! Both Pop & I had as much fun as the kids did! My grandchildren range in ages of 4 months - 11 years old. I have two boys & 4 girls. Once we got the dates all worked out I began planning. I decided since this was the first year, that we would just plan four days. I researched the web and Pinterest for ideas and WOW, there are some rock star grandparents out there. Especially when it comes to planning camps. I see all my grands on a weekly basis so it's not like we live hours away from them. Even though I spend a lot of time with them, Grammy Camp was a different kind of time.
The oldest two are 8 & 11 years old, the other three are 3 years, 2 years, & 4 months old. My 4 month old granddaughter had to skip this Grammy Camp, but next year she will be joining us. I decided that my little people (the 2 & 3 year old - that's what I call them when they are all together) would stay only Thursday night & all day Friday, but the big people would stay Thursday-Sunday. After reading about all the things others have done for their "grandparent camps" I began putting mine together!
I had "Grammy Camp 2021" t-shirts made for each grandchild & of course for myself. 😊
When the campers arrived at lunch time on that Thursday, I had decided we would make lunch together. One of the things I love about my little people is that it doesn't matter what we do, they're going to make it fun! So adding in extra time for everything is a must! Things like washing hands, washing faces, hiding under the tables, & in closets became a time consuming activity. Whereas my big people wash hands as fast as possible & can't wait to move on to the next planned activity. The littles finally realized they were going to help fix lunch & we all made pigs in a blanket. The older two were so patient in helping the younger ones & watching them made me so happy. They also made their own pizzas that evening for supper. They enjoyed the pizza making - the big people were in a competition on who the best pizza maker would be. The little people, from what I could tell, were in competition of who could eat all their cheese & pepperonis before they ever made it to the pizza dough. I had ordered them all chef hats & aprons from Amazon to wear in the kitchen! They were the cutest little chefs I've ever seen!
We had lots of water fun! I put up a splash pad & slip 'n' slide for them to play on & Grammy may or may not have attempted to go down the slip 'n' slide. I also filled a tin tub with water toys like boats & sand sifters for the little people & of course, they loved it! We also played ball, badminton, & frisbee ... & we laughed and giggled the whole time!
Before bed time on that Thursday night, we played music, we danced & laughed. After bath time, they all put on their pjs & I put blankets, pillows, & sleeping bags on the living room floor. We had a snack & watched a movie, but of course before the movie was halfway through they were all falling asleep one right after the other!
The next day, we painted rocks & pictures & rode bicycles. We went to the park to play, had lunch & played games. We were all worn out! Friday night, we took the little people home. I'm sure they slept good that night!
As I mentioned earlier, the older kids were staying until Sunday. Pop & I planned a surprise trip for them for Saturday. Saturday morning, we packed a cooler, our swimsuits, & a change of clothes. The kids had no idea where we were going & they also didn't know that Aunt Ashley (Whitney's sister) would be joining us! We had to drive about two hours to get to our destination. When the kids realized we were going River Tubing, they both screamed with excitement!! None of us had ever been before & we are always up for a new adventure. We were not disappointed with this one! Zen River Tubing in Asheville, NC was amazing! They had our trip so organized & the staff were so friendly & very helpful. We floated down the French Broad River for almost three hours. We laughed so much, had lost of snacks, & drinks. The kids loved that we could hook all our tubes together. All of us said on our way home that we wanted to go back again!
Before we took the kids home on Sunday, we made a time capsule. We wrote some things & drew pictures about Grammy Camp & the upcoming summers. We put them in our time capsule & buried it in the yard. Next year, during Grammy Camp, we will take them out, read them, & add some more!
This was an awesome memory maker. Being a Grammy is such a blessing to me. I never knew my grandfather & my grandmothers were not able to do these kind of things with me. Of course 55 years ago things were a lot different than they are today. I hope all 4 of my people had as much fun as I did. I'm already planning for next year with a 1 year, 3 year, 4 year, 9 year, & 12 year old!
How cute is Grammy!?!
I think we all love this new little tradition!
We can't wait for Grammy Camp 2022!
Have the best weekend, friends!
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