Charlie Loves Grapes

One thing Charlie loves to do is eat, and one of his favorite foods is grapes. It's been a bit of a challenge to keep the fridge filled this summer with the grandkids visiting so often! And Charlie is certainly doing his part to keep us making trips to the grocery store.

O Weeds a Flowerbed

Olivia is always eager to help around the house. I like to think it's because she's getting ready to be a big sister. When it comes to yardwork, she is the most enthusiastic helper anyone could ask for. As you can see O takes her work VERY seriously. And, of course. Gramma was grateful for the help.

Art Lessons

My brother, Chris, is a passionate artist and doodler who never misses a chance to draw and get others to draw. On a recent trip to Michigan he spent some time with Trevor and Abby doing just that. As you can tell, he had them spellbound. I can't remember the last time I saw Trevor and Abby sit still for that long! And Trevor was so inspired he signed up for a week of Art Camp in Joliet. Good job, Chris.

Fixit Project

One of my projects last week was to fix the handle on the bathroom door (which gets quite a workout during the summer with everyone using the pool). I needed a bit of help. Fortunately Olivia was around to help... and she had her own tools! She got right down to work and threw herself into the project. With her help I had the door fixed in a flash.

O Loves to Draw!

One of my favorite things to do is draw with my grandchildren, and I had an opportunity to do just that with Olivia the other day. We had great fun scribbling all over a giant pad of paper. She loves sorting through the crayons to pick out her favorite colors. O tries to imitate whatever marks I make... and she always seems to want MY crayon! I really enjoyed listening to her laugh and giggle as she made lots of bold crayon strokes attacking the paper with the gusto of a budding Picasso.

Sully"s Silly Dive

Sully loves swimming in our pool and he's turning into quite a little fish. He can hold his breath longer than Poppa and Gramma. He can swim across the pool in 2 breaths. He can dive for sunken treasure. But what he loves to do the most is invent all kinds of different dives. Here's a video of one of his inventions he calls his "silly"dive.

Sully and Charlie Build a Dam

Sully and Charlie had a chance recently to visit the Childrens' Garden at The Morton Arboretum. They both had lots of fun exploring the gardens, treehouses, and various play areas. However the highlight of the day was collecting rocks and building dams in the play river that winds through much of the garden. What could be more fun than a child friendly engineering project that included an opportunity to get wet on a hot summer day?