Grizzly Gramps and Gran

(This post title is in reference to the Berenstain Bear books, FYI.) Last week my grandparents drove down from Minnesota to visit for a few days. I love my grandparents and always look forward to their visits. Traveling isn't impossible for me, but it's not easy, either, so I'm always grateful when company is willing/able to travel to see me.

Grandma and Grandpa's visits are always low-key and relaxed, which is exactly what I like in a visit. We had a lot of fun spending time together. We reminisced about "old times." I reminded Grandma about the time when I accidentally sideswiped their relatively new car. I was backing out of the garage on my way to work (I was about 18, I think) and I scraped against their car. It was partly Grandpa's fault since he'd parked hogging the center line of the driveway, and partly my fault for being in my groove and not paying more attention as I backed out. I felt TERRIBLE! The worst part was having to go inside and tell my grandma what I'd done. Fortunately, she forgave me! :)

I also reminded Grandma about my macaroni and cheese addiction when I came home after my accident. At that time all that appealed to me to eat was macaroni; I seriously ate it for breakfast, lunch and dinner for weeks because it tasted so good and was easy to swallow (I'd had to learn how to eat/swallow again after my accident). Grandma and Grandpa visited when I was finally able to return home so that they could help my mom get everything ready. I reminded Grandma how she'd fed me macaroni for breakfast one morning (something that she'd forgotten). Oh, that seems like a lifetime ago!

Grandma and Grandpa wanted to meet Chandra's new boyfriend Joe, so we all went out to lunch to Ruby Tuesday. They're always so accommodating there and the restaurant is nice and open, so I fit right in and don't feel like I'm in the way. We had a really nice time and Grandma and Grandpa were both impressed with Joe. (Don't Mom, Grandma and Grandpa look great?! I'm so glad that I'm related to these fine folks, and I hope that I age as well as they have!

We used my mom's new ice cream bowl to make some homemade ice cream. We made candy bar ice cream (which is vanilla ice cream and you add your favorite candy). We decided to add Heath bits since they are small and you don't have to worry about chewing big pieces of frozen candy bars. The ice cream turned out really well and tasted good, although I think the triple chocolate ice cream we made with my sister Annette was better.

Mom and Grandma worked on lots of crossword puzzles together. This is something they've done together as long as I can remember, and they're both really good at it, especially when they put their heads together! I'm never much help when it comes to crossword puzzles, although I did manage to help them fill in one of the clues. They were stumped, so my mom came and asked me, "What's a five letter word for a kind of bar found in a gym. I immediately said, "juice bar!" I'm frankly surprised that they didn't think of that on their own, but I guess they were thinking more of actual gym equipment, not these newfangled juice bars!

We watched Jeopardy one afternoon. I actually felt halfway smart while watching for once since I knew a decent amount of answers, including the answer to the Final Jeopardy question. That always gives my confidence a boost!

We also watched a couple baseball games. We were excited to watch the games so we could cheer on our beloved St. Louis Cardinals. It's always fun when Grandma is around when a baseball game is on because she gets quite animated. My mom said, "Now you know where I get it from!" The Cards fortunately defeated the Dodgers and will be representing the National League in the World Series. Can't wait for that to begin!

Two things I'm grateful for… #1) I'm glad that I live with my mom, because that means I get to see Grandma and Grandpa twice a year. I feel badly for my older sisters who live all over the country and don't get to see Grandma and Grandpa very often at all. #2) I never had much of a relationship with my dad's parents (who are now dead) so I'm glad that my mom's parents are so awesome!