Picking up the girls

Rusty and I both drove to pick the girls up in Texas.  I took a day off work and we made a little road trip out of it.  We drove to Neely's BBQ in Memphis for lunch.  Then we went to Texarkana and pricelined a hotel.  We ate at Cattleman's Steakhouse.  (Yes we planned our trip around restaurants that got good ratings on the internet!)  Can you believe this is a Best Western?

I enjoyed our room.  Too bad I woke up at 3 and couldn't go back to sleep.  So instead of waking Rusty up, I went and got in the bath, and read a book, for 4 hours!!

I was so glad to see my girls again!

Laying in Gloria's hammock.  Caitlin has to take us on a 4-wheeling tour.  She loves that thing!!

Alaina wanted to show me the barn and how she loves to play in the dirt.

It was sad for them to leave.  They LOVED every minute of visiting with Nanny Glo and Grandpa Ronnie!!

I regret that I didn't get pictures of them all together on Sunday.  :(



Trip to Texas - Sunday

Sunday, Aug. 4....Church day....Caitlin got up on her own, dressed, and came in for breakfast. Alaina woke on her own, ate her breakfast and was in a good mood..................until....it was time to get dressed for church. Her little mind decided that she was not going to get dressed; nor go to church...Caitlin tried every method she knew to cajole her; nothing worked; so she gave up...then it was my turn....no amount of reasoning or logic or promise of good things seemed to deter her from her mindset...so what's a Nanny to do....I spoke firmly to her and said that it was time to go and that she was going with us either in her pj's or in her beautiful yellow dress...it was up to her..and started to walk out the door...she said, or cried, "no, come back"....after we had another little talk, she reluctantly let me dress her and make an attempt at brushing her hair...all the time having a frowny face and uttering whiny words....I continued on, with a stern face and a determination that we would get through this and be happy!!! We loaded up with our blankets and phones and snacks and drove to Hemphill to church where we stayed from 9:15 til 1 pm....Alaina was in a good mood once we got there, behaved perfectly all during Sac. Mtg. did well in her Primary class and was "angelic" on the trip back home.........Caitlin, of course was on her best behavior and was friendly to everyone...most of the church members remembered her from her visit last year...I enjoyed having them with me and being able to to be the proud "grandma" when my friends complimented them on how pretty they were and how well behaved they were. Several of the members said the they thought Alaina favored me...now that made my heart swell....When we got back home from church, Rusty and Shannon were already there..the girls were so excited to reunite with them.................tonight was a little bit sad for me because this was the last night of their stay...when I hugged them goodnight, I wanted to just hang on a little bit longer....how thankful I am for this time that we've shared ..it is my hope and desire that all of my grandchildren will always know by my words and actions that I love them dearly and that I am sincerely interested in their lives...how blessed I am...



Trip to Texas - Saturday

Saturday, Aug. 3....this morning the girls had waffles and strawberries for breakfast; then Alaina asked for a bowl of watermelon...I don't know how her little tummy can hold so much...but she ate it all...we played with her Zoobles for awhile, while Caitlin watched Spirit...she loves that movie....then we collected all their dirty clothes and washed them in preparation for re packing...we began our clean up before Mommy and Daddy arrived....Alaina wanted to help sweep so she got the little dust broom and pan and went around sweeping up crumbs here and there...We took a ride around the pasture before noon, looking for animals of any kind....saw a big rabbit that Lilo chased into the woods....Alaina decided that she wanted to "drive" the 4 wheeler while we were in the back pasture; but she did not want Caitlin to steer it for her...she was insistent; so Caitlin just got off the 4 wheeler and jogged back to the house. We were so hot when we finished our ride that we had to take a popsicle break. This morning early the girls and I ran a tub full of water and let the sun heat it in preparation for an afternoon bath for Lilo; so around 3 we put Lilo in her tub and everybody got a turn scubbing Lilo clean...that was a fun experience...Caitlin made a brownie trifle this evening for our dessert tomorrow...it was hard for her to wait to taste it; so she saved some slivers of brownie to eat. Ronnie fished this morning and caught 20 white perch. When he came home he asked who wanted to help clean them and Alaina said, "me"....she stayed at the barn while Ronnie cleaned the fish, then rode with him to dump the "guts"...did not bother her at all. After Ronnie mowed the yard, he and Alaina took the 4 wheeler and hooked up the "sweeper" and raked up the excess grass and dumped it in the pasture...she liked that job and was fascinated with the sweeper ..While Alaina was spending time with Ronnie, Caitlin and I had some one on one time to talk...our time together has been limited because of sharing time with Alaina...tonight we made Smores again and the girls had their chocolate experience ...good but messy...and of course before bed, they got their ice cream cone...when it was time to dress for bed, Alaina said , "I can't put Dora on because she has a hole in her"...so I had to sew up her sleeve before "Dora" was ready for wearing.............as I tucked them in tonight , I offered a prayer of thanks for our time together...it has been a good week for us to bond, to get to know each other better and to make memories...I can tell that I don't have the energy that I once had; but I would not let that keep me from having one week of precious time with 2 of my grandchildren...



Trip to Texas - Friday

Friday, Aug. 2...We started our day out with a long boat ride on the lake....we decided to ride while the temp was in the 80's instead of 90 or 100 degrees...it was nice and cool on the water, the lake was calm and the girls enjoyed looking at the "water" birds and watching for turtles...Caitlin wanted to go fast and Alaina preferred a slower speed..so they both got what they wanted...After lunch, Alaina and I made banana bread muffins....she put all the cupcake liners in the muffin pans, put each ingredient into the mixer, turned it on and watched the process....all went well until the flour was added......when she turned the mixer on, she chose the higher speed and we had a "flour-shower"....flour was everywhere; but we cleaned it up and finished the recipe, filled the cupcake pans and put them in the oven; we even had enough of the mix to make two small cakes for the girls to eat right away...when the muffins were done and cooled, Alaina packaged them to take home to "share with her family"...............Caitlin and Ronnie spent time in the barn building a sling shot while we were baking....She was so proud of their finished product and used it to shoot rocks, sticks and various things outside...I gave her some old hard peaches that we had not eaten and she used them to shoot over the pasture fence to the cows...she has a pretty good aim...She asked Ronnie today if she were more of a tom boy or a prissy girl....they discussed what each one was like and decided that she was right in the middle and that was a good place to be............we took only 3 rides around the pasture on the 4 wheeler today...it was just too hot to enjoy being outside...this evening we played games, read lots of books and had our traditional evening ice cream cones...both girls went to bed early and without any problems....they were tired...it is so sweet to tuck them in, say our prayers and get my good night hugs and kisses...



Trip to Texas - Thursday

Thurs. Aug. 1....Oh, this week is passing way too fast!!! This morning Ronnie had planned to take the girls fishing in the pond; however, Alaina decided that she did not want to go....so Caitlin was thrilled to be the lone fisherwoman. She fished with mealworms and caught 20 nice sized bream in about 2 hrs...She has a natural feel for the fish and does really well...Ronnie was so proud of her...they would have stayed longer; but it was too, too hot...Alaina and I played phone games and Zoobles and read books....Today was cheese pizza day and they ate their fill of it.............of course after lunch they each had their ice cream cones (choc. for Caitlin and strawberry for Alaina)...On our afternoon ride around the pasture on the 4-wheeler, we saw a tiny, baby fawn...he was so cute..he just stood still and let us get really close...the girls were amazed...this evening we went back to the lake for an late swim and on the way home we saw another deer, just nibbling grass on the side of the road...Caitlin spotted him first.................The girls and I got to ride back from the lake in the back of the truck...they loved it....I would only crawl into the back of a truck if my grandchildren wanted me to...ha...tonight as I was tucking Alaina into bed she said," I miss my family"..I said , "well they will be here in 3 days to get you and take you home"...and she replied, "oh no, that is horrible"....I guess she meant that she wasn't ready to leave yet....Caitlin and I are watching'Teen Beach Movie", rated G, next...



Trip to Texas - Wednesday

Wed. July 31....Today our "big" outing was a trip to Walmart and choosing a toy for each girl...Alaina had the most difficulty choosing; however she did choose a Zoobles Princess castle play set and purple nail polish; Caitlin chose an accessory for her aquarium and a movie.............then they helped me shop for food items (doughnuts, honeybuns, candy, and gum)...ofcourse we had to buy more bananas and strawberries; lots of strawberries...we do have some nutritional food every day..just in case you're wondering....we ate lunch at Subway; but first we had to get Alaina a happy meal at McDonalds...we visited Ronnie's mom at the nursing home...........all the elderly residents thought that the girls were so pretty and so sweet...this evening Ronnie took them to see the baby chickens in 3 huge chicken houses...Alaina thought they were cute but she said that the houses were too stinky...he also took them on a ride through the woods and while they were riding Alaina went to sleep; so she was asleep when they got home....Caitlin helped Ronnie put up the hammock then both girls played in it for a while....another good day...good memories in the making

Caitlin wearing Gloria's wig.

Trip to Texas - Tuesday

Tues. July 30...Caitlin and Alaina wake up in such good moods..I don't know how they are at home; but here they are ready for the adventure of the day...So, after breakfast, we drove to Red Hill Lake, arrived at 9:30 and stayed til 1. There we met Sister Morrison and 2 of her grandchildren, Shane age 9 and Madison age 6. All four of them swam and ate and played and ate...Shane said to me that Caitlin was "hot" and Caitlin thought Shane was "cute"....When we had to leave, they all wanted to make plans to get together again this week...This afternoon we had 4 rides around the pasture on the 4 wheeler with Caitlin at the wheel. Alaina played at the end of the driveway and built another volcano out of rocks....she loves being outdoors even in the heat... I have been growing some Sugar Baby watermelons this summer...Alaina got to pull one from the garden this evening. Her favorite book for me to read is Bambi...we read it 3 times today...about 8 pm she announced that she was ready for bed so I read her a story, said our nighttime prayer, handed her her phone and that was that....I am so pleased that there is no issue with going to bed or getting up in the morning...Caitlin is great with Alaina and most of the time very patient and loving....I am so thankful for this opportunity...



Trip to Texas - Monday

Alaina and Caitlin got to spend a fun week in Texas with Nanny Glo and Grandpa Ronnie.  Here's their adventures in Gloria's words - 

Monday...July 29...What a fun day we have had! Alaina started her day at the barn. She accompanied Ronnie when he went there to tweak some of his fishing equipment. She built a mound of dirt and sand and asked Ronnie what it looked like and he answered that it looked like a volcano to him...so the rest of the day she told everyone that she had built a volcano. As soon as Caitlin's feet hit the floor, she was ready to ride the 4-wheeler..She is an excellent driver and Alaina likes to ride with her. Ronnie took them on a ride through the woods to look for animals and they enjoyed that...saw a rabbit and a turtle...In the afternoon we had an hour of craft time and made pom pom pets..Alaina insisted that she was not going to take a nap and I said that she did not have to take one; however, she did curl up in my lap and before she knew it, she had "not" taken a nap for 2 hours...this evening we took them to the lake for a swim...and to top the night off, we had family home evening with Smores for dessert...I knew that Caitlin would be happy staying with us; but I feared that Alaina would be home sick...."no way" she said, when I asked her if she was missing Mommy and Daddy...she said, "I'm a big girl"



Alaina's favorite game

I don't know why she loves this but she does.  And it's funny!

No more scissors

What is this, you ask?  Oh that's what happens when Alaina plays with scissors.

Alaina loves to cut paper into shapes.  For some reason, she calls it making autographs.  I think maybe she confused it with crafts.  Anyway, she loves it and will sit at the kitchen table for hours, cutting and showing up shapes.  She came to show me a shape and noticed two chunks of hair that were hanging longer than the rest of her hair.  I pulled on them and they came out, easily.  Then I realized that she cut her hair.  Caitlin did the exact same thing and in the exact same place!  You can see her masterpiece here.  Alaina was very upset when she got in trouble and we took the scissors away.