Watching the twins at JanMa's House

The twins are getting new tile in their house, which is a dusty and disruptive process, requiring them to be limited to upstairs for indoor living, and limiting their outdoor play area also.  So I offered to take them on an afternoon outing to JanMa's house. I stocked up on Goldfish and visited the Dollar Store for a couple of bags of toys, farm animals in one and cars in the other, for $1 each bag.

Let me say that the logistics of swapping cars, getting kids in and out of car seats, making sure there are diapers, sippy cups, extra clothes, etc. can be wearing, but I noticed this outing to be the most relaxing so far.  We are not in a hurry, the kids can communicate and comprehend so much better, and they can do so much more for themselves. They can take their own clothes off with minimal help, put their own shoes on, and best of all, they can climb up into their car seats and buckle themselves in.  They both need help with the very last lap belt latch, and they can't tighten or loosed the restraints, but that is OK, rather they not be able to do that. And since I wasn't in a hurry for anything, I just gave them the time they needed to practice all the things they could do.  A lot less tiring on me!

First we went swimming. They like to walk back and forth along the steps and climb up and down the steps also.  I did some swimming lesson practice with each of them separately.  I put one in the floatie boat that they cannot climb out of, and practiced with the other, then we switched. Jake especially got cold, so we sat out in the sun for awhile and ate popsicles!

After some more pool playtime, we dried off and went inside.  We had to lay in bed and close our eyes and have quiet time. They were very still and quiet, but didn't fall asleep.

 

Then I got out JanMa's new toys and they spend the next hour playing with toys, watching a dvd and having a snack.

Here is a video of them playing with new toys at JanMa's house.

We left my house and stopped at Mimi's on the way home, and I took the kids for a ride on Mimi's golf cart. They enjoyed driving it.

Our next stop was the playground. They can climb on so many things now that they couldn't climb before.  When I remember how hard it was for them to just go up the steps to the slide platforms, and now they are climbing on all kinds of apparatus, it just amazes me.

The next day the twins and family and the other 2 grandkids and family all went to the beach for the weekend. Here are some pictures they have been sending me.

John and Taylor waiting at the airport to board their plane.

 

First night sharing a bed in the hotel.

 

The next morning at the beach for the twins.

John and Taylor brave the shark's mouth.

Here is one of all the cousins that I pulled off facebook.  They are having a great tme!

I can't wait to see more pictures.

The True Value of Retirement

Two weeks ago I worked (gasp!) for 2 1/2 days at the school district office.  I could have returned the week after and worked several more days, but I had already planned to travel to Dallas to visit John and Taylor.  And here is the true value of retirement - OPTIONS.  I could choose either, and I, of course, chose to drive to Dallas! 

The first day Ashley took me and the kids to a pool park that included a toddler area, with beach entry all around, about 18" depth and small water slides. This was Taylor's first time to go down the water slides, and she loved it!

 The video shows Taylor and John going down the slides, she had already done it a few times before I got the camera out.

The second morning we went to soccer practice. It is geared toward 3-4 year olds and John has a lot of fun.  He has SO much energy! He also has the soccer goals for home use and several soccer balls to play/practice with at home.

 Here is video showing the kinds of things he does at soccer practice.

Taylor and I ate snacks and watched.

 She shows concern about something, notice the furrows above her eyes!

 John with Coach Deb, who also has a LOT of energy and enthusiasm for these kids.

 John shares snacks with Taylor after practice.

 We walked over to a playground next to the practice field.  The weather was not too hot, some clouds and very pleasant.  John loved playing on the spider web. He is really into Spiderman right now, complete with the PJ's, shoes, action figures and anything else that has a Spiderman on it.

Video of John climbing on the web.

He took Taylor for a ride on a grasshopper! 

 After all this exercise, John still had the energy to roll down a hill and run back up to the top!

The next day, I got to stay with the kids while Ashley went to an inservice in preparation for the new school year. We filled up the wading pool and played outside for most of the morning.  John practiced throwing his Spiderman frisbee while I chased it down.  Taylor wanted to swing and climb up the fort and go down the slide.  I kept the kids busy!

 After a morning snack of goldfish and cheese sticks, lunch was PB&J and yogurt.

Then some ipad time, because I had totally messed up the TV/satellite AND DVD remotes and there was NOTHING showing up on the TV, except the No Signal blue screen of death. Luckily Taylor was laying her head in my lap, so I put her down for a nap, she cried for about 10 seconds before she fell asleep.  John got 10 more minutes on the IPad, then it was his naptime.  I told him his Mommy would be home and JanMa would be gone when he woke up, and I would see him in a few weeks.  He was asleep fairly quickly too, and I plopped on the couch for my Ipad time! I was back home for dinner and a facetime opportunity with John and Taylor.  A great week, and again I am so thankful to be able to have the options that retirement allows.

JanMa is busy!

This is pretty cool, a picture taken of an air nav chart that Bill was using on a recent trip overseas.  He found an air intersection named JanMa!  How cool to have an air intersection on an air nav chart named after me! It is out in the middle of nowhere over an ocean, not even a tropical island to mark the spot!  Just a spec on a chart, but still, pretty neat.

 Things have been happening at the Robin's Retreat!  Most noticeable is my new fence!  Here are a few pics of the OLD fence, which was in place when I moved into this house about 25 years ago!  Amazing, it is still standing.

 

 

 Here is a stitched together picture of 2 photos that show the backyard without a fence.  No fence certainly added a depth to the backyard, but it is a jungle out there!  Plus I must have a fence with the pool, I want privacy in the backyard, and I don't want to do the work necessary to clear out behind the fence to make a more attractive view.

 Here is the new fence going up.

 

 

 Here is the view of the backyard with the new fence, cedar pickets, it smells real good!

 Have to include grandkid pics, here is John and Taylor at a hotel.  They spent the night out of the house while it was being painted and had strong paint smells.

 

 And Jake and Claire, giving each other a big hug.

 

And here is Bill's grandson, William.  We joined him and his parents for a meal one morning and William is telling me how old he is.

And now to the busy part.  Spending time with grandkids is not busy time, it is fun time.  But I have also been doing some temp work at Conroe ISD in the office answering the phone and trying to be helpful as the new school year approaches.  After a quick trip to Dallas next week, I'll be back on the phone lines for about 3 weeks.  After that, I'm sure I'll be more than happy to sink back into my usual retirement mode!