The Most Depressing Day of the Year

Yesterday was the most depressing day of the year.  We closed the cabin for the winter.  It's a lot of work, but we've been doing it for over 20 years now, so it has become a bit of a routine.  Pull the pontoon boat out of the water, winterize the outboard, load up the deck furniture, and haul it down the road to the neighbor's pole shed, where we store it for the next 6 months.  Hook up the ATV to the dock and pull it up on shore.   Cover the air conditioners, strip the beds, put out D-con and mothballs to keep the mice under control, make sure no food is left anywhere, and last, but not least, drain all the water out of the system to prevent frozen pipes.  Oh the joys of having a cabin in Minnesota, where the winters "up north" can bring temperatures of 20 degrees below zero.  The summers make it all worthwhile, though. It's loads of fun sitting on the deck in June, trying to shoot down the dive-bombing mosquitos with a 12 gauge shotgun. I can't wait until we open the cabin up again next spring.  I wonder how many more years we'll be doing this. 

Photos From the Train

Toy Trains are Still More Fun

Last Saturday the whole clan took a drive to Osceola WI to take a ride on a real train. I thought the boys would like to experience a real train, as they so enjoy playing with their wooden Brio and Thomas train set. Elise is kind of young to understand what was going on. Unfortunately, it was unseasonably cold ( below freezing) and the train cars were not heated. It was a short trip ( about an hour and a half) from Osceola, across the river to Marine on St Croix MN, and back again. I think Grampa enjoyed it more than the kids, but all in all it was a fun day. I think Jack was more excited about coming to Gramma and Grampa's house afterwards than he was about the train ride. The plan was to have the kids nap while the adults had lunch, but Jack and Wes were too excited to sleep, so they played until it was time to go home. We thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Norwegian Pride

I hesitate to talk about politics on this blog, but I can't help myself this morning. I am stunned beyond belief over the Nobel committee giving the peace prize to BHO. For what? A couple of speeches filled with naivete and maudlin rhetoric? A European vacation at taxpayer expense to apologize for all the perceived evil that America has done in the past? For not being George Bush? For being an empty suit?
I'll bet BHO has never even tasted Lutefisk!

I used to be proud of my Norwegian heritage, but this has taken away a big piece of that pride. I may choke a little on my lefse next Christmas.

When my grandkids are old enough to understand, I can reassure them that it's OK that they are thousands of dollars in debt before they are old enough to know what debt is. It's OK that they will not have the same standard of living that their parents and gradparents had. It's OK that they can't find a good job or a good doctor. That's all OK so long as BHO has won the peace prize and that he is praised as the Messiah in our public schools and liberal media. What hypocrisy!

A Tornado Comes to Our House

Last Friday we were were able to have Jack spend the night at our house. We had dinner at Sean and Beckie's, and at the end of the meal, Jack was informed that he was going to spend the night at Gramma and Grampa's. His first reaction was "We better get going, it's getting late". As I was driving down the freeway to our house, we came to one of many exits to downtown St Paul. Jack pointed to the exit and said "That's the way to the hockey game." I was blown away because he was right! It was the exit to get to the arena where the St Paul Wild plays their games. How in the world did he know that? i called Beckie to tell her, and she said that Jack had attended a game one time last year, and he must have remembered.
What an observant and smart little guy.....and only 3!!!!!

We got to our house about 8PM, and by 8:30 every toy in the house had been unpacked and played with. We had talked about him taking a bath in the "big tub" ( a whirlpool in the master bath ) with his new tub toy ( a tug boat with a hook for towing ) and he wanted to take his bath then and there. I convinced him it was too late and we should wait until morning. That was a decision I would later regret.

At five AM Saturday morning, I heard a little voice saying " Grampa, it's time for my bath"
He spent about an hour in the tub playing tugboat captain rescuing stranded boats, and squirting grampa with a spray bottle. At least he got good and clean, thanks to gramma.

After a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, milk and an orange, Jack had to choose between going to CHOO-CHOO BOBS ( a local train store with train tables to play on and lots of model trains to watch ) and the Jackson Street train museum. He opted for the museum and when asked why he chose that, he responded " because it's closer to your house". Again he was right ( How does he know these things?) We spent a couple hours wandering through the old train cars, ringing bells, driving trains, and playing on the train tables. Then came the coup de grace : a ride on a real train. We left the museum with a happy little boy.

When we finally got home that evening, the remnants of Tornado Jack were obvious in our house, and Gramma and I went to bed tired, but with the satisfied feeling of grandparents who had been given the gift of spending time with a great little guy who brings joy into our lives and reminds us of how lucky we are to have 3 great grandkids. We are looking forward to having Wesley experience a night by himself at our house, and also Elise ( when she's a little older ). You get a different perspective of the kids when they are outside their normal boundaries and sibling interactions.

Teaching the Boys to Be "Garage Guys"

I spent last Saturday helping Sean build a workbench for their new garage. Of course both Jack and Wes wanted to be with Dad and Grampa to "help" with the project. Wes had to nap first, but Jack helped from the start. He quickly became bored watching Dad saw boards, so he started checking out all the tools that Grampa brought along. He was enamored with my clamps, level, and square, and particularly liked the screws and nails. Once he found out his plastic hammer and drill really didn't do the job though, he became frustrated and went outside to watch the neighbor girls ride their bikes. He tried his best to get their attention and talk to them, but typical of girls in a group, they did their best to ignore him. He finally set up his own workshop in the back of my SUV, and had a grand time filling the back with sawdust and tools. About that time, Wes was done with his nap and raced to the garage to join the guys, and the process started all over again. Elise was also watching the action, and particularly watching me very closely - until I began looking at her and talking to her. Then she immediately looked to her mom for a safe haven. When she thought I wasn't watching, she'd check me out closely, but as soon as I returned her stare, she did her best to ignore me. ( Sounds a lot like my life story with women!) All in all, it was a fun day, although I don't know if either of the boys showed an interest or proclivity to be a handyman. We did get a nice workbench built, however.

Time With Jack

Yesterday I went down to the kids' home where I normally watch Wes and Elise while our daughter and son-in-law are at work and Jack is at pre-school. Since everyone but Sean was sick, Jack stayed home and I was able to spend a few hours with him, which I haven't done in a while. We were able to do one of our favorite activities, which is make up and tell stories about Jack and
Grampa. His favorites are about being at the cabin and having adventures in which Jack is the hero. A couple from yesterday were:

1. Jack and Grampa rescued a drowning man swimming in our lake. "Captain Jack" heroically piloted the pontoon boat to a successful rescue and towed the man to safety while Grampa wrung his hands and wailed "What are we going to do?.......What are we going to do?"

2. Jack and Grampa went for a buggy ride ( for all the "non-cool" readers out there, the buggy is our 4-wheeler) around the lake to a gravel pit, where atop a giant mountain of gravel were stranded his mom and his brother Wesley, crying for help and rescue. Grampa wrung his hands and said " What are we going to do? .....What are we going to do? I can't drive up there and rescue them." Jack the jumped on the buggy and said " I can save them" and proceeded to attack the gravel mountain and after extreme hardship and danger to himself, made it to the top, picked up the stranded pair, and brought them to safety. We all then climbed onto the buggy and Jack drove us back to the cabin, where we started a fire and had s'mores.

Jack used to sit quietly and listen to Grampa's stories and smile and giggle. Now, being a wise old pre-schooler, he is fond of correcting Grampa when something in the story doesn't quite make sense. He has become a very creative and thoughtful 3 year old; wise beyond his years and a joy to be around.

I'd love to hear from other GP's about similar times with their grandkids.