Our granddaughters live in Denver. We live on the east coast so we don’t get to see them too often. They are coming in to town later this week. The last time they were here, they were around 3. They will be 7 in November. They are big girls now!
On their last trip my stepdaughter, trying to ensure there was no extra work, said not to get anything special for them. They eat everything. That’s not true. We don’t eat kid-friendly food and they were not fans of pastrami and Swiss cheese.
This time, I turned to my former co-workers with kids, Siusanne (yes, that’s the way it’s really spelled – go ask her mother!) and Karen. They gave me a list of kid-friendly food with some advice.
Since I have never had children there are things I didn’t know – like kids eat often so you should have easy stuff on hand. Busy kids are not bored kids so have some ideas for them to do. Kids can watch the same video over and over and over again (really?). Be sure to stock wine (for me, not the kids).
We will have regular dinners like barbecued chicken and spaghetti but we will also have those chicken nugget thingies that you can nuke or bake in a flash. We will have Clementine oranges and grapes, goldfish crackers and yogurt, peanut butter and jelly, maraschino cherries for ice cream sundaes (do you know how many cherries it takes to make a sundae – lots!) and some other good stuff.
There are a lot of activities going on at this time of year. We have pumpkin picking and corn mazes. Our local amusement park has a boo feast for kids and there is a local kid’s science center. Of course there will be shopping to do. They love Target!
They will be here for three days before going to New York City to explore. I am exhausted just composing this post! Perhaps I will stock both wine and chocolate and schedule a visit to a spa!
Shopping with Gramps
Views and Mews by Coffee Kat 
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They look really lovely! You’ll be able to update the pictures, now.
I’ve just put up the latest pic of our four-year-old specimen.
btw – In coming here via Gravitar, I notice that you were in ‘Resouces’ – I bet everyone reads that for what it is meant to be (but I’m a compulsive editor even when I don’t have to!).
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Thanks for your editing! I have corrected it. That pesky “r” in resources gets me everytime!
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It sneaks off to the pub hoping one won’t notice – and half the time, one doesn’t!
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I know you will have lots and lots of fun, and when they leave you can take lots and lots of naps. 🙂
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OMG, Kate, they are adorable. What a photo! So sorry I can’t offer any advice…I’m just another version of you on the kid score. I’m already worn out for you…is that possible?
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They sure keep you young, don’t they?
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They keep you young and make you old all at the same time!
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The grands are adorable and will be a lot of fun. We usually take ours to the zoo. They love that. Living in Central Florida, they also get to see Disney World, Universal, Kennedy Space Center, and manatees and dolphins frolicking in the water.
Ours also love to be read to. I’ll bet yours would enjoy that as well.
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You are all set to have FUN FUN FUN! Enjoy every minute. 😀
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Aren’t they gorgeous. Don’t forget the sausages…
My children and grandchildren used to love blowing bubbles, just with dish washing liquid – right up until they were 12 and 13, and they;d have competitions, the biggest, the one that went farthest and so they’d blow them out of the window,, outside and off the veranda…., They also always loved hunt the thimble – it had to be played every time they came. And they loved crawling races inside if it was wet, with a sweet as a prize, and potato in a spoon races, sack races in a pillow in the garden, hop, skip and a jump …
I rarely spent any money with them. But I spent a lot of time reading stories to them – often the same ones over and over again!
They also loved games like ludo, snap, charades,I-spy and hide and seek. We used to laugh and laugh, and because we all had such fun, we also had plenty of energy….,. Do hope you all have fun.
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Okay… I need to put my two cents on the table.
First… Where do I go to sign up to be your granddaughter? Cause I like having a good time making memories also.
Second… Have a deck of UNO cards handy, pop lots of corn and be prepared to over dramatize your distress at having to add cards to your hand or gang up on Grandpa…thats ALWAYS fun 😉
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Hmmmm….we do have some card games! And who doesn’t like ganging up on Gramps!
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Wow, they got big. Have a great time.
Unfortunately, I can’t give you any hints on girls, because I only have 3 crazy boys. Running, jumping and rolling in the dirt/grass are favorite pastimes.
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Yes, they do keep on growing!
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Gorgeous granddaughters! We have three and I remember that on rainy days I took them to our local $ Store, gave’ em each $5 and turned them loose. They loved the independence and their personalities came through in their selections. You will have such fun too! 🙂 Enjoy!
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Enjoy every minute with them.
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What adorable girls! You’ll have fun! I get out old jewelry and somehow, combined with odds and ends of stationary, pens and pencils, the girls can keep themselves amused for quite awhile. The jewelry fits in with the idea of being “grown up” while they play teacher. Then when things get thin, baking comes in handy. You can clean your kitchen later! 🙂 Have fun! Debra
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Such beautiful smiles on those angel.
You’ve gotten lots of good advice. Do try to find home activities/things(pumpkins great!)/places(corn maze!) that are regional and different to what they have in CO. This time of year outdoor walks (even around the block to just look and talk) and it tires them out. Painting outside is great fun. Cut up boxes and paint on cardboard….try to get some really big pieces for murals – paint with feathers or leaves or tree branches as brushes. (they can add details later with markers if you want) Or make a book (typing paper) of stories: about corn maze experience, carving pumpkins – they can draw or you can take pictures – and take home to show parents.
Most of all have fun – and goof off!
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All great ideas! We have sidewalk chalk and a huge driveway. We have had a lot of luck with artwork on on the driveway with other groups of kids. That’s outdoors (let’s hope it doesn’t rain), creative and should tire everyone out (including me!). Thanks for stopping by.
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I don’t have kids but I teach them and I agree with Fearlessanalyst, crafts are a great idea!
There are many sites that you can find online with simple craft ideas and one trip to Target for the materials. For example, if you live near the beach you can collect shells and then glue them to a cheap frame, take some digital photos and print them and viola, you have a keepsake too. If no shells, try colourful buttons. I do a really cute camp fire. Collect some sticks and small stones outside, get an old CD, place the stones in the outer edge and arrange the sticks to look like fire logs…use bread crumbs for some sand and those toothpicks with the colours topes or red and yellow tissue paper create nice flames.
If you want I can send younsome links 🙂
I know how to make a great porthole with fish using paper plates and string and cellophane too!
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Thanks for your creative suggestions but I am not much of a craft person. I don’t think I can even fake it. I am hoping that we will do some cookie baking and pumpkin painting along with some time out of the house. One of the twins likes to paint so maybe we will do some of that. The other takes pictures so there will be that too.
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wonderful, i have only one granddaughter but five grandsons, wonderful addition to life, have fun and don’t forget to put your feet up at least once a day, :), MJ
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You are prepared! Good call on the cherries. Those will be a hit. I hope it is a great visit.
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I smiled all the way through this. Let me add my personal bias. It’ll be a short visit, tiring, and you’ll wonder where the time went. For the relationship, spending more time on doing things together like simple crafts or baking would be better than physically “going to” things (shopping, science centre, etc). Even if it’s messy, even if you’d have to be learning along with them. They’d be bonding to you instead of transportation, shopping, etc… You’d be focussed on each other more.
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Great suggestion. I am hoping to do a combination of the two. Attention spans are short (including mine) so I am hoping that with a lot of available ideas, the girls will decide what they would enjoy most. The visit is short so we won’t get to do it all.
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Yes – ‘girls will decide’ is a great criterion, and pardon me 🙂 My adult daughters spent a lot of childhood hours with a grandma shopaholic with predictable results – kids associate the shopping with the love and affection… You can guess where my feeling came from! 🙂
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I never really knew my grandmothers. They all died by the time I was a toddler. I wish I would have had time with them. Both of them were really great cooks. I could have learned so much from them. I had a favorite aunt and once a year she would take me shopping for a dress. It was always such a special time for me. It meant time with her, a wonderful lunch with ice cream for dessert and a pretty dress. I guess that is my favorite shopping memory. My whole family didn’t have a lot of money for shopping so that once a year thing was really special. It’s funny how different people look at things.
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I think I share your perspective actually — in our case it was probably more a problem of ‘quantity over quality’ At the end of the day – or the life – it’s that experience of love that counts, isn’t it….:-)
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Yes, it is more about quality than quantity. However, if the shopaholic grandma needs someone to take shopping and spend money on, send her my name!
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How exciting!!! I love when my grandchildren visit!!! Those girls are so cute!!!
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You are going to have a blast! I would add. .. be prepared to answer questions, lots and lots of questions. 7 is a great great age filled with honesty & imagination. I look forward to hearing about your journey, when you return from the spa of course.
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