The granddaughters are coming next week. They live in Denver and it’s the annual pilgrimage east to see the old folks (yes that’s the beloved husband and me). We look forward to it and it’s always interesting (and exhausting).
When you see kids once a year you can see the change. You watch them grow. During the first visits they were toddlers so there wasn’t much going on. Then stalking the Target toy aisles was the highlight of the trip. We could spend a day there. Sometimes I wondered if we needed a toothbrush, jammies and a camping permit.
We did toys for several years and the toys morphed into big girl stuff still located in or near the toy aisles.
Then we moved to clothes. Still at Target but we looked at bright colors and really fun stuff (that I wanted to wear but…well…size…)
Target transitioned into other stores and eventually into Amazon gift cards because they had a bigger variety of things they could purchase. We would still wander around clothing shops.
We also transitioned into and out of fruit boxes, little yogurts, easy fruit and other foods little munchkins prefer. Their Gramps taught them to eat clams at an early age. (He has not instilled the love of clams in his wife!)
I emailed their mom and asked what they are into this year. She said they love Ulta so maybe a trip there would be great. Yikes! (For those who don’t know Ulta is all about makeup, hair and skin care.) I guess they aren’t munchkins anymore!
They will do a day at the local amusement park although I’m not sure if that’s for the kids or more for their mom and Gramps both of whom LOVE roller coasters. (Grammy Kate will remain at home in a recovery nap with a mocha drip.)
They will be 14 in a few weeks. I’ve always said, kids both age you and keep you young at the same time. I’m hoping to learn some new makeup tips!
I am with you, Kate, on interesting and exhausting. I extra LOVE the photo of the the girls and your husband! Genuine, huge smiles! First time I have heard of Ulta. Darn, they grow up fast. Totally funny on the mocha drip and recovery nap. Mine are still much younger. A different kind of tired. We also have the opportunity to see them more often. Thanks for sharing:)
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I am amazed at how much they’ve grown in the past year or so. It’s like different kids!
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Have a wonderful visit!
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Thanks!
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Have a wonderful time…..I’m sure you will. Kids are alternately “draining” and “energizing” so you should find a middle ground and just plain have fun being with them!
Hugs, Pam
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I will enjoy them. I can sleep when they leave!
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I know the girls are going to have a wonderful time with you! I think having grandparents who take an interest in them and listen to whatever they’re interested in sharing is what memories are made of! I will look forward to the photos. Take a few extra vitamins! 🙂
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We don’t get to see them often and we are on the go a lot but hopefully they will have good memories of “the old folks.”
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Oh how fun! So jealous. I want grandchildren. By the time I have any I will be in the Home.
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My mother was in her 40s when she had grandkids and that’s an ideal time. People are waiting longer which is good in many ways except the grandfolks get older! Here’s to vitamins!
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Yes, that’s a great time. I was being a mommy in those days sigh.
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Fun times!
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My wife sends her niece Ulta gift cards throughout the year. I think she’s been crowned “Greatest Aunt Ever” several times over already. It apparently is the perfect gift for many teenage girls.
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I never would have thought that but it is the thing!
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That will be wonderful! Sounds like it will be a good time, if a tiring one 🙂 Enjoy the granddaughters!
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It will be fun! Hope the weather is warm. Not that it matters but it helps if we don’t have to bundle up or carry rain gear.
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I was in Ulta once and how I wished that store was around at the peak of my makeup, hair styling, etc. phase. I can just imagine teenagers spending hours and hours of gleeful shopping time there.
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We hung around drugstores for makeup when I was a teenager. It was fun and then there was a soda bar.
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Yep, I remember spending most of the time in the Maybelline area … do you recall the Maybelline mascara in a red pull-out case with a brush and you had to moisten it to use it? And Maybelline’s flavored “kissing potion”? I wasn’t kissing anyone but that shiny goop on our lips and my long hair dragging through it and getting attached to it – oh, those were the days.
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I don’t remember that mascara. I’m sure I had Maybelline stuff and Oil of Olay!
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I think it was called “cake mascara” and cheaper than the regular kind. Yes, we put on Oil of Olay and didn’t need it back then. My mom and grandmother only used Noxzema Medicated Skin Cream and had skin as soft as a baby’s bottom. My grandmother had her big blue Noxzema jar sitting on her nightstand, and put it on before going to bed. It was a joke in the family as my grandmother had a heart condition and the doctor told her to have a small glass of sherry before bed to help her sleep, so she had the bottle of sherry, her small juice glass and the Noxzema jar on her nightstand. Everyone joked that Minnie better put the skin cream on first, followed by putting her hair in pincurls before having a drink. She was told to drink the sherry and hop right into bed.
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I hated the smell of Noxzema. I remember they used to suggest some cordial before bed to help with sleep. Now they discourage it.
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Yes it had a strong menthol smell – I always had oily skin, so Noxzema would have made it worse. I think I have read that about discouraging the cordial before bed. She has been gone since 1886. Her heart would sometimes flutter so badly, even with heart meds, that her heartbeat against the mattress would wake her up out of a sound sleep, so this put her out like a light.
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I’d love to see photos of all of you amid the excitement and shopping. Hope you have a wonderful visit together.
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We’ll see what we can do. I was surprised I didn’t have any photos from last year.
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You’ll need to make up for no pictures last year!
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On my list of things to do!
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Dorney, clams and Ulta… Oh my!! We can’t wait to see you!!! Rowan and Maya giggled at your blog 🙂 Love you!!! Es, Row and Maya
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I need current picts! Looking forward to see you all.
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That’s pretty exciting. Something to talk about before and after, like a trip–but you don’t have to do any traveling.
I have parental units coming to visit soon. They will be enjoying the sunshine and I will be trying to drag umbrellas over them so they don’t get sunburn.
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House guest result in good blog stories.
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Well, when it’s Andy’s parental units. Mine are kind of boring?
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Boring isn’t so stressful.
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Have a wonderful time, Kate! They will love going to Ulta with you and eating clams with Gramps! Fingers crossed for Mollie♥ Good to read she is stable.
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Wish Mollie’s test was sooner but it is what it is. I’m just hoping I won’t need to pill her while they are here. She is hard enough when it’s quiet. They will be a great distraction!
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Oh my. It’s rewarding and sad all at once to see them grow up. My nephew just turned 14, too.
Enjoy the visit. Sounds like a lot of fun.
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It seems to have happened fast. Almost overnight!
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Wonderful! Enjoy their company!
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Thanks. Hopefully you will get good news!
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How fun. Our daughter worked at Ulta for a while. It was an expensive employment for me!
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Yes! There is an expensive side and a cheaper side at our store! For me it’s overwhelming. I bought a new hair dryer and there were so many choices!
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How cool…14 year olds are such interesting people. Enjoy the visit with the Denver relatives. 😊
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It will be an education for me for sure!
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Teens (no matter how cool they are) are beings from another planet. 😄Good luck!
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Yes! Many think we are prehistoric.
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We are by comparison! LOL
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Enjoy the visit to the max! Good luck with Mollie and her U/S.
All our nieces and nephews are past the toddler & teen stages . . . but it’s still fun to get together with them whenever we can.
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I enjoy young adults too. I’m not good at the toddler stage as I’ve never been around them. They don’t use litter boxes! 🙂
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I remember that first photo, Kate. What sweet girls. I guess Ulta is the new Sephora! Have fun! I can’t wait to see the photos.
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We have a local Sephora too but Ulta is closer (not that it would make a difference! Wherever they want to go, we’ll go!)
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You’ll have a great time, I’m sure… and get a few posts out of it too.
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Hope so!
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How fun! ❤️❤️
Good luck to Mollie.
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Mollie is stable. As long as she stays that way until we can get to the bottom of her issue, it’s good.
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It’s awesome watching grandchildren grow. I look forward to you sharing the makeup tips…and details about your day at home with the mocha drip!
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It is awesome. My current makeup tip is use moisturizer and tinted sunscreen and call it a day!
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Have a great time!! Plan a few days recovery when they leave.
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Hoping to do that. Mollie gets her ultrasound the day before they get here. I’m hoping we’ll have some answers from that so it won’t be stressful.
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Paws crossed.
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What fun it’ll be! Should we expect you to disappear from the blogosphere next week? I can only imagine these two will be running you ragged, in a good way of course.
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I’ll be around. I try to work ahead a bit and they will not want to spend every minute with us old folks. I’m sure they will need to keep in touch with their friends back home! 🙂
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