A certain fella is having a birthday tomorrow; we celebrated it with him on Friday night. (Sarah had another special party for him which I’ll post about later.)
As it turns out, we now have a second birthday hat to go with the one we’ve had for 22 years. A new generation of hats has begun.
After the little party, the eight of us went on an outing. (Nathan and Meagan were having a rare date night without the kids.) There is a place about ten minutes from our house called the Whitewhiter Center. According to its website, “It’s the world’s premier outdoor center featuring 1,300 acres to run, paddle, ride, climb, and more.”
In the winter, they have ice skating and special light displays. We decided not to skate because we pretty much like the way the bones are arranged in our body. (Fun fact: One of the things that attracted Vernie to Ken when they were teenagers is that she saw him kneel down to help a young lady put on her ice skates. Isn’t that sweet?)
They also had a suspension bridge about 50 feet off the ground that swayed in a rather sway-ish fashion.
Steve and Sarah don’t look too terribly frightened but I was just slightly queasy.
I loved seeing Aunt Sarah and Madison holding hands and enjoying their time together.
Of course my photographer brain was thrilled to see this structure; it made such a good framing element.
With this lighting I look just slightly eerie but it was still a great frame!
It a wonderful night of memory-making for the kids, especially that they got to spend time with Uncle Gage and Aunt Sarah.
Even though we technically all live in the Charlotte area, Nathan and Meagan are thirty minutes north of us (in Mooresville) and Sarah and Gage are thirty minutes south of us (in Pineville.) And with all the different work/church/school/basketball schedules to juggle, getting together takes about as much planning as organizing a White House State Dinner. So it’s always a feeling of great accomplishment when we get some or all of us together.
and Sarah and Gage took off for home, it was time to get the kids tucked into bed. They had been up since 5:30 a.m. and after ninety minutes of tramping around in the fresh air, they were asleep almost instantly. (And Grandma and Grandpa Smith said, “Hallelujah!)
Thankfully, they all slept well till about 7 a.m. and we got ready to spend the morning having fun before their parents arrived.
Breakfast was first on the agenda with Steve and I taking turns in the kitchen. The most unusual request for breakfast food came from Andrew who wanted a hot dog and pickle because, in his words, “A pickle has good protein.” Who knew?
Sarah and Gage had brought Christmas presents for the kids which worked out great because it gave them something new to play with.
Steve took turns with each of the three boys building stuff. Because that’s what Smith guys love to do. They are stuff-builders.
This work bench has been downstairs for over four decades and Steve and his dad worked on things together here when they were both much younger. A new generation of hands is a beautiful thing to see.
Here’s Grayson waiting his turn to build his kit.
Noah’s project wasn’t from a kit but was a picture frame that he had designed for his mom and dad.
Of course, no visit is complete without making a mess.
The smaller bulldozer is Andrew’s gift from Sarah and Gage. The larger one is one that Ken gave to Nathan when he was about 10 years old. Definitely a keepsake!
The same box that held the bulldozer from Ken held a recorder and a kazoo. Of course, there is nothing little boys love more than making messes and making noise so they were pretty much in little boy heaven.
As much as I hate to admit it, after everyone had left, Steve and I wholeheartedly concurred that we were no longer young. Or even youngish. We were in awe that young parents are able to keep up with young children day after day and year after year. I know Steve and I did it back in the day but there’s a big difference between being in our 30s and being in our 60s when it comes to wranglin’ kids.
We both heartily agreed that it was a precious privilege to get to be a part of our grandchildren’s lives and then we also heartily agreed that a nap should be the very next thing on the agenda.
And so it was.
Beloved grandkids and blissful naps. Pretty much a perfect day.
What about you?
Did you grow up loving to build things?
Did you (or do you) ice skate?
Do you have any fun activities to suggest for kids between the ages of four and ten?
Happy birthday to Gage! That new birthday hat suits him to a tee!! 🙂
That Whitewater venue looks awesome! I tried to ice skate when I was young. I just could not stand up on them. My ankles kept collapsing. Ugh.
I love that the boys all got to do some building with Steve and their new hammers! What fun times and great memories made for them and for you!
LeeAnne,
Little boys and new hammers: definitely the recipe for happiness–for the little boys and their grandpa, both.
I did a lot of roller skating when I was young but ice skating was just a little too much.
That is quite the center – all of those activities for the enjoyment of everyone. I didn’t do any building but when my daughter was growing up I had ordered a craft kit that would come every month and she and her dad would put things together (son wasn’t interested). Some items required a sewing machine and since I did not have one, those were set aside. When Christmas time came there was a kit with items that could be made into ornaments. I still have them and asked her if she would like them (they are almost 50 years old) and she said she would. I found one item that never got made and checked to see if the company was still in business. Unfortunately it isn’t but that company made many great memories for our family. To see Steve so diligently working with his grandsons was the best. In the future know Noah and Grayson will cherish those moments they spent with granddad. Love Gage’s birthday hat. Good to have another one – just in case! Love all the pictures!
Sharyn,
What a great idea to have a monthly craft kit. I love that idea and I also love all the memories that were made while putting those crafts together. I love that your daughter wants the ornaments 50 years later. Those are priceless items.
It’s wonderful for parents and grandparents to spend time with their little ones creating special items and special memoreis.
There is a hotel/entertainment area in KC that has an outdoor ice skating rink in the winter. I went many years ago. You have to have strong ankles. I fell several times!
Happy birthday to Gage.
Your description of babysitting reminds me of my neighbor last week. She and her husband who are probably in their 60s babysat their 2 year old grandson for 4 or 5 days while his parents went to Arizona. She told me there was a reason you had kids when you are young.
Phyllis,
Yep, we definitely had more “kid energy” a few decades back. Your friend did well to babysit for 5 days, especially a 2-year-old. They are so cute but are into everything!
Even though I’m like you and can’t really skate, it sure is fun to watch the ones who do it so well.
Happy Birthday, Gage! Love the new generation hat! The center looks amazingly fun to this newly 69 year old! To be honest, if my old ice skates still fit, I’d likely get on the ice (sometimes I ignore by wiser self) as I grew up ice skating 7 days/nights a week through the winter. Our little village would flood the tennis courts and it turned into a huge rink but only about 6 inches deep!
I was always more interested in making/building something or being outside as a child (especially at the beach or ice skating). As an adult I developed a love for power tools to make my house “my own” after helping build it with Habitat for Humanity at 50 years old! My grandson lived in my home for most of his first 13 years and he loved to jump right in on the “make stuff” bandwagon (and the clean the house bandwagon much to my delight). So for his 3rd birthday I went to Goodwill and bought an old typewriter and an old VHS player along with real mini tools to take them apart and a kit to build his own toolbox. Another year I invested in Snap Circuits Jr to learn about, well, electrical circuits. Another year his Dad bought him a kit to make his own computer. Elementary school age was so fun!
Guerrina,
What fun memories of ice skating 7 days a week. I can only imagine how much you and the other townspeople enjoyed that!
What a great idea to buy old electronics and let your grandson take them apart. There is nothing better than hands-on learning. And to think he also cleaned up the messes he made; that’s a great kid!
I’ll have to look into Snap Circuits; I think the grands would like that.
Lets see…I don’t skate (roller or ice)…like you, I like my bones the way they are. The Whitewater Center looks really neat – and I would love to do the whitewater rafting part.
I don’t consider myself a “builder” but more of a “putter-together-er”. Remember “sound lights”? They plugged into a stereo then flashed in different colors to the beat of the music playing. That’s what I wanted one year for Christmas, so my dad got me a kit to build one. (My younger sister got a ready-made smaller one) but I learned to solder as we spent a few hours putting it together. I also remember my dad AND my granddaddy having a workbench in their basements with a big vice/clamp attached like I see in the picture of Steve’s work bench.
I’m glad you got to enjoy your grandchildren and then enjoy a well earned nap!!
SueEllen,
I don’t remember lights that changed to the beat of the music but I’m impressed that you were able to make a set from a kit.Learning to solder must have been such a fun thing for you and quite the feeling of accomplishment!
Glad the picture of Steve’s workbench brought back some good memories for you; those big vices/clamps seem to show up in a lot of places.
Dear Becky, I love your lovely family and your updates. When I was just into my 60s, my daughter (she got married the day after Sarah did! I watched Sarah’s wedding live the night before Juliet’s was to take place, panicking about the weather the next day – which actually was awful lol) skated regularly at an ice rink in Oxford (England.) I didn’t see much of her at the time so I signed up for beginner lessons at her rink. I lived 50 miles away so this meant every Monday I’d be driving to Moreton-in-Marsh, waiting for a train, travelling 40 mins to Oxford, having a 30 minute lesson, reverse and repeat. I turned out to be terrible at skating, but they are happy memories – standing on a platform on a sunny afternoon, clutching my heavy bag of ice-skates, going to see my beloved daughter.
(she lives just 14 minutes away from me now.)
Love to you all, Teresa xxxx
Teresa,
You are definitely a dedicated mother to spend that much time traveling every Monday just to get to see your daughter. How lovely that she lives so close now–no ice skates or trains needed to get together with her!
Thanks for your sweet words about our family; it’s fun that our daughters got married so close together.
That looks like an amazing outdoor area! It sounds like fun was had by all. I am always in favor of building-themed activities since that’s what I liked to do as a child. We had a “cool melt” hot glue gun (hot enough to melt the glue, but not hot enough to make you blister if you got it on yourself) and I loved making things out of items from the recycling bin. Paper towel cardboard rolls and bottle caps and empty bottles can be used for so many things! My family joked that I could make anything given a roll of tape and string. Add hot glue to the mix, and really nothing was out of reach. We also made lots of forts out of cardboard boxes and blankets, but our main building material was egg cartons. My mother saved them over the years and we would build human-sized igloos out of stacks of hundreds of egg cartons. What do you know, after all that, I ended up being an engineer when I grew up 🙂
Robin,
Oooh, a cool melt hot glue gun is a great idea! I can just about guarantee a parent of young children invented that. I need to look for one for the grands.
It’s so cool that after that “building” you did as you kid, you’re doing a version of it for real in adult life. It’s amazing to me how different gifts and interests show up so early in a person’s life. And kudos to your mom for having the patience to collect all those egg cartons. 🙂
Happy Birthday to Gage. Looks like a fun place to visit and I would have loved the ice skating rink, even with my old bones. When I moved to Michigan I thought I would find outdoor rinks, but the only one is a 30 min drive so have only been once. I was thrilled to try out the Rockafeller Center rink in NYC once.
I grew up with a handy builder, repairer dad. We were always allowed to use his hand tools and his wood scraps. Loved creating things even if they didn’t look like much. His old hand drill was my favorite and it somehow disappeared. I hunted for years and was so excited when I found one in an antique store.
I think you have found some good activities for those kids. There are lots of fun books that have kid activities in them. Science experiments are always fun.
Patti,
How fun to say you’ve skated at the Rockefeller Rink. Not many people can say that!
It’s great that you were allowed to use your dad’s hand tools and even greater that you found a similar hand drill to the one that was lost all those years ago. I can only imagine how excited you were spotting one in that antique store.
Yes, I need to look up some science experiments. Those are ALWAYS a hit. Thanks for the reminder.
What a great place to take little ones! Whether it’s border collies or children, wearing them out is a necessary part of keeping both them and you happy. 🙂 I am glad you didn’t put on ice skates, too. I roller skated as a child/teen, but I never put on ice skates until Adam was 7 and his Cub Scout troop went to a rink. I took them off within about 5 minutes. I was already in my late 40’s and decided that having a broken hip wasn’t on my agenda at that point in my life. As for that bridge, I doubt I could have made it over. I have a terrible fear of heights. If the choice was between making it across a high suspension bridge or get eaten by bears, I may as well just cover myself in BBQ sauce and lay on down.
My dad was incredibly handy; he finished off our unfinished basement himself, poured the concrete driveway, built beautiful brick planters all around the patio, and built a sturdy cinder block 2 car garage behind the house. He did not pass that gene on to either me or my brother, sadly. I CAN crochet and cook, but that’s about the extent of what I can do with my hands.
Pam,
I loved your “BBQ sauce” line. If I see anyone lying by the bridge next time we’re there covered in sauce, I’ll just take a wild guess that it’s you! 🙂
Wow. Your dad sounds like he was a handyman and beyond. Think of all the money he saved the family doing that work himself! But crocheting and cooking are good, too. Glad you are doing you!
That Whitewater Center looks amazing! I’m with you, though, on liking my bones in their current arrangement. One broken wrist was enough for me!
I am not around any littles, so I don’t have any suggestions for activities. But I’m sure I would be exhausted from ice skating/climbing/feeding/entertaining them, and also having the responsbility for taking care of them!
Tell me about that shade above your kitchen window! We currently don’t have anything on our kitchen window, but the land across the road from us is supposedly under contract for new houses, so we will need something. Hopefully later rather than sooner!
Stefanie,
The shade over the kitchen window is a faux Roman shade so I’m afraid it wouldn’t do you much good, privacy-wise. We have a mini blind behind it to block out the sun in the afternoon but it’s so high off the ground that we don’t really need any privacy at that window.
Yes, the Whitewater Center is great. We actually had not even been there until last Friday night but are definitely going to make it more of a habit.
I hope you’re kitchen cabinet project is going well!
Not a building type but I did sew a lion plushie to my friend when I was 14! Maybe not a normal thing to give to s friend who was also 14 but she loved it ! My friend had a obession fot The Lion king and lions since she was a child you see. Also no I have not sew things since 😂
We got to know each other when we were 13 and we are still friends today.
Does Sarah keep in touch with her childhood friend Victoria?
And yes my friend still have the lion 🙂
Also I an very tired today because I stayed up to watch half of Super Bowl!
Katrina,
How fun to sew a lion plushie; that is way beyond my skill level. I’m glad your friend loves it so much.
Sarah and Victoria don’t stay in touch a lot beyond maybe a few messages on Facebook. Victoria has become a veterinarian.
Hope you enjoyed the Super Bowl!
So much family fun! I love it.
And, the Whitewater Center one of my favorites. My daughter and her family live in Matthew’s, NC and we love to visit there. It’s beautiful at Christmas time as well. So glad you were able to visit this amazing place.
Kim,
Sarah and Gage went at Christmas a couple of years ago and said it was so beautiful.
Glad you’ve gotten to enjoy it, too!