Grandpa

I loved my grandparents when I was a kid, but I didn't see them very often. Dad's parents lived about four hours away in central Wisconsin so about twice a year we'd trek out there to see them. My mom's parents lived nearby when I was little, but left Minnesota for sunnier skies when Grandpa retired. They visited frequently and I went on some extended trips with them, but it isn't the same thing as having a grandparent who lives nearby.

My kids have a very special relationship with my dad. Of their grandparents Dad is the only one who lives in Minnesota and they see him almost every weekend. Most Saturday nights he takes them out for their "Grandpa Date" which almost always consists of Rainbow Pancakes, face painting and balloon animals at Perkins. Isabella almost always comes home with a spider web and spider painted on her hand. Cheyenne gets a variety of animals painted on her forehead, but they are almost always purple.



Grandpa's best friend is his iPhone and the girls love it almost as much as he does. He downloads apps for them like a kaleidoscope, a reading game and even a working ocarina that you play by blowing into the microphone. They don't play video games with mom and dad, so this is a very special treat for them. It's cute to see them all snuggled up on the couch playing together. Grandparenting seems to have changed a lot since I was a kid.

Cheyenne is convinced that Grandpa is 5 years old like she is. She even shared her sparkly purple #5 candle with him for his "5th birthday" which is a week after hers...and 50 some years after his first 5th birthday. She told me later that day, "Grandpa and I have a lot in common. We're both 5, we both love the colour purple and we both really like mermaids." Of course, none of that is really true about Grandpa, but I think it's sweet that he plays along.