FUN AT THE WONDER PLACE

I've had the greatest weekend. My daughter, Patty, and my three grandsons, Jake, Drew & Josh, came for a visit for a few days. They live about 3 hours away. This was kind of a last hurrah at Gramma's house before school starts. And my daughter-in-law, Aimee and my youngest grandson, Aaron, spent a great deal of time with us. On Friday we went to the Wonder Place. A place that has every imaginable toy to play with. It is divided up into sections such as, a bakery shop, a house, a climbing area, a train and car table, and a market. We hadn't been there very long before each found his favorite spot.

Jake (7) was just a little too old for some of play areas, but he was a good sport and found something to do. He enjoyed being the cashier at the River Market. The cash register was a working calculator, so he got a little math practice in. There was also a really big pipe thingy with vacuum that sucked in balls and scarves. The balls went through the pipes and then shot out overhead. Just the thing for a boy, balls shooting out at people. Thanks goodness they were really soft balls.

Next, is Drew (3). Drew loved everything that kept him moving:  climbing, playing in the water, the train/car table and the market. He was constantly on the move. But, he spied this dog a little girl was playing with. When she left he latched on to it and drug it all over the place. You didn't see Drew without his "puppy." He and Josh even had to give the puppy one last slide before we left. Drew really didn't want to leave his "friend."

This is Josh (Drew's twin brother). He also played everywhere until he found the kitchen area complete with oven, sink, fridge, and toy food. He put on a chef's hat and jacket and said he was a "baker" not a "chef". He started baking cookies (make out of wood which attached to a baking sheet). As you can see he was quite proud of his baking abilities and wanted to share his cookies with everyone. One woman asked if she could have one, and Josh said "No, they were still too hot from the oven." He really had a good time!

And, the littlest of our bunch, Aaron (1). There was plenty for him to do, but he stayed in two areas the most. He played at the train/car table. It was really cute, he used his index finger to push his cars. He is very fascinated with doors and drawers. There was a small house that was just the right spot for him. It had a door with a lock that he could open to his hearts content. He would open it and throw balls through and then close it.

We all had fun.

The kids playing and me, just watching the loves of my life.

Blessed, blessed!  I am truly blessed!!

Now on to something else. As you can see at the top of my blog there is a journaling workshop going on at Elle's Studio. Today  was about setting ourselves free and being ourselves when we journal. It's sad, but I'll never journal like the Pioneer Woman or others who just have the talent for writing interesting and sometimes funny blogs. Nope, that's not me. Writing has always given me problems. I can't even think what to write on a birthday card when it already says Happy Birthday! Anyway, we're supposed to start journaling more. One suggestion was that we start blogging for practice. OK, I have a blog, I can practice here. I'm really looking forward to the three week workshop. I so hope that it will help me journal my scrapbook pages better. As I mentioned in a post today, I usually create my layout first and hope there's just not enough room to journal much more than the occassion, date, and place. Stay tuned to see if this workshop helps me. I may be a hopeless case! Also, it was suggested that we can practice by keeping a daily list of maybe five things we are grateful for and why. Today, topping the list are those adorable boys you just saw. They are just so precious to me and keep me smiling and young. Cheating a little -  that's four things, right. And fifth on my list I'm thankful for their good Christian Mothers and Dads. These children have wonderful homes to be raised in.

I love my family so much!!