A Weekend with the Grandchildren

How much fun can you have with a pair of hyperactive grandchildren in two days? Enough to feel your age.

On Saturday afternoon, we visited Leya and Elise at their house. Leya wanted to plant the idea that we should go to to the amusement park at King's Dominion the following day, and so she thought it would be fun if she and I drew our own amusement park in the cul-de-sac with sidewalk chalk. The name of the roller coaster was her idea, as were the pirate ship, slides, jungle gym, and boys' and girls' porta-potties...

She had me draw several cars at various points along "The Blood Dropper," and gave me specific instructions on how to draw one of them: note the hat that has blown off the fellow in the last seat, and the sparks flying from the wheels ...

While this was going on, Oma Agnes and Elise enjoyed some quality cuddling time ...

On Sunday, we did indeed go to King's Dominion, and Elise was very specific about all the rides she wanted to go on. She had to have her own copy of the park map and know where we were at all times ...

The park has a section for smaller children called "Planet Snoopy," with a Peanuts theme. Elise got a big charge out of "Charlie Brown's Wind-Up" ...

Elise listens attentively as Leya pontificates on the relative merits of various types of soft ice cream ... 

One of these days, I'm going to get to ride ...

In the afternoon, after things warmed up a bit, the girls wanted to go swimming at Big Wave Bay at the Water Park. I told Elise she couldn't go into the water until her mother was ready to go with her. Here, she demonstrates her sneaky grin as she edges sideways - an inch at a time - into the pool.

In the meantime, Leya found creative ways to play with the poolside water jets ...

I don't like roller coasters very much ... getting whipped around at high speed while trying to keep my lunch where it belongs isn't my idea of a good time. Nevertheless, Leya conned me into riding the Woodstock Express roller coaster with her. In this picture, Leya and I haven't even started the ride yet ... I was just practicing my terrified look.

Elise rode the roller coaster, too, along with riding Lucy's Tugboat with Agnes ...

As we were on the way out of the park, we were approached by a young man who had won a very large prize in one of the games that he didn't want, and wondered if the girls would like to have it*. And so it was that we drove home in two cars: Yasmin and Agnes and the girls in one car ... and me and a huge stuffed pig in the other**. Elise loves the pig ...

It was a busy two days, but it's always fun to spend time with the grandchildren you love. I think I'll have my energy built back up by Wednesday or so.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

* Oddly enough, this is the second time this has happened to us at the same park. Many years ago, when our daughter Yasmin was about the same age as her daughter Leya is now, a sailor on leave won an enormous stuffed dog he couldn't take back to his ship with him ... and he gave it to Yasmin. 

** Someday, I'll tell you the story of the day I took a walk with a huge, green-and-yellow stuffed frog. In uniform. Me, not the frog.