Saturday, October 3, 2009

Goin' to Grandma's (and Grandad's)


I remember when I was little, I had a suitcase that said Going to Grandma's. I used to love visits to my grandparent's house. After we moved to KC as a kid, I remember getting to fly to their house for a week or so at a time. I still love going to their house. Since they are our closest family now that we live in Nashville, I decided we should take a trip to see them, and let Brice and Rider experience going to see the grandparents. So, one Monday morning about 2 months ago, we loaded up the car - me and the two boys and made the 5 hour drive to Troy, IL - pretty close to St. Louis. Thankfully, the drive was very uneventful. In fact, my bladder cooperated, and we didn't even have to unload everyone on the way there...we drove through Mickey-Dee's for lunch, I fed Rider in the parking lot while Brice ate his nuggets and we were back on the road in under 15 min. (One reason why diapers are still an okay thing). My sister and her sweet little Max also made the trip from KC, so we got to see them, too! Bonus!



We had a great time that week. Brice - like he does with most men in our family - fell in love with Grandad - whom he lovingly calls PawPaw. PawPaw loved his new little buddy and they spent a lot of time together. Brice got to pick okra from the garden, and one afternoon, the girls took the little boys shopping while PawPaw and Brice stayed home and napped together. In fact, Brice took a nap on his lap - if you know my kid, he doesn't do that with anyone! How special! :) Brice sure does love this man, and I mean, really, how could you not???





Rider and I shared a room - which didn't allow for a ton of sleep for me, but we managed, and he got all kinds of love from Grandma. Max loved playing with Rider...he was so good with him. I think Beth should have another one for Max to play with. Just a thought! :)



Grandma taught Beth and I how to can that week, too. They have a nice, big garden - that I am jealous of - jealous of the space and time to have a garden - someday I will have one, again! Anyway, their garden was full of tomatoes, so we boiled, peeled, cut, strained, boiled again, then canned our very own tomato juice. We also made some delicious chili sauce - which I have used on - yes, you guessed it - chili, and it is very yummy. How fun to learn one of those long, lost skills! I've since looked at stuff in the grocery store to do my own canning, but it is a little expensive, plus, I don't have my own veggies from a garden. I'll stick to buying them for now. :)






We also tried out a new omelet cooking method - in a ziploc bag in boiling water. Yes - it works - in fact, that's what we ate for dinner tonight. It is so easy! Crack 2 eggs, add a little milk, salt, pepper, any fillings (bacon, sausage, cheese, peppers, onions, etc) put all into a quart size ziploc bag, "smush" everything together (Brice's favorite part), place bag into boiling water for about 15 min, cut bag, and your omelet will roll right out. Try it! I love omelets and this is the easiest way to make one!



Since our trip last month, we have been able to see Grandma and PawPaw again. We recently took a trip to KC, and on our way home, we stopped off for some delicious potato soup, grilled cheese, and peach cobbler. Grandma sure does take good care of us!! Thank you for all the wonderful memories, and many more to come. We love you guys!

2 comments:

  1. i LOVE making omelets that way. it is great for making breakfast for lots of people. in fact, it is now a garrison farm tradition! eggs in a bag sound gross, but it is awesome and everyone gets the kind of omelet they want.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think someone needs to post about their first 5k...your boys would be so proud of you when they read it in the future :)

    ReplyDelete