G R E A T Grandparents!

Wanna know something C R A Z Y?! When I was born my Grandpa A was still in his 30s. The upper end of 30s, but still, 30s! My Grandma was young when she had my Mom, and later married my Grandpa who was a couple years younger than her, then my Mom was young when she started her family. That made for seriously young grandparents.

Easily one of the best parts of my childhood!

I remember going to Lake Powell with them when I was 5 and learning to knee board behind their boat. There were tons of camping trips, boating and playing. Heck, I remember watching my Grandma A water ski & my Grandpa try to stand up on the knee board and "surf"!

I have the best memories from growing up VERY close to my young grandparents! This Summer I discovered another favorite about them.......

Grandpa helping Mally pick the crazy big leaves off the crazy odd "tree" in their front yard.)

I LOVE sharing them with MY kids! My kids are growing up with memories that I grew up with. I mean, Gramps isn't out behind the boat or anything, and actually struggles quite a bit with his health, but he takes every opportunity to play with and make my kiddos happy! He ALWAYS meets Mally with a twinkle in his eye and a handful of butterscotches saved just for her in his pocket.

Every Tuesday this Summer we spent the day with them. Mal & I were in the house helping Grandma with a few things and Jake was mowing the lawn outside. No small feat! I remember doing the same thing! The backyard is HUGE with hills! I was so proud of him! Occasionally I would peek out at him to see how he was doing and I would hear him singing, while mowing. No music, but his cute little voice. I was SO glad! He was learning that serving others makes your heart happy!

We taught him about not accepting payment for service, however, if you know my Grandma, you know where I get my stubborn streak! She insisted and certainly wouldn't take no for an answer!

Jake decided that he would kindly accept and then put that money in his "mission savings account". His plan....at the end of the year, when the lawn no longer needs to be mowed, he wants to send them a thank you card and tell them thank you for contributing to his missionary fund. Oh, sometimes kids are just plain good! Really really good! I'm so proud of him!

Mal has had the fun opportunity to have a sleep over with G & G. Just like when I was little, the night included going out to a store (Home Depot this time), an ice cream cone from Artic Circle, a trip through the yard with Gma to pick flowers & berries and A LOT of spoiling!

Yep, I would certainly count spending LOTS of time with Grandpa & Grandma and watching my kids develop deep bonds & fun memories with them is one of my favorite things about moving back to Utah!