Denver Broncos fans... still

Though it's been more than a week since the heartbreak of the Super Bowl, I finally got to see my grandsons in their Denver Broncos wear I had sent them for the game.

They assured me they did wear the shirts during the Super Bowl. Bubby said he even crossed all his fingers, toes and legs in hopes things would go our way. Alas, if only their efforts had saved the game.

We're all crossing our fingers things will go better next time.

And there will be a next time.

Today's question:

What team clothing do you regularly wear, for football teams or otherwise?

T minus eight to grandson kisses

The last time I got hugs and kisses from Bubby and Mac was last October.

The kisses part of the package looked a little like this:

Funny how quickly a photo shoot can morph into a kiss fest.

I loved it!

And look forward to it again.

In eight days!

Today's question:

What do you look forward to in the next seven days?

Boys are just as crazy as girls

What I learned this week:

Having had three daughters, the childrearing years my husband and I faced were filled with lots of drama, plenty of boy-crazy moments.

As they've had only sons (so far), I thought Megan and Preston might escape the thrills, chills, and tear spills associated with the crazy crushes on the opposite sex. Mostly because I didn't think boys were as crazy about girls as girls are about boys. I thought concerns about cooties — as well as indifference to cuties — was par for the course for males under the age of, oh, maybe 14 or so.

Then I saw something yesterday that changed my mind.

Mac and I walked to pick up Bubby after school yesterday. Bubby and his classmates ran around while parents mingled or talked to the teacher — Megan, my daughter and Bubby's mom, whom I wanted to touch base with before heading back home with her sons. Mac joined the big kids, and as I waited, I caught the following, a foretelling of what Megan and Preston have in store:

So I admit I was wrong: Boys clearly get girl crazy — and far earlier than I ever would have imagined.

Thank you for reading! Enjoy your weekend!

Today's question:

How old were you when you had your first crush and who was it on?

18 things my grandsons miss by not visiting their grandparents

My grandsons haven't visited my house in more than a year. It's been 15 months, to be exact, with no plans to visit in the next... well... I don't know how long. 

Though I'm thrilled to pieces that I'll get to see them soon at their house, there's plenty they miss out on by not visiting PawDad and Gramma at our house. Things found only at our place, things I'm sure they'd enjoy.

Things such as these:

Their special bedroom we call The Boys' Room, despite Bubby having slept in it only a handful of times and Mac having never slept in it — yet...

Exploring our back yard and front...

Playing at the food stand again...

Hunting for treasure PawDad hides in the sand by the waterfall...

And swinging with Gramma in the swing made for three...

Not to forget: the basketball hoop that's just the right height for boys to dunk balls — with a boost from PawDad...

And the bouncy house Bubby and Mac have never even seen — though it delighted other pint-sized friends of Gramma's...

Plus the popcorn machine for treats once the bouncing is done...

And there's Rock Dog and their Glo Worms and lions that stand guard from out front...

Plus, they could play on Gramma's piano (I promise to share)...

And the mini desk where Bubby loves to sort through Granny's nesting frogs...

Beyond Gramma and PawDad's house, there's fun and adventure found just out the door — like ITZ, the North Pole, Pikes Peak and more...

Most of all, though, what my grandsons miss out on more than anything are hugs and kisses and attention from their Colorado family — folks who miss Bubby and Mac to their core...

I truly and wholeheartedly understand that travel with little ones taxes Megan and Preston's body, mind and budget, too. And I do know Bubby and Mac will eventually get to visit Gramma and PawDad's house. Eventually.

I just hope it's before my grandsons reach the age that what they'll most enjoy about Gramma and PawDad's house is having a beer at our patio bar.

Even then, though, I'd be delighted to have Bubby and Mac visit our house.

Today's question:

What did you most enjoy about visiting your grandparents' house when you were a child?

Grandma's good fortune

I reside at the far end of "fortunate" when it comes to being a long-distance grandma. Reason being that despite my grandsons living more than 800 miles away, I get to see Mac and Bubby several times during the year.

I fully realize that is more often than a lot of long-distance grandparents get to see their sweet ones. It's even more often than PawDad, my partner in grandparenting, gets to see his grandsons.

How and why I've gotten so lucky is beyond me. Visits with my grandsons in the past couple years — pretty much since Mac was born — usually close with me unsure of when I'll get to see them again. Then somehow the semi-miraculous occurs and I end up with an unexpected trip to the desert landing in my lap.

Well once again the semi-miraculous has occured. This week the flight details have been finalized, the reservations have been made, and I'm off to see my grandsons midway through October.

As I considered the timing, I quickly realized that October isn't one of my favorite months just because I have few celebrations to plan, but more so because I've had the privilege of seeing my grandsons every October since Bubby was born.

There was last October, when PawDad and I visited together — then I went again alone two weeks later:

 

And the October before, when Megan and the boys visited our house (and we all visited the North Pole):

 

Plus, in October 2010, the month we learned Bubby would be a big brother, I visited sans PawDad:

 

And October 2009:

 

And, of course, there was October 2008, Bubby's very first October:

Yes, October is a very good month for visiting grandsons. I look forward to adding October 2013 to the list.

Did I mention my amazing good fortune?

Today's question:

What month for you features more time with family than any other?

Missing the magical ordinary days

Today marks six weeks since I've seen my grandsons. It seems so very much longer than that, as I'm so very much missing the magic of their ordinary days.

Days that looked like this last time I was with them:

It will likely be a while before I get to hug my grandsons — or their parents — again. Thank heavens for the hundreds of photos and videos I take when I'm with them. They keep me smiling from one hug to the next.

Today's question:

What is keeping you smiling today?

What I learned this week: I've become 'that' grandma

Fridays are typically when I share with readers far and wide what I've learned during the week. This Friday, though, because I'm currently at BlogHer 2013 and my head at this very moment is likely ready to explode with all the things I'm still learning this week, I'm going to share with you one of the things I learned last week.

And what I learned last week is this: I've become that grandma.

You know, that grandma who gives her grandchildren things like this:

Yep, I gave those to Bubby and Mac last week. Fancy-schmancy, sugary lollipops topped with two — count 'em, two! — ring pops. Each! Oh, the sugar they beheld. (I originally planned to share with you a photo of the nutritional info, too, but why spoil the fun?).

I was smart, though. See, I gave those sticks of sugary sweetness to Bubby and Mac just before I left for the airport to return home after spending a week with them.

So, yes, I've become that grandma. Not just the one who gives unhealthy jaw-dropping injections of sugar via irresistible treats, but the one who does so wisely, sugaring up up the children then heading for home, leaving Mom and Dad to deal with the sugar high and the subsequent low.

(Of course, I like to flatter myself and consider the subsequent low came not after the sugar wore off, but when the boys realized Gramma was gone, as they both had fallen asleep in the car on the way to the airport and the farewell was merely a foggy moment of interrupted slumber.)

Either way, I'm that grandma — and I'm pretty darn proud of it!

And that is what I learned this week.

Today's question:

What did you learn this week?