Don't freefall backward down the slide, plus other tips learned in a bounce house

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Because my grandsons have an in-ground trampoline at their house, you wouldn't think they'd get much fun out of the Bounce-A-Round I reviewed a while back — which Bubby and Mac had not yet seen. During their visit a couple weeks ago, though, once Patrick brought his son over and the inflatable bouncing thingamajig was inflated, Bubby, Bud and Mac had a boisterous bouncing blast.

bounce a round

A couple days later, the bouncing blast was supersized when PawDad...

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After my grandchildren leave

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After my grandchildren leave

grandparents and grandsons

My three grandsons and daughter surprised me with a visit, filling my nest with the magical mayhem that accompanies young boys.

For seven soul-satisfying days, love and laughter — along with loud toys and joyful noise — mark the days in spectacular, unforgettable ways.

Then, in what seems a blink of the eye, the...

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Wherein Bubby and Mac dance like... er... dance to 'Gentleman'

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Just Dance 2014 Gentleman

We enjoyed several fun outings while my grandsons and daughter visited our house. As the weather was uncharacteristically cruddy for this time of year, the challenge was keeping Bubby and Mac busy inside while Mommy and baby bro Jak — and PawDad and Gramma, too — got ready to go.

The Wii came to the rescue... though semi-inappropriately so, I must...

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What a catch

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My oldest and youngest daughters, Brianna and Andrea, flew to the desert with Jim and me for Jak's baptism a little over a week ago.

One of the days we were there, I gave Andrea my camera to snap pictures while Brianna and I swam with Mac and Bubby at the community water park. Upon returning home and going through my photos, I was pleasantly surprised by the following photo Andrea took of Mac practicing his swim moves.

bird at swimming pool

What a catch — for Andrea and for the Cheetos-nabbing blackbird.

Today's question:

When it comes to Cheetos, do you prefer the puffed ones or the crunchy ones?

Jak meets PawDad, plus GRAND Social No. 114 link party

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Jak meets PawDad

I visit my grandsons far more often than my husband does simply because I go to the desert to take care of the boys on a fairly regular basis when Megan and Preston must attend to business matters. So it was pretty darn fabulous that Jim came along for last week's visit.

Especially great about this visit with our grandsons was that it was the very first time Jak and PawDad met.

newborn grandson

I think they...

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More than just a zoo

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I have a love/hate relationship with zoos. I hate that animals are caged and domesticated to a degree simply so we humans can ooh, aah and ogle the once wild — and sometimes rare — creatures.

That's the hate part of it. The love part is the amazement in the eyes of children when they see the creatures up close, as well as my love for photographing such moments. And I love, too, photographing the animals. It's hard to resist the lure of a good zoo.

boys at aquarium

When Jim and I spent some time with Bubby and Mac a couple weeks ago, we visited one zoo that's far more than a zoo...

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