That time my grandsons became pirates

pirate boys

When my two oldest grandsons, their mom, and I all visited Walt Disney World in January for our grand-as-can-be Disney Grand Adventure, one of the delights for Mac and Bubby was when they became pirates. Real pirates, with real pirate names.

See, Walt Disney World has a special add-on experience called The Pirates League, in which boys and girls with a buccanneer spirit can be transformed into a pirate with their own pirate look and their own pirate name. All with the goal of becoming a new recruit to team up with Captain Jack and his...

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What's been missing! Plus, GRAND Social No. 197 link party for grandparents

What's been missing!

Grandma's Briefs is all about the lifestyle of a grandma. Though I've recenty shared things part and parcel of this grandma's lifestyle, such as travel pieces and movie reviews, I've been remiss in sharing what makes this grandma, well, a grandma.

Meaning, my grandsons, who've been missing from Grandma's Briefs lately as other things have been all consuming.

So today I remedy that — right here, right now — with two videos of the munchkins.

First, the early morning greeting Bubby and Mac sent to Jim (aka PawDad) on his birthday last Wednesday:

Next, a video of Jak displaying his newfound skill of...

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My grandsons aren't normal

"My darling girl, when are you going to realize that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage."

~ Alice Hoffman, Practical Magic

I love that quote. I do believe, though, it applies not only to "darling" girls, but darling boys, too.

Particularly when those darling boys are my darling grandsons.

My abnormal grandsons.

See, my grandsons aren't normal. It doesn't take long scrolling through my photos of Bubby, Mac, and Jak to find evidence of their abnormalness.

weird kids wait in line for IT'S TOUGH TO BE A BUG 

...

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Masterpieces for Mickey Mouse, plus GRAND Social No. 193 link party for grandparents

Masterpieces for Mickey Mouse

My four-year-old grandson, Mac, (who would correct me if reading this, pointing out he's  actually four and a half!) was pleased as could be that our villa at Walt Disney World included art supplies. Meaning, the typical pad of paper and pen one might typically find in a hotel room.

To Mac, that pad and pen were perfect tools for creating masterpieces he could hand off to Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and others we might run into on our Disney Grand Adventure. Unfortunately, Mac forgot to put his pics in his pocket the day we actually met Mickey, and the days he did remember, we had no luck in crossing paths with characters.

So I told Mac I'd take home his masterpieces for Mickey and the gang and post them in spots his Disney pals may see them. The renderings originally featured the artist's signature, Mac's real name, but in the name of online safety for my sweetie, I removed them. All the same, though, these are for you, Mickey, Minnie and more — from Mac, whose bloggy name must suffice.

drawing of Mickey Mouse 

Considering the talented artist is just four years old, I mean, four...

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Final prep for our Disney Grand Adventure

Our Disney Grand Adventure officially begins today! Early this morning, Bubby, Mac, Megan and I boarded the plane for Orlando and will be at Walt Disney World this afternoon.

In addition to packing our bags yesterday, a priority for the prep was making a wish list on the My Disney Experience site of all the must-do activities. So Bubby, Mac, and I sat down to peruse the offerings and mark those on the list the boys had already started with Megan — then added a few more.

disney grand adventure prep 

disney grand adventure prep

The boys checked their height...

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The makings of a Grand Adventure

Last week I revealed the signs that 2016 would surely be my year. Already, it's shaping up to be exactly that thanks to an upcoming, all-new experience I recently added to the last week of my January 2016 calendar.

I've known for a couple weeks now, but I've been a little leery of sharing publicly as it seemed a wee bit too good to be true. I'm still a little leery — despite plans officially in place — so I shall present it to you piecemeal in hopes of not jinxing anything.

My big reveal, a little at a time:

What do you get when you take an adorable seven-year-old...

seven year old 

plus a wacky four-year-old...

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Pie faced! Plus GRAND Social No 186 link party for grandparents

Pie faced!

Happy Christmas week!

I gave my grandsons and their parents their Christmas gifts from PawDad and me when I visited them a couple weeks ago. One of the gifts I gave Bubby, Mac, and Jak was the game Pie Face. It was an instant hit with Mac, who exclaimed, "OH! I wanted this game for Christmas!" as he enthusiastically ripped off the wrapping paper.

pie face game 

Bubby — who doesn't like whipped cream, a main ingredient of Pie Face game play...

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Jak jumps in!

toddler swimming

Megan and Preston bought a new home in July and immediately initiated the installation of a backyard pool, a requisite feature of desert homes.

The process took much longer than expected, and Bubby, Mac, and Jak grew quite tired of being banned from their backyard...

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A holiday sight to see: America's tallest Christmas tree

A holiday trivia question for you: Where is the nation's tallest decorated Christmas tree?

Did you guess Rockefeller Center? Perhaps the White House?

Nope. Believe it or not, the tallest decorated Christmas tree in America stands 115-feet tall in an outlet mall. In Arizona. Yes, it's so! Certified so!

Megan and I set out to see the holiday wonder this week, with Mac and Jak in tow. (Bubby was in school that day, just as he was this day.)

Whoo-eee! What a festive site to see!

nation's tallest christmas tree

The certification and...

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Grand desert hike

I'm not typically up for going on hikes with my grandsons when I visit their place, though hiking is one of the family's favorite activities. It's usually so stinkin' hot in the desert that heading out for supposed fun in the sun among cactuses is far from my idea of a grand time.

The other day, though, the desert weather was uncharacteristically mild and suited to Gramma's liking, thus perfect for hitting the trails with Mac, Jak, and their mommy.

hiking with grandsons

The hike was rather short due to...

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