Desert oasis: Boys and their buds

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Contrary to what many might believe, residents of the desert must be water worshippers of a most dedicated degree. For when temperatures hover around triple digits for days on end, staying cool in the pool with your pals is pretty much a matter of survival — yet loads of fun, too, as you can see.

outdoor swimming pool

boys at the pool

Today's fill-in-the-blank:

The most enjoyable way to stay cool is ________________.

Fowl play, plus GRAND Social No. 59

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I spent Sunday afternoon at Sloan's Lake in Denver, where Andrea, Brianna, Jim and I celebrated Andrea's birthday (which is next week) and mine (which was last week). While enjoying family time, we also enjoyed fowl time, the fowl being the many pelicans and geese merrily populating the place. 

Naturally, I couldn't help but take photos. Lots of photos. I ended up with 840 of them by the end of the day — more fowl than family, I must admit. Here are a few of my (fowl) favorites:

pelicans

geese in water

geese on land

Thank you to Andrea — my baby, who will be twenty-eight next week — for introducing me to yet another place in Colorado that I had never been before, despite having lived here nearly 40 years.

And now I thank you for joining me for GRAND Social No. 59!

link party

How it works:

  • All grandparent bloggers are invited to add a link. You don't have to blog specifically about grandparenting, just be a grandparent who blogs.
  • To link up a post, copy the direct URL to the specific post — new or old — that you want to share, not the link to your blog's home page. Then click the blue button marked with "Add your link" below and follow the directions.
  • You can add up to three posts, but no duplicates, contests, giveaways, or Etsy sites, please.
  • Adding a mention such as This post linked to the GRAND Social to your linked posts is appreciated. Or, you can post the GRAND Social button anywhere on your page using the following code:

Grandma’sBriefs.com

<a href="/" target="_blank"><img src="http://grandmasbriefs.squarespace.com/storage/GRANDsocialbutton.jpg " alt="Grandma’sBriefs.com" width="125" height="125" /></a>

 

  • The GRAND Social linky is open for new posts through Wednesday evening, so please come back to see those added after your first visit.
  • If you're not a blogger, you have the pleasure of being a reader. Bloggers who link up would be honored to have one and all — other bloggers as well as readers — visit, read and, if so moved, comment, even if just a "Hey, stopping by from the GRAND Social."

What I learned this week: Reason No. 11 why I won't live near my grandsons

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As many of you know, I live more than 800 miles away from my grandsons. When my daughter and son-in-law first told my husband and me we'd be grandparents, it broke my heart. I was certain I'd not survive unless they relocated to live near me.

They never did.

Of course, there was the option of my husband and me moving to live near them. A lot of grandparents do that, but it's just not in the cards for me. I wrote about my reasons for not doing so in this article. At the time I wrote it, one big reason I noted for not moving to be near my grandsons is the fact I have a life here in the mountains — a life that includes my (yes, adult and out of the nest) oldest and youngest daughters who live in the mountains, too, despite my middle daughter and her family preferring the desert.

There are other reasons why I won't live near my grandsons, and another I hadn't originally thought of became crystal clear this week.

I like to take photos. I'm not the greatest, though I'm working on getting better. Here are two I took of nature in all its glory while looking out the sliding doors to my deck this week:

 butterfly on flowers
A butterfly enjoying the dianthus.

squirrel relaxing
A squirrel relaxing in the tree.

Compare those two photos to two my daughter took of nature in all its glory around her place this week. Keep in mind that this is my daughter who, along with her husband and my two grandsons, lives in the desert. Here are the photos she texted me:

scorpion
A scorpion lodged inside the honeycomb window blinds.

lizard in garage
A lizard in the garage — just outside the door to the house.

I'd say nature in the mountains (my place) is far easier on the eyes — and nerves — than nature in the desert (their place), wouldn't you?

The bottom line/the moral of the story being that if getting to see these two adorable kids...

boys in inflatable pool 

... on a regular basis means seeing those two frightening critters on a regular basis, too, I'll take being a long-distance grandma any day. I'm not proud to admit that... but it's true.

And that is what I learned this week.

Well, I also learned that my daughter is far more brave than I ever thought she'd be, that little Meggie of mine who once (as a teen!) captured a spider in our family room late one night by placing a heavy bowl over it, then taping a note to the bowl asking me to take care of what was trapped inside once I awoke. Now look at her — taking photos instead of screaming and running!

(Now I hope I'll be just as brave and not be completely freaked out about icky desert things when I visit my daughter, son-in-law and grandsons in 10 days!)

Best wishes for a critter-free weekend, wherever you may be! I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday!

Today's question:

What did you learn this week?

Five and ready to dive

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Bubby loves the water. For several years now, my oldest grandson has taken swimming lessons.

He's enjoyed outdoor lessons:

toddler swim lessons

And he's enjoyed indoor lessons:

indoor swimming lessons

What Bubby has not enjoyed was being restricted by Mommy and Daddy from jumping off the diving board on his own. Bubby has begged Mommy and Daddy again and again to be allowed to jump off the diving board like the big kids. Their response was always, "You'll get to do that when you're 5 years old."

Well, guess what? Bubby turned 5 years old this week.

Which meant the waiting was over!

The much anticipated dive attempt was planned for Bubby's official birthday.

So on Tuesday, Bubby's official birthday, a visit to the pool was the highlight of the day.

Bubby stepped right up, and he jumped right in:

Mission accomplished!

Another milestone met, another big-boy achievement checked off.

Today's question:

When did you last jump off a diving board?