The New Christmas Grandparents

Guest Post By Christopher Dayton's Mother.....
Here we are at the Dayton house for another wonderful Christmas with our grandchildren and son and daughter-in-law.  Now we may not be the most typical grandparents. We live in a 36 foot fifth wheel downsized from a 3000 sq. ft. house. Our backyard is 26 acres of forested property 2000 feet above sea level right outside of Mt. Rainier National Park in Washington state. We've traveled extensively (40+ countries) and are now retired. Our four Dayton grandchildren (ages 15, 11, 7, 5) are the light of our lives.

I was thinking how different our trips to our family are from typical Christmas journeys of the past. Yes, we come bearing a car load of gifts as well as enough luggage for a week long stay. Yes, we bring (or buy) food for Christmas dinner, breakfast, etc.
BUT,  Grandma (that's me) now comes with a laptop that has a 17" screen, a Galaxy Tab (7") Android based device, cell phones, chargers and other electronics. And NOW the youngest grandchild, after giving me a big hello kiss, asks "Grandma, can I play Angry Birds?". The next youngest chimes in with "When can I have a turn?"  A few minutes later, after setting up my laptop in the room my oldest grandson has cheerfully vacated for the duration of our stay, the two oldest politely ask if they can use my computer to check their e-mails, Facebook pages, Skype with their cousin in Florida, etc. Not that they don't have their own computers, but mine is newer and bigger, Of course. After all, I truly am Techno Grandma!

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year
Jofannie Karla

Thoroughly Enjoyable

Claire did a production of Thoroughly Modern Millie this summer with her theater group and it was BY FAR the best production I have ever seen.  Granted, I am not a cultured theater go-er who sees the most current and clever shows.  However, I do know a good thing when I see it!!  Those friends who saw it would agree with me, and the multiple standing ovations prove it so.
The main characters were all high school and entering college students, yet I felt like I was watching trained thespians on Broadway. They were perfectly cast...every one of them.  Claire was part of a special ensemble group called "the newsies", who were young paperboys.  This group was the first one to be seen at the opening of the show, and they would make adorable appearances throughout the show and between acts. This was one show I am most glad to see Claire record on her resume!!

The Newsies

The Cast

These girls were cute as buttons on stage!

...and how do you feel about that?

Ethan was sick for an entire week with a fever and could not go to school. The first two days he just laid on the couch nursing a homemade "soda", not caring about much but the TV. The following days he would wake up and eagerly ask, "Am I better yet, Mom??" After taking his temperature we would find that, alas, his fever had not broken.  TV had lost its allure and playing with the neighbor boy wasn't an option.

Cabin fever set in.

I tried to distract him with games, puzzles, and coloring.  We tried to bake together but he sneezed on the banana bread batter multiple times (I figured the germs would get baked out).  He was begging to go to kindergarten, whereas before, he didn't care much about going to school. Going to school was like... well... going to the grocery store.  Just something he had to do.

On Friday, he was finally well enough to go back to school. Hooray!  After he left that day I had a chance to straighten up and these are Ethan's coloring pages I found:

Think he was a little stir crazy??

The Jedis

Game #1: Ethan needed to be carried  coaxed out of the car. He was assigned a defender position on the field, but ran off crying when the start whistle blew. Ethan was subbed out the entire game.

Game #2: Ethan gets out of the car willingly, but requests to not play in the soccer game. In fact, he asks why I signed him up for soccer in the first place.

Game #3: The coach asks Ethan if he will try playing one quarter and "help out the team". Ethan agrees, and is posted as a midfielder. The coach shows Ethan where this general area is on the field and when the start whistle blows, he will not move from this area. He remains like a reed that won't break against the tide of boys that whoosh back and forth past him.

Game #4: Ethan decides that soccer isn't so bad after all, and asks to be in the game. As a midfielder, he actually runs around the entire field with the swell of kids. Ethan avoids touching the ball, and actually moves aside when it whizzes past him. I begin to ask myself why I signed him up for soccer in the first place.

Game #5: Position assigned. Attitude good. Whistle blows. Ethan runs! Ethan kicks the ball! Ethan is proud and looks at me, giving a thumbs up. Off he goes running again. * We are moving in the right direction with a little perseverance, and a very tolerant coach.

*I have since offered Ethan $1.00 for every goal he can score

Quest

Claire, now being in 6th grade, was able to attend her first youth retreat with our church. She was COMPLETELY excited to go and I admired her confidence. She has never been away at such an event, and there was only kids she is acquainted with (not bff's).
Claire started doing sleepovers around first grade without any homesickness or fears, so I wasn't too worried. She has been on a week-long cruise with her grandparents and loved the adventure. It is a blessing to have a confident and risk-taking child! Especially one that has so many God-given gifts and isn't afraid to use them.
At the end of the weekend, Claire made friends and memories. Another cool thing was to see Julian and Claire talking about all the cool things at Quest, since he had gone three times during his middle school years. Loved to see that bond happen.