The Summer Of Whammy is going well. Although little Dewdrop has taken to calling me Gammy instead of Whammy now. And Twinkle has gone from Schminkle to Winkle. Just this little tidbit of change is enough to remind me that they won't be little for long and I need to cherish this time with them.
Taking most of the summer off to be a Fairy Grandmother was a good choice.
We had both girls for a weekend and decided to pack up and go to Omaha because Dewdrop had never been to that zoo.
And it is a world class, wonderful, place to go. The exhibits are more like adventures than cages and it has all been beautifully done. I can't get enough of the butterfly garden or the bayou swamp.
We had lunch in a cafeteria over looking the rain forest. (I can't say that the food was good, but the fairies didn't seem to mind as long as they could watch monkeys while they ate)
Six and 11/12ths is a bit old for a stroller, but for our sanity and hers, we spent the day pushing both kids in a double wide.
We also didn't try to cram in the whole park. We ambled, we took our time, we stopped to climb on statues or look at fountains.
When we stopped at the playground, I over heard a frustrated mom say to her kids, "I didn't spend all this money for you to hang out on a playground, let's go look at the lions." I know she had a valid point, but for us, it didn't matter what we saw or how many exhibits we made it to, it was about Happy Time.
And when someone (I'm not naming names, here) got cranky, we left early. When Happy Times ended, so did we, it was time to drive around in the car till a nap spontaneously occured.
Even with a good nap, after a couple of hours of hotel splash pad/swimming she was BEAT.
So, it was stories, Netflix on the iPad and hanging out in the room. We weren't trying to "get our money's worth" from the trip, we were all about Happy Time.
And boy, did we get plenty of that.
When I was younger, I would probably have pushed my sons to get through the whole zoo. Thinking I'd drove 3-1/2 hours and spent a fair bit of change on the trip, we needed to see it all.
It's nice to be a mellow, old lady and to enjoy what is right there, right now, and know when enough is enough.
I so agree with you. Kids are going to usually poop out and why parents get mad when this happens, is beyond me. I’ve seen parents nearly beating their kids in the grocery store, late at night. It’s the parents that need scolding for having the babies out so late. Anyway, the Omaha Zoo sounds wonderful. I didn’t know it was so fab. There is so much to see here in the great ol’ USA. Happy pictures are priceless.
Ahhhhhh yes, how-we-would-have-done-things, years ago… But with a wee bit of age, comes lots and lots of Wisdom.
Aren’t the “Grands” lucky? They came in, on the Wisdom Side. 🙂
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful Granddaughters. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful photo caps of them.
And oh how I love to see little girls, in pink. -happy sigh-
Tessa~
Looks like a perfect summer. Well, Whammy, I think your wisdom comes through — but what wonderful photos!
You’re such a good gammy!
Gloria in Virginia
It’s a good thing that wisdom comes with age. You’re a terrific grammy.
~elaine
I have a whole pin board labeled that kind of Grandma. I tell friends about your fairy trail often and I really really want to be able to be that grandma to mine (as of now – I don’t have any yet)
This get pinned to that board with the search term happy time.
Grand kids are the most fun, ever! That board sounds like a good one, Teresa.