August 25, 2008
Grandpa gets a turn to visit two of our grandsons
Well, I’m flying high in the clouds like Superman. Except instead of a cape, I’m in jet airplane. I’m headed to see two of my grandsons, ages 6 and 4. Grammy Tanda had her turn a couple of weeks ago. So I figured, just to be fair to our grandsons, I should have a turn too! As I mentioned before, my wife and I enjoy traveling together, but sometimes our schedules don’t jive. School starts today, and as I write this, she’s teaching class about now. Probably trying to act tough and lay down the rules for her high school students in her Cultures and Cuisines class. (But she’s a “marshmallow”, and she knows it.)
So here I am, loaded with ideas of things to do with my grandsons this week. I’ve got my iPhone stocked full of fun little apps from the iTunes app store. (I’ll be writing about this in the near future.) I’ve got stickers. I’ve got crafts. I’ve got some play money I call “Grandpa bucks” that I’ll give them each time they chose the right or help clean up their toys. Then I’ll open up my “Grandpa Store”, my cache of goodies from the dollar store. We’ll go camping. We’ll be goofy. We’ll build a “fort” in the back yard. And maybe by the end of the week, I’ll understand why my wife felt so tired when she got home from her visit. 
Grandparents are there to help the child get into mischief they haven’t thought of yet. ~Gene Perret
Boys – they’re so full of energy! As a young father, I learned it is best to be flexible, because sometimes, before we can finish one of my planned activities, these young’uns decide they want to do something else. Now, I wouldn’t want to run out of ideas on this trip. So I’m hoping to pick up a few tips and ideas for games, treats, activities, and so forth from you, our readers. Things that you’ve found particularly successful with young grandsons. We had such a wonderful discussion about what you grandparents like to do with your grandchildren in our Grammy’s back home post. Let’s continue the discussion here. What would you suggest for young grandsons?
Thanks, Shayne
Filed under Grandchildren, Grandparenting by Grandpa Shayne
Comments on Grandpa gets a turn to visit two of our grandsons »
It sounds like you are having a wonderful time being the grandpa. Enjoy! These are the best times of our lives.
LdsNana
Thank you for the comment. Yes, this is the best time! Fun with the grandkids, and no poopy diapers.
I want to report that the Grandpa bucks and Grandpa Store are really working well! The boys are very responsive when they hear the positive complements.
One of the activities I had planned, but forgot to list in this article, was to go to the fire station with my grandsons. It’s always a big hit with boys! I used to take my sons when they were young, and also the Cub Scouts when I was the Cub Master about 18 years ago. Now I’m serving as Cub Master again. I’ll have to plan a trip to the fire station my town.
Today, I took my 2 grandsons to the fire station. Captain Moody gave us a personal tour. They got to sit up in the seat of the big fire trucks, ambulance, and even the fire chief’s truck! The boys loved it! The station next to their house even has a helicopter.
If kids like the fire house, they might like seeing the firemen train sometime.
There was a training tower the fire company used near where we used to live in Utah. It was several stories high and made of concrete so they couls set it on fire. The firemen would practice using hoses, doing rescues, etc. And the locals could watch from a distance, since a lot of the action happened several stories above the ground.
I’ve seen one here in Maryland, too. I’ll bet there is one near almost every city and the firemen at each local fire station know where it is. Should be easy to find out when there is some training to watch. It’d give the grandkids much of the excitement of a real fire with none of the fear and worry.
I went fishing Saturday with my grandsons. Didn’t catch anything, but had fun swimming in the lake. Today, we went to the theater and watched Kung Fu Panda. They had a blast! We also had lots of fun “horsing around” while we were swimming in their kiddy pool. I gave them horse back rides and bucked them off into the water.
The boys also really enjoy the games on my iPhone. I was amazed that the 6 year old is better at Monkey Ball than I am. 
@John: That’s a great idea. My grandsons would love to watch a practice fire! I like that, “the excitement of a real fire with none of the fear and worry”.
I’m back home now after spending a wonderful 2 weeks with my grandsons! I had planned to stay one week, but we had such a wonderful time together, that I stayed an extra week!