Friday, September 4, 2009

Grandma is Here! or Here Comes Santa Claus




My mom flew in to Stuttgart on July 19th, Sunday morning, and the kids were so excited they had a hard time sleeping the entire week before. We were so excited to see my mom. She is so wonderful. If we had stayed in our house the entire time she would have been as happy as can be, just to be with us. Her only request on coming here was that she could see a concentration camp. Don't worry, I've harrassed her plenty about the psychological implications of someone who only wants to see concentration camps when coming to Europe. Luckily, she sat by a psychologist on the plane and got to work a few of these issues out, free of charge I might add. Grandma stuffed her suitcase with surprises for all of us and it felt like Christmas. One of our favorites was the gum she brought. When Grandma used to visit in Iowa the first thing my kids would ask as she got off the plane was "Do you have any gum?" Apparently they've led a deprived childhood. The pictures here show some wood puzzles my mom bought for each of the boys to put together. Each piece edge was numbered up to about a kabillion, there was one small picture with numbers showing how each piece interlocked. We spent a few futile hours attempting to piece the puzzles together and finally came up with a better idea. The second picture is us burning the puzzles to make s'mores--a much more satisfying project. After a mere 24 hours in Europe, Garrett and I abandoned my mom with 4 kids and took off to Switzerland. Thanks mom!

5 comments:

Denise said...

Aren't grandma's (and grandpa's) the best ever. So glad your mom was able to come visit and bring gum (that's hilarious). I bet you loved having your mom there with you.

Lonna said...

Hey, Heather! I sure missed your Mom while she was with you but I'm so glad that she could go and spend so much time with you. I just loved seeing the beautiful pictures that your Dad took! They are just wonderful. Looks like it was a great time for all of you. Your parents are the best. Such wonderful people and I bet you miss them now that there back in the good ole USA. I can't beleive how much the boys have grown! And you as usual are so beautiful!

literaqueen said...

Please tell me your mom didn't come all that way just to babysit while you took off for Switzerland . . .

Then again, if you need a sitter and want to spot me airfare, I'll come.

angie said...

Glad your mom was able to visit with you! I'm sure that was a lot of fun!

Fletch said...

Yay! Grandma! Even without the gifts and the gum, she's probably the Santa-equivalent to your kids.