17 April 2016:
To AJ, Ryker and Dempsey: I was thinking about the week that Grandma and I had the great fortune to spend with you three. Grandma calls it “making memories” and she is so right. While not in any particular order, here are the things that come to mind:
· AJ: I am so proud of you for the way you worked with your younger brother and sister. When playing with Ryker, you would listen to what he said and acknowledge him by saying something like “maybe we could do it that way.” You really worked to cooperate with AJ. When we would stop someplace, you would unbuckle your seatbelt and often would go to Dempsey and unbuckle her from her infant seat. You are a loving and caring big brother.
· Ryker: You are such a loving boy. We would be sitting at the table and you would turn to Grandma or me and say, “I love you” and would give us a kiss. One evening we talked about what we were going to do the next
· Dempsey Snow: You have a wonderful vocabulary for a two-year old. And you can be so polite. We would do something for you and you would say, “Thank you Grandma (or Grandpa).” You also are feisty. We would be doing something and you would say, “Go away.” One time while we were sitting at the table eating, you left to go into the living room but came back and looked at us and said, “Go away.” Grandma looked at you and she said, “No, you go away.” You actually were speechless for a couple of seconds.
Grandma and I talked and we think that not only are you a smart little girl but you learn from having your two brothers who talk to you and talk to each other. I think you learn from them.
· Dempsey: You are so independent. You wanted to buckle your own seat belt and would work several minutes at it before you would ask for help. Grandma and I worked with you on it and occasionally you could get one side of the lower buckle in all by yourself.
· AJ: You completed all of your spring-break homework so we could spend time playing. We are so proud of you. If I remember correctly, you had eight pages of math homework to do and you did all eight pages before Grandma and I arrived on Saturday to stay the night and then stay with you the following week. Your Mommy says you are really good at math, just like she was when she was in school.
You also have a good memory. On Sunday, the day your folks left, Grandma went through the schedule with all you kids. She explained that we would be with you from Sunday until Saturday. AJ, you counted the days and came up with seven days including Sunday. When your Mom and Dad arrived on Saturday and Grandma and I said we were going back to our home in Estes, you said, “but it’s not Saturday yet.” You remembered that schedule we talked to you about a whole week ago. You are very bright.
Ryker: You are just so loveable and mischievous. We were driving in the car and you were laughing and laughing. AJ called out, “Ryker pulled his pants down and I can see his penis and bum.” We had to tell you to keep your pants on when riding in the car.
· AJ and Ryker: You were so good a nighttime in going to bed. Ryker, you never came out of your bedroom once during that entire week.
· Dempsey, you loved to sing in the car when we went places. You sang, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” and “This Old Man,” among several songs. After you sang and sang, AJ and Ryker would join you so we had all the kids serenade Grandpa and Grandma. We loved it.
· Dempsey: The first night, you woke up at 1 a.m. and came into our bedroom crying. You wanted your mother and father. You asked me to take you outside. You went outside and looked for their pickup. When you didn’t see it, you started to cry and asked me to take you inside. First you wanted to go to your room. Once you lay down, you said, “Boys.” I asked if you wanted to sleep in the boys’ room. You said yes and then you went to sleep. While you missed your mommy and daddy, I think it was a big comfort to you to have your brothers there.
· Bath times: You kids had so much fun taking a bath. Grandma and I bought you fishing net and fish, some very colorful fish, and an Orca that opened its mouth to swallow fish that floated. You kids played and played with the net and fish. You had so much fun that Grandma went to Wal-Mart and bought you a second net.
Some of the adventures we went on:
· We went to the Denver Aquarium. Some of the best things we saw and did there:
o We saw the shark tank. AJ, we didn’t know what the big fish was that had a snout that looked like a saw blade. You looked around until you found a sign that said it was a “green saw fish.” You told Grandma and we were so proud of you for looking for a sign and then your ability to read it. We noticed during this visit that you often would look for signs and then read them. Keep it up AJ.
o We saw the mermaids. I think all three of you kids liked the mermaids.
o You all either fed or touched the stingrays. You kids were so good about touching the stingrays with two fingers on the top of them. I thought you all were so brave to reach into the water to touch them.
o We had lunch at the Aquarium. Grandma then got cotton candy for a snack once we got home. AJ, you really liked the cotton candy.
· We went to the train museum near Golden:
o You kids all enjoyed walking through any open train cars.
o You liked seeing the outside of the huge locomotives. Some of the wheels were more than twice as tall as AJ.
o AJ: you read the sign to watch out for rattlesnakes. Again, great job in looking for and reading signs.
o All of you kids really liked getting the Lego trains. We went up to the mountain house that afternoon and you built the Lego train there. AJ, you finished yours first. When there was a “hitch” missing, you asked Grandma if she had the Lego red box that included spare parts. You made a hitch out of another part to make it work.
o Ryker, you did a wonderful job of building your Lego. I think it helps to have a big brother such as AJ to set an example, but building that train was all you. You did a great job of reading instructions.
o D Snow: You carried parts around and dropped them. Yet, you wouldn’t let anyone help you. Finally, you let AJ build it for you. Go big brother AJ.
· We went to the RV lot and you kids helped us look at RVs. You went from one RV to another and told us the things you liked about each of them. This gave Grandma and me an opportunity to think about what we would want if we got a bigger RV than the pop-up camper that we currently have.
· One day we stayed at home and you played all day long. We asked if you wanted to go out but you wanted to stay and play. We had so much fun playing with the magni-tiles, with the block road that RJ built in the playroom, in doing puzzles and in building caves and bridges (using Grandpa) in the Living Room. We love your imaginations and we love the opportunity to make memories with you.
· After the train museum, we drove up to our home in Estes Park. After you build your Legos, we went to downtown Estes. On the way, we found elk and deer and stopped so you could see these animal herds. Once in downtown Estes, we went to the stream and let you throw rocks in the water while Grandma ordered our pizza. We went home to eat and then went to bed early. AJ and Ryker, again you did a wonderful job. Dempsey, you couldn’t decide if you wanted to sleep on the bottom bunk or on the cushion on the floor that Grandma got for you. You woke up at 1 a.m. and cried again for Mommy and Daddy. We went to the window to look outside. After a few minutes I asked and you said you wanted to go to bed. I took you back into the bedroom and you lay down immediately. You then have a very unrestful sleep. Every time one of the boys would move in bed, the plastic mattress cover would make a loud crinkling sound. Dempsey you would moan but you didn’t wake up. You did this most of the rest of that night.
· Ryker had a soccer game and AJ had a soccer practice on Tuesday, April 5. Ryker: I was so proud of you during your game. Every time you went in, you anticipated where the ball was going when the other team was kicking it to your goal. You would run ahead of the ball and turn to kick it back. Often you would kick it through the other team and to your teammates who were trailing the play. Often this gave them an opportunity to kick to your goal. You didn’t score any points this game but I think you were the most valuable player on your team because you played such good defense that I don’t remember the other team scoring any points while you were in the game. Great job little buddy.
· AJ, I was with Ryker and Jack at the playground during your practice but I looked over as often as I could. I saw you running fast and working so hard during practice. I was so proud of you. You did a great job during practice.
· On Friday, April 8, Grandma had a workshop to go to. She left to go and I made cereal and fruit for breakfast. AJ, you looked at the canisters of cereal and noticed that the Cheerios were in a square canister and the Rice Chex were in a round canister. You asked me why the round cereal (Cheerios) was in a square jar and the square cereal (Rice Chex) were in a round jar. I told grandma about that and she changed them so the cereals were in the right jars.
· We played at the Mountain house all morning on Friday morning. We then picked up and went down to Longmont. I took AJ and Dempsey to Becky’s and then took Ryker to the doctor’s office. Just before Grandma and I arrived on Saturday to stay at your house, you, Ryker, had cut your head above your right eye brow and had six stitches. Earlier that day, AJ explained to you that he and Dempsey were going to Becky’s and you were going to the doctor to get your stitches out. You didn’t say a word. We dropped AJ and Dempsey at Becky’s and then you and I went to your doctor’s office. Before we went into the doctor’s office, I said that afterwards, we would do something very special. I asked what would be special. You said to get a very special toy. I asked if you wanted to get ice cream as well. You said yes. You did such a great job of waiting in the waiting room. You would go to the water cooler and get water to drink and got three cups. When the nurse came to get us, we went back to one of the rooms. When the doctor came in, he explained that he was going to take your stitches out and had you lay back on the table. He then cut the first stitch and pulled it out. He said, “See one done and it didn’t hurt.” He did this with the rest of the stitches. The two stitches right in/near your eye brow were difficult to get to. When he took those out, you whispered to me, “It does hurt a little bit.” You were so brave during the entire time. When we left the doctor’s office, we picked up AJ and Dempsey.
First we went for ice cream. Ryker, you talked about going to McDonald’s so we went to the one close to your doctor’s office. You and AJ went on the indoor playground equipment. Dempsey was too young and too small and Grandpa was too big to take her. She stayed with me and she was sad she did not get to go on the playground equipment. Grandpa was sad too. I then asked you kids what you wanted. You all wanted an ice cream cone. I ordered cones for you and a hot fudge sundae for me. When all you saw the hot fudge sundae, you asked for a bit. So I took a bite, then AJ, then Ryker and then Dempsey. When you were taking a bit of hot-fudge sundae, you ate your ice cream cones. We then went to Target to pick out a special toy. Because all you kids were so good, we each let you pick out one. In the car, when I explained this, AJ said, “You mean this is a toy we can have right away. We don’t have to earn it with stickers.” I told him yes, it was a toy that he could have right away. I told him it couldn’t be a big, expensive toy but it was to be special. AJ picked out a Lego’s’ Space Wars figure. Ryker, you went directly to a Batman toy and picked that out. Even though you and AJ picked out your toy within the first couple of minutes, you looked and looked through the rest of the toys. Dempsey, you looked and looked. Finally I convinced you to look for a Mickey Mouse stuffed animal. On the way there, you saw a pink stuffed puppy. You immediately grabbed him. You had your special toy.
When we left target and pulled up to your house, Dempsey was asleep. As we got out of the car, your folks pulled up to the house in their pickup. AJ and Ryker ran to them. Your Mommy opened the door and Dempsey woke up and grinned. She was so happy to see your Mommy and Daddy. When she went into the house, she asked her Daddy to do puzzles with her. Dempsey, Ryker and AJ: you were so happy to have Mommy and Daddy home.
Grandma and I had a wonderful time with you. You kids were wonderful the entire time. You did a wonderful job of playing together, of listening to us, and of being wonderful kids. I probably remember things a little more positively than they actually occurred but there were so many good moments that they squashed any of the other moments – those I can’t remember still. Grandma and I love you kids and we thank your Mommy and Daddy to trust us enough to let us create these precious memories. We love you all.
Grandpa and Grandma
