Camp Grandpa has wrapped up for the 2020 season. Another week of hanging out with cousins at Grandma and Grandpa’s house is in the books. As has been the case each year before it the boys had a total blast!

On the car ride home they were both excited to share all of the details of the fun they had. Learning about all their adventures and hearing the excitement in their voice was priceless. Once we got home we took the dogs for a walk and Gavin went into even more complete detail about all the action. It is so easy to see why it is always one of their favorite weeks of the year and why they are looking forward to the next one the same night the most recent one is complete.

There are so many reasons I am thankful for hearing about their Camp Grandpa adventures. Of course I love hearing that my boys are having fun, that one’s pretty obvious.

I’m also thankful for hearing these stories as I know they are memories they’ll never forget. Eating a crayfish from the river. Marshmallow face burns (Dominic is okay). Grandpa doing flips off the dock. Those memories and so many others are priceless. I’m thankful for hearing they are creating those awesome memories and enjoying those experiences as that’s what life is really all about. At the end of the day stuff comes and goes. Our memories and experiences can never be taken away. They are the true treasures in life.

Why am I so passionate about this? When they kept telling me their stories I kept thinking back to the memories made when I hung out with my grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins each summer. So many awesome experiences and memories.

Listening to Brewers baseball on the radio in a screen porch eating butter pecan ice cream under colorful flower shaped patio lights while going in and out to catch fireflies that would never survive the ride back “up north” and Grandma having to remind me to close the screen door virtually each time I opened it (she’s got to laugh each time Gavin & Dominic don’t close it at home). Staying up all night playing video games. Seeing how quickly I can pound a can of warm diet Dr Pepper over and over again. Watching late night cable karate movies. Making claymation and live action movies. Mini golfing.

So many memories, it seems like a lifetime full in just a short period each summer while I was growing up. Each story they told got my brain thinking back to another great memory. Every time that happened I smiled wider as I realized with hope that they will have that same magic moment when they pick up their kids from spending time with us each summer sometime long down the road.

I am so grateful for this time they have with family to create more of those memories for themselves. Thank you boys for sharing all of your stories of your time up north, they warm my heart!

Thanks!!!