Thursday, July 28, 2011

three down, one to go


And I thought I didn't have any time to myself with the first two visits.

Jade, at 13 this summer, is full of ideas and wants to do stuff all the time. Except for checking her mail and FB now and then, she spent little time watching videos or TV like the other two. She loves to make things and will go on-line to find instructions to learn whatever it is she is interested in learning. And what a chatterbox. Unlike her older brother who talks all the time for the attention and when he runs out of things to say he'll just start repeating himself and her twin who doesn't really engage in idle conversation, Jade is just newsy and chatty. The one evening, after a long day of sewing (and sewing and cooking the previous day) that I did not contribute to dinner, Jade stayed in the kitchen with Marc while I sat and read in the living room. I could hear them as they chatted and joked and laughed while fixing dinner.

She wanted to make a dress, a stuffed monster toy, and a shoulder bag (she had brought iron on decals to decorate it).






In her new dress. She chose the same pattern as her sister and we made a little shrug to go with it. I still have to make one for Autumn probably out of the purple fabric.

She wanted to learn to make balloon animals so we got balloons.




She likes to cook and take pictures of food and made a pie, a green salad, a meatloaf and a fruit salad with little to no supervision and she helped with just about everything else.





She wants to learn to play the piano or the guitar and has signed up for band next year at school.

Learning to play chopsticks on the iPad.

We made ice cream and played Scrabble and Rummykub.

















She swam in the pool and lugged a lawn chair out to the field so she could climb up on the hay bale.

Thankfully, she did not want to see the Transformers movie (in which they destroyed 534 cars...I looked it up) or any of the movies currently playing. Said she'd take $5 instead.

So I gave her the money.



17 comments:

  1. she is adorable and SO creative! :)

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  2. How are you still standing? heehee

    And did you honestly give her $5 for she didn't want to do? WOW There is something I will have to put in my grandparent lists in the future.

    She is absolutely adorable and the dress is perfection. I love the purple monster too!

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  3. When can I come over???

    That is wonderful that she is so creative and wants to try new things.

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  4. I love that she tries to learn new things. When I read about the balloon animals my first thought was hey I would like to know too....maybe I will have to go get some baloons. sounds like your summer is going good. take care dear friend.

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  5. It is very exciting and invigorating to me to see the intellectual curiosity and inventive enthusiasm of children. I like to encourage that in youngsters. It was fun to read about how your grandchildren find ways to amuse themselves and relate to their wonderful g'parents.

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  6. What a lovely child, I enjoy her energy and thoughts.A friend had a grandchild come and she told him about me coming to visit. He was ready to go through all the sports in less than 3 hours. I was worn out, but we remain best friends.

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  7. I love how creative this kid is! What fun she must be to be around...

    Pearl

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  8. A very busy girl, useful to have around.
    She sounds like the sort of granddaughter I'd love to have.

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  9. Jade is so cute. I love her monster. The creative apple does not fall far from the tree of her grandmother. She may become an artist like you! Because of all the balloons in the chair I can see why you liked the balloon man in my recent post.

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  10. I LOVE the picture of her with the balloon on her head - that's just too cute. But I've always been afraid of balloons - they POP you know! Very scary.

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  11. She's adorable. Love the watermelon

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  12. I was just reminiscing with my 14-year-older brother Nelson about my visit to his home the summer I was 13. My memories are vibrant, and I also sewed with my sister-in-law. This is such a rich age, and Jade's interests will take her far, I think. I feel sorry for the kids who haven't discovered any passions yet. Jade seems to be a wonderful young woman. (And I also understand the need for solitude.)

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  13. Jade is awesome! An artist who takes after you. I love the watermelon. Very cool.

    She's beautiful, too.

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  14. My goodness, I feel exhausted just reading this, what a human dynamo (and your grandaughter is pretty energetic, too)!

    I can see where she gets her creativity from. I am SO impressed with all these projects, and the dress and shrug are beautiful. How lucky she and her sib's are to have such a fun gran as you, beware - they may decide to move in for good..

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  15. With a grandma who can delivered this kind of stories, no wonder the kid took the money--she is smart, and common sense might be contagious too. The is beautiful. I usually get distracted when I read posts; not this time. You kept me hooked from beginning to end. Great words... child... and story.

    And tell Jade I said 13 is such a wonderful age, especially when grandma rocks.

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  16. What a great kid. Such creativity, and you have done so well to provide an environment for her to grow in. Also, that hay bale...wonder what you could get for that in West Texas right now? A rarity! EFH

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  17. She is so cute and creative and is a chef in the making! That pie and salad look great! And the dress looks so good on her. What a sweetie!

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