Grandma; View

If there's one thing I know for sure, it's that my grandma is the coolest person I know. I have had a life-long love affair with this woman- she cracks me up, she makes me think, she's smart, wise, and honest. I know that if she is around I laugh until my cheeks hurt and come away with a better understanding of myself. And while plenty of time is spend just talking and enjoying each other, my grandma is not the "sit in a rocker" type- she dances and paints and raises dogs and gardens and cooks like a mo-fo and on and on and ON.

I know it's a little unconventional to absolutely *love* hanging out with someone who is 50 years older than ones self, but there you have it.

I don't get to see my grandma much, as she lives a distance away, and she winters in the south, and she's busy and we're busy ETC and on and on. But whenever I get the chance to spend time with her, sometimes just for a day or afternoon, I jump on it. I suppose one of the benefits of not living closer is that we really cherish the times we do spend together.

Since becoming a mother, seeing my children form a bond with my grandma is probably even more rewarding than spending time with her myself. It's funny but my girls are just as enamored with her as I am. The sit on her lap and loving yet absentmindedly rub her cheek while soaking up every word she says. Which is exactly how I used to spend my days with her as a girl.

Last Thursday Grandma was in MN visiting my aunt, so we shamelessly barged in on them and stayed all day, well into the evening. For a woman inching in on 80, I think she's still getting around pretty well. Here's some photographic proof:

Playing with sidewalk chalk:

And Ring-Around-The-Rosie:

And taking a break to cuddle with a couple of the puppies she's selling:

++++++++++++

Also, I don't feel as if I've ranted and raved about how awesome our campsite was. We had such a beautiful view of Lake Pepin that it took me by surprise every morning. I'm quite serious when I say that every time I emerged from our tent I would exclaim "[EXPLICATIVE]!!! Can you believe this view?????" And then I would chuckle/snort and accidentally inhale a little slosh of spit and have to revive myself before even taking my first pee of the day.

In any case, here's a few shots of what we were forced to view DAY IN and DAY OUT for 4 days:

Sailboats!

Off to the left in the campground beach that we frequented:

And the sunsets, man, they sucked: