Grateful Grammy Camp!!!!

On Thursday afternoon, I had a thought that it might be a great weekend to host a Grateful Grammy Camp.  Now that Miss Elie is on the potty train, she is invited to attend and I found out that Ricky's girls were available and our Kinsley Kate could come too.  Oh my goodness, Five little girls and one Grammy made for a very fun weekend.  On our drive returning the girls, we made a list of all the things we packed into our 24 grateful hours.

Miss Elie and I picked up the Mansfield Girls at the Fish Store in Grapevine

We stopped and picked up a Pizza Party on the way home and invited Christensen's to stay for dinner when they brought us Kinsley Kate

We ate and then had a Thanksgiving Book Reading Marathon.  Everybody chose a favorite and read out loud to us.  I loved how expressive they read and what wonderful readers they ALL are!

We passed out Christmas Jammies, we usually do that on thanksgiving night, but since we will not be all together, we did it early.

When Graypa arrived home from his trip to Beaumont,  we loved welcoming him home with lots of hugs and kisses!  Those girls adore Graypa, I do too.

We watched the first half of Frozen in Preparation for our early bird movie in the morning.

Sleep did come quickly for Miss Elie, but the big girls had a bit of chatting and lots of giggling going on until lights out!

Harper was the first one awake and came in to snuggle with Grammy, I LOVED it!  Addison followed soon and those two set up the cutest Breakfast Cafe' I mean Thankful Cafe which included Muffins, Hot cocoa with or without whipped cream or marshmellows or both and bananas.

Kinsley helped with hair dues and we quickly jumped into our clothes and dashed off to the Legacy theatre for the 9:00 showing of Frozen 2! 

I know we had just finished breakfast, but popcorn was a necessary item to enjoy the movie.  We sat on the 3rd row in lovely reclining seats.  We loved being there together an Elsa and Anna were fabulous.  We loved every minute!

After the movie, we dashed over to Hobby Lobby for some supplies for our craft that was coming up soon.  We needed felt,  Brown, orange, red, black and white.  Brooklyn had her own idea for a project and got Black and white and turquoise.

Then we headed next door for a treat at the Dollar Tree.  Oh  my goodness.

Since we had not eaten in 10 minutes, we stopped at t he Taco Bueno for a taco and then headed back to Grammy Camp.

We had left so quickly that we had a bit of tiding up the camp site to do when we got home.  Everyone also was able to pack up their things and then we got busy with Crafting Time. 

We made the cutest turkey heads that you place on a pineapple and then on Thanksgiving you can put cheese cubes, Vienna sausages, little sweet pickles on toothpicks and place them on the turkey.  My  mom used to do this every thanksgiving when I was growing up.  I just knew she must be smiling from heaven watching us make turkeys. 

Brooklyn made her penguin which turned out amazing!  Brooklyn is taking a sewing class after the Thanksgiving break at school.  She is going to be great!

Kinsley's daddy came and picked her up just as we were finishing and we all hugged her goodbye and promised to see her soon.

Graypa returned from the moving Party at Sky and Kara's.  He and Ricky had been invited and they worked hard.  Sky's new home is upstairs and so it made for lots of stair climbing.  I'm so glad my guys are such good workers.  Thanks!

We loaded up Grammy's car and headed to the American Girl Store at the Galleria.  Oh my goodness.  It must have been on lots of little girls wish list for Saturday afternoon.  It was quite crowded and we loved looking around.  They have a 3 story Christmas tree there.  It's fabulous!  We loved it! The girls had all brought their dolls along which made it extra fun.

We said goodbye to all the dolls and loaded up and headed to take Miss Elie Home.  She was soooooo happy to see her daddy.  Her mommy was in the shower,  we didn't disturb her.  We loved seeing Elie's new room and all her toys were there.  HOORAY!!! 

We drove the big girls home to mansfield and loved singing Christmas songs on the way home and telling stories to each other.  There were several accidents and traffic was slow, but we loved it, it gave us more together time.  Thanks Graypa for being our great driver. 

I loved finding this sweet sign on the chalk board in the sleep over room.  Thank You for coming to our Grateful Grammy Camp!  I'm so Thankful for all of you!

Happy Week of Thanksgiving North, South, East and West!

Our Mansfield Thiots
On Tuesday, the Mansfield Thiots will load up their car and head EAST to Sunny Florida to spend the Thanksgiving Holiday.  Nana and Papa are there visiting with Becky's brother and his family in Jacksonville and Ricky's family will join them for Thanksgiving.  Everyone is excited to go.  I was so glad the girls could come this weekend for a Grateful Grammy Camp!  We loved being together and missed those that are just too far away to attend.

Our Medford Granges
Jakes parents arrived on Saturday to spend the week of Thanksgiving in Medford.  Jackie and Tatia and hoping to fill Tatia's freezer with meals in preparation for the twins' arrival in less than a month!  Bumpa is ready to do anything Tatia has ready for him to do.  He is so kind and helpful and wonderful with those grandkids of ours too.  Sunday afternoon, they put Charlie boy down for a nap and sent Tatia to her room while Bumpa and Gigi watched Aladdin with the three big kids.  Tatia LOVED being sent to her room.  What a kind thing for a mommy to be!  Puzzels are always a hit with the Granges,  they have lots of fun ones and Sunday afternoon was the perfect time to break them all out.  Gigi in Bumpa headed SOUTH for Thanksgiving in Medford!

Our Carmichael Thiots
Our Keelie will turn twelve in 2020 and so she was invited to the Temple and Priesthood Preview her ward hosted on Sunday evening.  What an exciting time to think about her getting to have the blessing of attending the temple.  Go Keelie!  They are looking forward to a week out of school and have made plans to head NORTH to Medford to have Thanksgiving with Tatia's family!  Yippee!

orders filled from Saturday & Sunday, WOWSERS!

Pierce's kindergarten tote made a nice cookie tote

Our LA Thiots
Do you know how some blessings come all at once?  Stacy got a HUGE order for bracelets this week and it coincided with loosing one of her best workers so she has been almost literally buried in beads this week.  You are in our prayers Stacy. How  I wish we were closer and could run over and take your babies or help string beads.  Stacy's parents returned this week from their 18 month amazing Mission to Bulgaria.  I have loved reading her dad's monthly updates on all they have accomplished, all the people they have blessed and all the people they have met and grown to love.  They are at Stacy's sisters home in Idaho.  Pierce, Stacy, Jackson and Adelaide will be traveling WEST to Marina Del Rey for Thanksgiving!!!

Our Oak Lawn Thiots
Sky and Kara and Miss Elie have been moving for the month of November.  They are only moving around the corner, but it's nearly as hard as moving across the country.  Perhaps trickier as you just do a bit at a time and it leaves you living in confusion all month long.  They can nearly see a light at the end of the tunnel and Kara has the week off of school to turn this new place into their home.  Sky is working on a huge job, with a Tuesday deadline. This was a crazy time to be moving and trying to complete the project.  Kara's family is hosting Thanksgiving this year so they will be heading a bit SOUTH WEST to Arlington for their feasting I do believe!

We Plano Thiots
Once every couple of years, the Plano 4th Ward is invited to Host the  Zone Conference Missionary Luncheon to feed 5,000 hungry missionaries,  Just kidding, only 140 hungry missionaries.  We've taught the miracle of feeding the 5,000 in Seminary this year and so 140 didn't seem that big of deal. My teaching Partner, Linda  Higbee, was the captain of the Luncheon.  She is a mighty great captain and a really good thinker, planner and organizer.  We met on Tuesday for a "Chopping Party".  We cut tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions, red, orange and yellow peppers, and took rotisserie chicken off the bones.  When you are surrounded by friends, it is not work at all, but is truly fun.  Then on Wednesday morning, we headed to Frisco to a lovely chapel to get all set up.  We served 140 of the most thankful and grateful missionaries I have ever met.  They were wonderful and it was a blessing to be there with them. I hope you had a great thankful week too!  SLY Robynn

It's Time to be Thankful!

Our Mansfield Thiots
The Girls got to use their gift cards to buy their own dinner on Monday night and they sure enjoyed getting to order what ever they were wishing for.  I loved it!  Ricky and the girls were invited to the monster truck ralley on Saturday.  Ricky has loved Monster trucks since he was  a little boy.   I remember him going with Dick and my Dad and Charlie many  many  moons ago.  So loud and so fun! Becky is busy making preparations for their trip to Florida for Thanksgiving.  What fun!

Our Medford Granges
This week Tatia's new rocking chair arrived.  Now the rocking chair is amazing but the box it arrived in seems to be even MORE AMAZING!  Tatia has a talent for making houses out of Cardboard.  This is one of her greatest creations yet.  She said her kids loved helping by giving design ideas and helping with the parts they could safely help with.  Penny insisted on a welcome mat, and I LOVED it!  What fun.  Another Project Tatia has been wanting to do, is to paint a Peg Family to go on the shelf over the changing table for the babies.  She loved starting with the babies.  Oh soooooo cute!  I love those tiny bonnets on their heads.  Penny and her friend wanted to paint a doll too.  What fun it was for them too!

Our Carmichael Thiots
Charlie has been thinking about Christmas card pictures and invited some of us to help choose some outfits for the kids to wear.  I loved what he found.  Charlie was my hero this week doing some returns for me.  Thank you Charlie!  Have you heard about this sheep named Chris the Sheep?  He lives in New Zealand and was lost for five years.  He had nobody to take care of him and trim his wool each spring.  After five years he had grown 90 pounds of wool and was just days away from death.  When found, he was shaved and they found he had lots and lots of sores and bugs that had made their home on his back.  Thankfully for Chris the Sheep, he was found and ministered too and was able to live many more years in good health.  When I heard this story, I thought of Charlie, he is a wonderful ministering brother.  He knows how to watch out for those in need and instead of just thinking about helping them, like I sometimes do, he goes out to rescue them.  Thanks for your excellent example Charlie!

Our LA Thiots
I'm happy to report that the LA Thiot's are all feeling better.  After a battle with strep throat that invaded Pierce and Adelaide and a miserable ear infection that our sweet Jackson got, they are feeling better.  Stacy got  home just in time on Monday to take care of them all and nurse them back to health with her loving care.  Welcome home!  On a funner note, Adelaide was invited to be a toy tester for Mattel toys.  She was sent home with an "assisgnment" to test out this hot wheels race track.  WOWSERS!  She and Jackson have had a blast on this homework.  Adelaides friend Miss Poppy gifted Adelaide and Jackson with this two seater jeep.  Yes, it drives and they love it! It would seem that Christmas has already come in Los Angeles!

Our Oak Lawn Thiots
Sky and Kara have been working on moving from House 1 to House 2 this week.  They don't have to be out of House 1 until the end of the month, and so they have started slowly moving things they don't need every day.  Saturday, we got lucky and got to have miss elie hang out with us.  We loved it!  We had some returns at the mall and Elie loved playing on the playground there and watching the ice skaters.  I loved the first picture sky took this week at the Perot museum.  I told him Elie looked like she was six instead of two.  Don't grow up too fast Miss Elie!

We Plano Thiots
We had a fun Relief Society Activity this week.  We were all invited to bring our favorite dish to make for Thanksgiving.  Oh my there were some wonderful things to sample.  I made my rolls, using my mom's recipe.  I t made me happy.  I loved this display from Pottery Barn when we walked past it at the mall.  I wanted to move right into that Christmas room.  So fun! I've loved adding leaves to my Thankful tree this week.  I love this time of the year! We truly are Thankful and Blessed!  Blessed to know and love each of you!  Have a wonderful thankful week.  SLY Robynn

Way to Go! It's November

Our Mansfield Thiots
Way to Go Mansfield Thiots!  This was quite a week in Mansfield.  Report card came out and all three girls were champs!  They have all worked so hard this term and their hard work has truly paid off.  Graypa and I loved making them a congratulations for working so hard treat!  Sunday we headed to Mansfield bright and early to attend sacrament meeting with Ricky's family.  We loved being there to add our sustaining vote to Ricky's new calling as the Stake Sunday School President.  He was also approved to be ordained a High Priest and Graypa got to exercise his Priesthood authority to do that for him.  It was a very, very sweet experience to be there with him.  The girls and I enjoyed reading my pile of thanksgiving books together.  It used to be that I was the reader of the books and they were the listeners, now I'm the listener and they are the readers.  They are all great readers with such expression and it makes being the listener so much fun!  Thanks Girls!

Our Medford Granges
When the calendar turned to November, everyone loved being able to say, the babies will be here NEXT MONTH!  It's seemed so far away and now it's NEXT MONTH.  Tatia is in full speed ahead nesting mode.  She finished piecing the baby quilt tops and backs and mailed them to me for a friend of mine to quilt for her.  Yipee!  In Come Follow Me they talked about Growing their Testimonies and thought it would be great to draw a Testimony tree.  I LOVE it!  It's framed and hanging on their kitchen wall.  I loved the dinosaur bones Max added as the final piece.  Not sure how they builds our testimonies but surely it must!

Our Carmichael Thiots
Charlie got a call from Keelie's school on Wednesday and had to go pick up Keelie and take her home for some treatment for head lice.  It seems like the 6th grade has had a crop of lice move into their class room and many students have been having to be treated to get rid of those little monsters.  It makes my head itch just thinking about it.  Charlie's been washing sheets and bagging up stuffed animals and everything in Keelie's room.  Such a pain in the fanny.  I hope those little bugs are goners.  Keelie has such a LOT of hair that I bet they were extra happy moving into her curly top.  Sorry Charlie!  I love this happy picture of making crescent rolls for dinner.  My mom always called them Flintstone telephones.  I don't think any body knows who the flintstones are any more.

Our LA Thiots
I got a face time call from a very excited little California granddaughter this week who was putting Christmas ornaments on her Christmas tree.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Her mama was out of town for a few days getting certified to become a fitness instructor and to keep everyone busy and happy Pierce and Adelaide and Jackson put up the tree and decorated it.  I must say, it looks so pretty in their home.  This is the first year to be in this home for the Holidays.  I can see why they simply couldn't wait to put it up.  You are the BEST Pierce.  What a good daddy to make such fun plans.  They were going to disneyland when the kids got out of school and they were packing as much fun into their weekend as possible!

Our Oak Lawn Thiots
We've had some rainy days and guess who loves jumping in puddles in her new rain boots?  You guessed it, Miss Elie is a puddle jumper all the way.  Nothing makes her happier.  She is a fun girl who plays hard but it's not until you get her strapped into her car seat and get ready to take her back home that s he falls asleep.  She doesn't need naps so she says, but she gets a nice one on her way home.  Oh what fun we have on Tuesdays together.  She makes me happy for sure! Sky and Kara have some friends who live near by, who bought a home and are going to rent their condo out.  Sky and Kara and going to move to it.  Moving is so much fun.  (Just kidding)

We Plano Thiots
The movie Christmas Jars was showing in Plano for one night only.  Dick and I had a date night and went to see it.  We loved it.  I had read the book years ago and loved seeing the movie.

We got to feed the missionaries this week and I made Aunt Jerry's taco soup.  It makes your house smell sooooo good.  I made Aunt Bonnies corn bread to go with it. It was so fun to think about those two amazing aunts of mine as I made their recipes.  The Elders enjoyed the dinner and even took a to go bag for lunch the next day.   Yum!!

For Seminary, I made book marks with a marvelous quote from Elder Christofferson.  When I tied the  yarn on, I was afraid they made Elder Christofferson look like the genie in Aladdin.  Oops, That was not my intent.  I kept the Genie one and the students got plain ones.

My Friend, Julia Ann celebrated her 83rd birthday this week.  When I went to see her, she couldn't remember who I was.  I told her that's ok, because I remember who she is and I love her.  We sat and visited for a few minutes.  She has seven other ladies she lives with and they all have nice recliners and were all lined up against a wall watching the news before dinner time.

Miss Elie and I had made some turkey cookies and I took enough  for Julia and her friends she lives with and the two gals who take such good care of them all.  One of her friends was holding a baby doll who was all swaddled up in a darling soft blanket.  I loved being there with them.

My friend Daniel and two of his four little boys came by on Saturday to bring me a temple they had made for me.  Daniel has a 3-D printer and made me the Salt Lake temple.  I LOVE it!  I love how the painted it just the color of that beautiful granite temple.  What a treasure!

This last photo is one that a family friend sent to my sister Lani last week.  In 1974, my dad was in the Bishopric in the Sandy 23rd Ward.  Dad is standing next to Bishop Nichols in the middle of the photo.  He has on a brown coat and some sweet plaid pants.  Pierce said he would like a pair just like them.  It seems that plaid was the thing in 1974.  It made me smile to see that picture and to see all those great men who my dad loved serving with.  It's been quite a week.  Time for bed.. Sure love ya'll, Robynn