4 generations

We're in the middle of a four generation Christmas! What a treat for all of us!

I am thankful for the good heath of my grandparents (ages 91 and 90) to be able to travel to our house and to participate in many of the activities we are doing. To be here sharing stories, time, and memories.

I am blessed to have healthy and patient parents who are not only sacrificing some of their time with us by staying in a nearby hotel (and letting us come swim in the hotel pool and watch the cable TV - it's almost like a vacation for all of us!), but they are also great enough to take turns taking care of all the rest of us. Some days they keep the young kids (those under 10 years) with them for a few hours and sometimes they keep the old kids (those 90+ year olds) with them!

I am relieved that my children are finally showing off their good manners (well, most of the time!). I'm no longer so worried that my grandparents will think that their oldest great-grandchildren are hooligans. I also feel blessed that my children are now old enough that they will have memories of their great-grandparents and can spend some of this vacation having quality time with their great-grandparents and their grandparents.

It has been interesting having a few hours where all 8 of us have been at the hotel room at the same time. It's definitely opened my eyes as to those families that live with extended families in a two or three room house around the world! It's a very different experience than having all 8 of us in our multi-bedroom house.

A few of our experiences during this last week:

***
I have made a brain bender.
"Four related females go into a store. They get separated into two groups of two females. None are in the same decade of their lives. Two are looking for their mothers and two are looking for their daughters. How are they all related and who is in which group?"

This actually happened... I with my grandmother were walking around the store looking for our daughters - my mother and my daughter! And they were walking around the store looking for us, their mothers!
***
Some of us went on a hike the other day... We ended up skipping a loop of the hike so our hike was only 3.5 miles instead of 6.75! It was slightly muddy and E told us that her footsteps were following her!
***
It's not so hard to cook for eight people as I thought it might be. But I do have to plan better to have it all come off without a hitch!
***

More to come later!