Middle of September 2016

Wednesday, September 7, I drove to OP and picked up the kids from school.  Peyton was excited to be picked up as a walker, and Garrison was happy to be picked up early!  They chose to go to Burger King for dinner (big surprise) where they played on the play equipment inside and ate Junior Whopper dinners and caramel and chocolate sundaes!  We didn't get to stay as long as we usually do because Peyton needed to get home for Amanda to take her to church to her Family Formation Meeting.  Garrison took a shower while they were gone - she took hers when she got home, then it was time for bed.  Peyton came to bed with me during the night when she heard storms - poor little girl is terrified of thunderstorms!  I was glad to have the company.  The reason I stayed all night was that Amanda and Chad both had commitments before 7 a.m., so Grammy got to take Garrison to school much later than he usually goes.  The plan was to take Peyton too, but she decided at the last minute to have Mom take her to Y-Care so she could play with her friends before school.  On Thursday, I did some shopping and some things around the Todds until Garrison had eaten his lunch at school - then I picked him up to come back to Clinton with me for the night!  We had a blast driving home together.  I heard numerous stories about dinosaurs, about humans being on one side of coins and eagles being on the other side sometimes, and so on.  When we arrived in Clinton, he helped me bake a cake for Grandpa to take to the bank the next day - especially with the sprinkles.  He had a TV dinner of chicken and noodles, applesauce and strawberries and loved it.

I had told Garrison that I had to go to P.E.O. Thursday night (the reason we came back to Clinton) because I was the president, and he and Grandpa would be hanging out together while I was gone.  When Ron got home from work, Garrison ran to the back door and said, "Grandpa, Grammy has to go to P.E.O. because she is the Mayor".  Too funny.  They had a great time while I was gone, and he was sound asleep in our bed when I got home.  He was happy to get to sleep with me by himself.  He hasn't had many opportunities to be home with us and enjoyed being an "only" grandchild for a day!

Garrison and I headed back to OP Friday morning.  I dropped him off at school, and then Amanda and I had a mother/daughter shopping and lunch day.  We went to Olive Garden for lunch - a belated birthday present to me from Amanda - which was yummy and fun.  We shopped for a while, then we went to Cottonwood Point Elementary to count and enter into the computer the donations for the upcoming Fun Run Fundraiser.  It was nice to meet some of Amanda's mom friends and to pick up Peyton early at school.  We then picked up Garrison.  Amanda took Peyton to Tiny Tainers Dance, and brought home Taco Bell for our dinner afterwards.  Peyton started out sleeping with me, as it was already thundering when we went to bed.

Chad drove to Clinton after work on Friday and met Ron at the CHS Football game - they won!  They played together in the Boy Scout Golf Tournament on Saturday, where Chad bought Peyton as a surprise a Whit Merryfield Jersey (her favorite Royals player) in a silent auction - autographed!  She will be thrilled.

Saturday morning, we divided and conquered again.  Amanda took Peyton to a cheerleading clinic at Cottonwood Point.  I took Garrison to soccer and had fun being his "parent" for the day, being out on the field with him during practice time.  He was such a good boy.  Amanda and Peyton arrived at the soccer field before the match started, and we all had a good time in the beautiful, cool weather.  We went to McDonald's - Garrison's choice - for a quick lunch before I drove back to Clinton.

Ron and I went to the wedding of Andy Cummings and Breanne Brunick at the Methodist Church with the reception at the Benson Center and had a good time sitting with friends, Debbie and Dennis Sieger.

On Sunday, we went to church - I played the gathering music - then we went to the Windsor Christian Church where our friend, David Mills, preaches, for their fish fry fundraiser.  We saw several former church family members fron the Clinton Christian Church there and enjoyed visiting.  Sunday afternoon was rest time!!!

It was a memorable, blessed week.