March 17, 2016

That time my grandsons became pirates

March 17, 2016/ Lisa Carpenter

pirate boys

When my two oldest grandsons, their mom, and I all visited Walt Disney World in January for our grand-as-can-be Disney Grand Adventure, one of the delights for Mac and Bubby was when they became pirates. Real pirates, with real pirate names.

See, Walt Disney World has a special add-on experience called The Pirates League, in which boys and girls with a buccanneer spirit can be transformed into a pirate with their own pirate look and their own pirate name. All with the goal of becoming a new recruit to team up with Captain Jack and his...

March 07, 2016

What's been missing! Plus, GRAND Social No. 197 link party for grandparents

March 07, 2016/ Lisa Carpenter

What's been missing!

Grandma's Briefs is all about the lifestyle of a grandma. Though I've recenty shared things part and parcel of this grandma's lifestyle, such as travel pieces and movie reviews, I've been remiss in sharing what makes this grandma, well, a grandma.

Meaning, my grandsons, who've been missing from Grandma's Briefs lately as other things have been all consuming.

So today I remedy that — right here, right now — with two videos of the munchkins.

First, the early morning greeting Bubby and Mac sent to Jim (aka PawDad) on his birthday last Wednesday:

Next, a video of Jak displaying his newfound skill of...

February 17, 2016

My grandsons aren't normal

February 17, 2016/ Lisa Carpenter

"My darling girl, when are you going to realize that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage."

~ Alice Hoffman, Practical Magic

I love that quote. I do believe, though, it applies not only to "darling" girls, but darling boys, too.

Particularly when those darling boys are my darling grandsons.

My abnormal grandsons.

See, my grandsons aren't normal. It doesn't take long scrolling through my photos of Bubby, Mac, and Jak to find evidence of their abnormalness.

weird kids wait in line for IT'S TOUGH TO BE A BUG

...

January 28, 2016

Final prep for our Disney Grand Adventure

January 28, 2016/ Lisa Carpenter

Our Disney Grand Adventure officially begins today! Early this morning, Bubby, Mac, Megan and I boarded the plane for Orlando and will be at Walt Disney World this afternoon.

In addition to packing our bags yesterday, a priority for the prep was making a wish list on the My Disney Experience site of all the must-do activities. So Bubby, Mac, and I sat down to peruse the offerings and mark those on the list the boys had already started with Megan — then added a few more.

disney grand adventure prep

The boys checked their height...

January 07, 2016

The makings of a Grand Adventure

January 07, 2016/ Lisa Carpenter

Last week I revealed the signs that 2016 would surely be my year. Already, it's shaping up to be exactly that thanks to an upcoming, all-new experience I recently added to the last week of my January 2016 calendar.

I've known for a couple weeks now, but I've been a little leery of sharing publicly as it seemed a wee bit too good to be true. I'm still a little leery — despite plans officially in place — so I shall present it to you piecemeal in hopes of not jinxing anything.

My big reveal, a little at a time:

What do you get when you take an adorable seven-year-old...

seven year old

plus a wacky four-year-old...

December 21, 2015

Pie faced! Plus GRAND Social No 186 link party for grandparents

December 21, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

Pie faced!

Happy Christmas week!

I gave my grandsons and their parents their Christmas gifts from PawDad and me when I visited them a couple weeks ago. One of the gifts I gave Bubby, Mac, and Jak was the game Pie Face. It was an instant hit with Mac, who exclaimed, "OH! I wanted this game for Christmas!" as he enthusiastically ripped off the wrapping paper.

pie face game

Bubby — who doesn't like whipped cream, a main ingredient of Pie Face game play...

December 17, 2015

Jak jumps in!

December 17, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

toddler swimming

Megan and Preston bought a new home in July and immediately initiated the installation of a backyard pool, a requisite feature of desert homes.

The process took much longer than expected, and Bubby, Mac, and Jak grew quite tired of being banned from their backyard...

November 17, 2015

His brother's keeper

November 17, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

“Children of the same family, the same blood, with the same first associations and habits, have some means of enjoyment in their power, which no subsequent connections can supply." ~Jane Austen

Every once in a while, Bubby and Mac get to have "sleepovers" together. They had one last week, with Bubby hosting Mac in his bed for the night.

Being a gracious host and all, Bubby read the bedtime story to his little brother...

brothers

And being a thoughtful...

November 16, 2015

No more babies, plus GRAND Social No. 181 link party for grandparents

November 16, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

No more babies

At this point in time, I no longer have baby grandchildren. That truth was confirmed (again) last week when Megan texted a few photos of fun at the park.

The most recent baby, Jak, is clearly no longer a baby.

toddler boy