The difference one hundred ninety-nine days makes

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The difference one hundred ninety-nine days makes

Up until this past weekend, my husband and I last saw our three desert-dwelling grandsons one hundred and ninety-nine days ago. At that time, we flew to their house to celebrate their birthdays — all of which are in June — a few weeks early. At that time, they looked like this:

Last weekend Jim and I flew to their house to celebrate Christmas with them — a few weeks early. In the one hundred and ninety-nine days since our visit in May, Brayden, Camden, and Declan have grown by leaps and bounds — in stature, maturity, conversational prowess, game-playing ability, and more.

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Hearts, comments, new blog briefs! Plus GRAND Social No. 273 link party

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Hearts, comments, new blog briefs! Plus GRAND Social No. 273 link party

Hearts, comments, new blog briefs!

On Mondays, Grandma's Briefs gets the most visitors of the week. I credit the GRAND Social link party and the grand grandparent bloggers who participate by linking and reading. Because today is Monday, there are likely more than a few folks reading this who are seeing the new and improved Grandma's Briefs for the first time since I announced a face lift in the works.

When I did the big reveal of the completed makeover last Friday, I shared some of the new and functional features. Today I'd like to point out some of the new features that will be of particular interest to bloggers, as many of today's visitors are such. 

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I say that shutting up is hard to do

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Dear Mr. Sedaka,

You were so right. I know that it's true. Breaking up is hard to do. Especially for teens, when true love seems a fickle, heartbreaking foe.

I do know how difficult breaking up can be. I've been there, done that. Long, long ago, admittedly one of the billions of boomers who once sang away heartbreak blues crooning along to your catchy, comforting tune.

I'm decades removed from being a youngster longing for love. And in the years since breakups with beaus broke my heart, I've found something more difficult to do than breaking up, Mr. Sedaka. And that's shutting up.

Trust me: It's waaaay harder to do than breaking up.

I'm not talking about shutting up regarding social or personal injustice. No one should ...

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Hot dogs!

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Hot dogs!

Summer arrived to Colorado Springs packing heat this past weekend. In a house with no air conditioning, we all suffered. Jim and I — and Andrea when she visited for Father's Day — were pretty good about keeping our distress under wraps... for the most part.

The dogs, though? Mickey was determined to soak up a little sunshine Sunday morning out on the deck, despite the sweltering heat.

pit pointer mix 

His suffering was unmistakeable. And assuaged moments after that photo when...

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Multigenerational travel: My 5 fantasy vacations at Walt Disney World resorts

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Grandparents treating grandchildren. Parents inviting their parents. Mother/daughter, father/son trips together as adults — no youngsters allowed.

Multigenerational travel is the way to go for baby boomers and beyond. In fact, about 36 percent of families are planning such a trip for and with their beloveds in the next 12 months.

I recently had my first taste of multigenerational travel when Disney invited me for a Disney Grand Adventure to Walt Disney World, and my daughter and two of her sons (my grandsons!) joined me for the fun. It was indeed fun. And fabulous. And memorable. And it led me to consider other multigenerational vacations I'd be delighted to pursue.

walt disney world resorts

I had the grand opportunity to tour several Walt Disney World resorts on my Disney Grand Adventure. So, naturally, when considering future trips with various generations of my family...

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