This blog has made me a better grandma. Not because of anything I've done, but what the readers of Grandma's Briefs have done for me.

One of the biggest courtesies of the grandmas who visit my site has been the wonderful ideas they share so freely, through their comments, the Grilled Grandma feature and on their very own blogs.

It's a few of those great ideas that made my recent adventure with Bubby all the more fun, all the more memorable.

First off was a suggestion from Grandma Nina, blogger at Grandma Ideas. A week or so before the whirlwind back-and-forth visit with Bubby, Nina featured the coolest of cool gadgets on her site: a Water-Balloon Factory. The moment I saw it, I had to have it. So I ordered it. And, luckily, it arrived just in time for the family to enjoy a few smashing and splashing sessions on the patio with Bubby.

 

It truly was one of the highlights for Bubby.

The second fab idea came by way of Grandma Shelley of Grandma's Little Pearls, who featured a post on her blog not too long ago about an ideal way to entertain grandsons: take them to a construction site to watch the heavy equipment dig, dump and demolish ... or build. Well, it just so happens I have a construction site right across the road from my house, where my crazy new neighbors are building the biggest of big shopping-center replica homes.

Bubby took every opportunity to hang out in the front yard or peer out the front windows in hopes of getting his fill of the "big truck" and "dump truck" action.

After all the fun was done and Bubby safely returned to his home, I decided to delve into a project recommended by Grandma Karen in her Grilled Grandma feature: I'm making a scrapbook of our ambitious adventure. Bubby can peruse the pages at leisure, recalling all the good times we had during his first-ever solo trip to Gramma and PawDad's, sandwiched between visits from Gramma at his house.

Here are a few of the special moments that scrapbook will feature:

As the success of the visit sinks in with Megan and Preston -- and they fondly recall the vacation it allowed them, as well -- I'm hoping to make the most of one more idea shared by nearly all the grandmas I've met through this blog: arranging annual trips for Bubby to visit Gramma and PawDad on his own!

I've got my fingers crossed as I look forward to next summer's adventure!

Today's question:

If money were no consideration, what one fun activity/event would you choose to do each and every summer?