Having Grandkids is a wonderful thing, and we dearly love spending time with our 3. The problem is that when our 3 kids were little, their Grandparents lived minutes away on Long Island, and were in their lives multiple times a month. Things are different today, and our three Grandkids live in North Carolina, while we live in New Jersey, so the time we get to spend with them is precious to us! The good thing is that no matter how long between visits, as soon as we are with Layla (10 going on 16), Henry (9), and Annabelle (5), we all immediately fall into a comfortable Grandparent/Grandkid vibe.

The plan this time was to get to their place at 4:00 after they got home from school. We were going to hang out with them for a bit, stay with Henry and Annabelle while our son took oldest Granddaughter Layla to Drama, and then take off for dinner. That was the plan at least, but the plan didn’t take into consideration that it was about 6:00 on a Friday night, and lots of people had the same idea. Our first stop was a favorite Italian place of the kids, but the wait there was at least 30 minutes, and probably more. Next we were off to a Mexican place, but we couldn’t even find a parking place there. Billy had to pick up Layla at 8:30, and we’d used up a lot of that time driving around trying other places. We tried an Applebees near her Drama class, and although there were lots of empty tables, they had no staff to wait on these tables, so it was at least 45 minutes to wait! The last resort was a Chili’s near our hotel, and after a short wait to clean a table, they sat us down! Adults were getting hungry, kids were getting hangry, and it was almost time to get Layla, but all worked out and the evening was saved!

The plan for the start on Saturday was to attend one of Henry’s hockey practices. This 9 year old kid is a wonder on ice skates, and eats, sleeps, and breaths ice hockey. This year he’s transitioned to the goalie position, and is a stand-out! Our son Bill is a coach and they have some really great shared Dad/Son times with hockey! Our youngest Annabelle decided she’d join Grandma and Grandpa at the hockey rink, and we made sure to bundle her up. Susie and I have learned, and now have a designated hockey bag that comes with us to NC full of all manner of warming things!

After the practice, we had some time and the two of us headed to Aldi to buy some Aldi wine that we like to bring home, then it was off to a local Brewery with the kids and some neighbors and hockey friends that we really like! Adam and Courtney are two great people, and along with their kids Violet and Crosby, we were so glad to get to spend some time with them. Adam’s folks were there too. and it was great to meet them! Billy and Adam coached a team last year, and they are on an adult team that plays weekly. Crosby and Henry are fast friends, and Violet and Layla have played soccer together. We met some new friends too and it was great couple of hours!

Saturday night it was family time and time to finally celebrate Christmas with our kids! The kids had Billy leave the tree up, and there were lots of presents surrounding it. The kids always get money in their College Funds from us, but when you’re a kid, nobody cares about college money, so there are always presents too! We’d brought a bucket of Wings from Charlie’s in Somers Point, Billy ordered pizza and a great time was had by all! The hit of the night was this floating ball that Susie picked up for Henry at Sam’s Club. We went home happy that we’d finally had Christmas with the kids and ready for sleep because Sunday was starting early!

And by early, I mean the alarm going off at 5:30 AM in our room because at 6:30 Henry had a hockey game! We dragged ourselves out of bed, and by 6:30 we were sitting the in bleachers ready to cheer on Henry’s team. They needed a few extra players, so Crosby was playing with Henry and Adam was there to cheer the boys on. No other grandchildren attended with us!

Henry’s team won the game by a 3-2 score and Henry got a lot of great saves. After waiting to see Bill and Henry after the game, we headed back to our hotel to “relax!” After several hours of watching some TV and taking a long shower, we were ready to head to another ice rink, and another practice to watch Henry and Bill in action! This time the girls were along, because after the practice, it was time for us to have some alone time with the girls!

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Both Layla and Annabelle had gotten Target gift cards for Christmas, and were anxious to do some shopping, so that was our first stop. I got Annabelle to pronounce it “Targeé” and she got a kick out of that. Layla is quite a good shopper and she got a lot for her money, while Annabelle is a 5 year old and had some trouble making a decision, but she was happy ultimately with her purchases! Then it was off to the hotel for some fun! Dinner was at McDonald’s and it was successful with Annabelle eating everything she ordered!

Sunday was a school night, so after Mickey D’s, it was home and time to get into PJs and wait for Dad and Henry to get home! A lot of activity in a jam packed weekend with our North Carolina Family! Till next time.