B - I - N - G - Oh So Much Fun!

Last week, my Mom and I took the Madore-ables to visit my Grandfather at the nursing home. We had some reasons to celebrate: one, it was my Grandfather's 92nd birthday. Two, we hadn't been to visit my grandfather in over a month due to colds and sickness running rampant through the home so I didn't want to expose my girls to that. It was a great visit and the girls had a great time.

We found out that there was another resident who shared the same birthday as my Grandfather. The woman had a cute little stuffed Snoopy musical toy that the girls absolutely loved...especially Sarah. When you touched the little button on the side, Snoopy started "playing" his piano (actually, he just wobbled back and forth).

Sarah cracked up the whole time.

There were crayons and markers and lots of coloring books and things to color for the residents. We visit my grandfather so often enough that the nurses aides always grab a fistful of markers or crayons for the girls. They love love LOVE to color.

Then it was announced that the Bingo game was about to begin.

Here comes Samantha with her lucky chips!

Sarah's All Set and Ready To Begin

Sam Did a Great Job...She Seemed To Grasp the Concept After 2 "Calls"

She's So Adorable When She Concentrates!

Nanny? I Don't Get This Game At All

I Still Don't Get It, But I Know I LOVE It!

Samantha Won A Game Of Bingo! She Was So Excited

I don't know if she was more excited that she was able to play the game or she won a Hershey Bar as a prize : )

Grandfathers Are Grrrrrrrreat!

Yesterday, the Madore-ables and I went to visit my grandfather at the Nursing Home. We make it a fun, weekly trip and each time we go, we have no idea what fun and surprises are in store for us.

My grandfather was in great spirits and talked quite a bit. He even paused long enough to grab some photos with his favorite great-grandchildren too! The staff at the Nursing Home is absolutely fantastic. Not only are they very friendly and on a first-name basis, but when there's fun snacks and activities going on, the staff always seem to include my girls in them. Heck, the Madore-ables are entertainment for the residents too!



Sarah sharing her snack with Great-Grampy

After snack time comes arts and crafts

Being silly

Grampy sitting with his 2 favorite great-granddaughters. (Sarah's expression cracks me up)

Sarah playing soccer with a balloon with some of the residents

The activity of the afternoon was golf

While Samantha was golfing, Sarah was snacking and hanging out with Great-Grampy.

Life Coming Full Circle...With A Little Bingo In Between

Every Wednesday, my Mom, the Madore-ables and I take a trip to Winchester, Massachusetts to visit my grandfather who's living in a nursing home for a few hours. It's really a fun event. Sometimes we have lunch at Nanny's house, out at Wendy's, or sometimes we have lunch with my grandfather, Grampy. The possibilities are endless!


We started visiting the nursing home in May of 2008 when my grandmother ("Grammy") first became a resident there. Grampy followed soon afterwards. Grammy passed away on April 30th of this year, but we still keep our weekly tradition of going to visit Grampy. Who would have thought the nursing home could be fun? There's so much entertainment to be had! We get to play fun games like Bingo, and crafts. We also know the other residents by name as well and even make our rounds with the girls just to say hi to everyone. Sarah doesn't say much, but always says, "Hi" or "Bye!" and blows lots of kisses. This afternoon, she even played a great game of peek a boo, and "high five" with one of the residents. It really makes me smile to see the other residents smile and laugh when we bring the Madore-ables. I look forward to going each week.


It took having the Madore-ables to realize just how important the little things in life really are. I've been very fortunate to have been able to grow up with my grandparents and have great relationships with them. Now that the girls are here, I hope my girls have great memories with their grandparents as I have with mine.



Here are some photos of me with my grandparents:

And here are some pictures of the Madore-ables with my grandparents: