I told before that I had referred to our adult kids that live near and around me as the northern contingent and the kids that lived south, the southern contingent. Well, then the kids joking started calling the northern contingent the Yankees and the southern contingent the Rebels…you know, a play on the Civil War??
I had a visit with the Rebels and I forgot to tell you about it. Sometimes I forget due to timing and sometimes current events bump a blog post like the flooding.
I was going to Buck and Lora’s because Lora was gone for a bachelorette party and Buck needed to be gone for a funeral. I was to be on Grandma duty.
Here are some random pictures I snapped when we were on the swings. This is Lucy. She’s 3 1/2.
This is Scotty. He turned 6 recently.
Scotty loves pushing the limits a bit as you can see him not holding onto the swing. It makes this grandma nervous. I ended up having to tell him the true story of my niece who didn’t hold on to a swing, fell off, and broke both of her arms.
He hung on after I explained that she had to be fed and had to have help in the bathroom as the way her casts were bent, her arms didn’t work right anymore. She was about five and it was a challenge to help her all of the time.
That night Buck wanted to take me to supper in Sutliff. It is a really neat bar and grill that serves great food. I highly recommend going in you live anywhere in NE Iowa. It’s worth the drive.
The “town” consists only of the bar pictured above, a couple of houses, and the historic bridge that is right across from the bar.
The bridge was awesome. It was completely safe for the kids to run around on. They would look out over the water and they just loved it.
The bridge is historic so there are placards along the bridge telling about it.
On the bridge are a few picnic tables. Patrons can go over to the bar, order food, and then go hang out on the bridge. They have a loudspeaker and when your order is ready, they call out your name, you cross the road to the bar and get your food. Then you can eat it at one of the picnic tables.
It was so fun especially when we had met Kayla and had Jasper with us too. MUCH more space for kids to be kids. Lilly in the stroller looks sad but she really wasn’t. The picture was just an “odd moment” shot.
There is seating inside the restaurant too. We simply preferred the outdoors.
The views from the bridge were so pretty. There were people boating on the river so the kids had fun watching them.
Scotty loved pushing the stroller with Lilly as we waited for our food.
People seemed to stroll the bridge before or after they ate. This person saw a turtle in the water and called the kids over. We didn’t know the person. She just wanted to share her find with the kids. Everyone we saw teased the kids and all were so friendly. The atmosphere was just great!
I snapped a picture of Kayla and Jasper.
Our number was called so Buck went and got the food.
We ordered two burgers for Buck, a meal for Scotty and Lucy, Kayla and I got a meal and she ordered a chicken strip for Jasper. We also order two appetizers, deep-fried pickles, and deep-fried green beans. Plus we had three beers and milk. The bill was $62. That was CHEAP!!
What a fun night! I really hope to do that again.
If you’re wondering Sutliff is between Lisbon and Solon Iowa.
We all went back to Buck’s and hung out for a bit before bed. Lucy wanted me to be the sad lion.
Here is Lucy and Kayla chatting.
Here are Lucy and me. She is such a pretty girl but the goofy girl over smiles likes this the second she sees the camera.
Saturday I took Scotty to see his other grandma. She was taking him for an overnight. She lives about a half-hour from them. She’s so lucky. She is a great help to them and I’m so thankful she is around to do the things I wish I could.
I try to soak in as many smiles and giggles as I can when I see them. They really are great kids. Lilly and I spent the two days fighting over her hair. She WILL NOT leave a clip in her hair. If I put on in, within 10 minutes, she pulled it out and had her hair in her face.
This swing was a new addition to the play area. Lilly wanted to go but I was nervous not knowing if she’d hang on. She was a champ.
HERE is a link to their swing. I thought about getting one for the other grandkids for Christmas but they don’t all have trees. We’ll see.
I would have just adored a swing like this when I was a kid.
The day ended way too quickly…but sadly it was time to get back to my life. I had gotten a call from Kalissa. She was dog-sitting for Rosie. She got away from her and put Kalissa in a panic but they got her back. Rosie just doesn’t do well without me.
I left with hugs and I gave Buck a reminder that I like to be asked to come and watch the kids so ask anytime. I am terrible at scheduling time to visit but if they ask and need me, I typically drop everything.
I hate intruding…but love spending time with them all. When I’m invited it’s so much easier. I think many of you can relate.
So that was my visit with the rebels. I hope I see them again soon.
What a lovely visit you had. You’ve got some great photos of your beautiful grandchildren :-)
I love this post for a number of reasons. The travelogue portion, with descriptions about Sutliff, the bridge, its history, the meal, meeting up with Kayla and Jasper, was really interesting. Sounds like a wonderful way to spend a summer/fall late afternoon together! Plus I liked reading about how you thoughtfully navigate interactions with children and grandchildren. Letting them know you welcome last-minute invitations is worth remembering. The story you told Scotty was a great way to illustrate a cautionary tale. Years ago (before I resigned from the clean-plate club) I told one of our sons he should finish his lunch because “there are starving children in China.” He said, “Name two.” It taught me a good lesson about backing up statements with “data.” P.S. Kayla’s photo with the cute sunglasses is worth framing!
Looks and sounds like a great weekend, Jo! Thanks for sharing your visit with us.
Jo, you have such darling grands!! All of them are and it is fun to see them in this blog. It sounds like you had such a good visit with them. I enjoyed hearing about the bridge, that little town with the great bar. Places like seem to always have such good food. Thanks for sharing!
Beautiful children! You are so lucky to spend time with them.
Off subject, but if you remember I looked for your magazine in 5 locations. They all eventually got the book but not on my time. I finally found it as if I was going to start that day, I have not. I also hurried and signed for a subscription being told I would get the NEXT issue. Well you guessed it, now I have TWO. Oh and those kiddos and the big kiddos just melt my nana heart.
I felt like I was there with you and the family! Great story and pictures. The Grands are so darn cute. Hope you get to visit more often.
Oh the Joy af being with the grands. Your littles are adorable!
Being there for your adult children is so important. The grands are a huge plus benefit. So glad you had a good time.
Loved your post Jo! The grandkids are so cute. Thank you for the restaurant tip and short history lesson. I loved seeing all the trees. I still miss them even after living on the Wyoming prairie for almost 50 years.
Jo, your post was like a trip home! I’m originally from Iowa, near Iowa City and Solon. So this was a trip down memory lane when you talked about Sutliff. We try to go there if we are in Iowa in the summer and eat and do the bridge dining. Such fun.
I loved seeing the kids and grands. Such a great family!
When I was little, my mother struggled to keep hair clips and barrettes in my hair also. When I got bigger , I realized it was because they made my head hurt, gave me headaches. To this day, 50 yrs later,I still have long hair and can only use hair accessories for a couple of hours. I have a sensitive scalp. I found bangs is the best way to keep my hair out of my face. Maybe this is your granddaughters issue too but she’s not mature enough yet to communicate or realize it
I love that you call them the southern and northern! I might have to do that, but I have northern, eastern,& western!