The Young and the Restless

Papa Jolley 

My dad came down for a visit so that my brother could do some dental work for him. You would have thought a celebrity was coming to town. My kids adore their Papa. Maddox came home from school and was so excited that he learned about Lewis and Clark, he was so sure grandpa knew them since they were both cowboys in the olden days. Grandpa had some fun with that during his famous bedtime stories. He always told the best stories growing up, I'm glad the legacy continues. Maddox's teacher emailed me and said he's shared all the stories with the class too. I'm sure the Lewis and Clark facts were totally accurate. 

The kids had half day so we took grandpa on our new favorite bike trail and ended at the Target food court for slushees.

One of Ryder and Maddox's favorite thing to do with grandpa is play Uno. He's a good sport, even when they try to cheat.

My dad has recently picked up photography since his retirement, and he's getting pretty good at it. The Desert Botanical Gardens was the perfect place to get some desert scapes to add to his portfolio. I was excited for the chance to check it out, it was a beautiful place. If you like cactus. Cacti.

We stopped at Hole in the Rock for a quick hike before heading home to get the kids from school.

My dad happened to be here for Valentine's day, which was fun. They boys had a good time at their school parties, Maddox won "best effort" for his shark Valentine's box. Jayden just took a Walmart bag.

We had our traditional Valentine's Day breakfast. The little boys got slinkies, which they thought was the best thing ever. And they were both broken in the first two days. Jayden got some mechanical pencils and holder for his new desk that he's so excited about. And Kylie got a portable charger since her phone is always dead when I need to get a hold of her. Jason got air freshner for his car. In case that doesn't sound too terribly romantic, I did splurge for the good kind at Bath and Body Works. It was an effort to redeem myself from a very unfortunate event involving his car and a pot of chicken tortilla soup. Everyone wrote cards and letters to each other and that was my very favorite part. Seeing them dig deep and say the words they all feel but don't say enough, it was very endearing. Which is the reason Valentine's day is one of my favorite holidays. It makes staying up all night heart attacking their doors, making crepes and cutting out heart shaped pineapples totally worth it. After church, Jason made us a second breakfast, and it was just as delicious as the first.

We said our goodbyes to grandpa, the boys are still in denial that he's gone. Asking me to tell bedtime stories about pig wrestling and begging for just one more Uno game. Thankfully they've realized Papa just can't be replaced. The legend lives on.