Annual Summer Drive to Niles

The kids and I made the trek up to Niles to visit my grandparents like we do each summer.  It is so incredible that they are both in their late nineties and still living at home.  This was the first visit that my grandma finally said that she doesn't have the energy to make everyone lunch and asked that I bring food along for the kids.  I can tell she is slowing down a little bit, but for a woman in her nineties, she's doing awesome.  She still had a table full of homemade cookies, a garden that the girls had fun picking lavender from, she was on the floor playing games with the kids and up and down to the "cellar" to restock everyone's sodas.  She's pretty amazing.  Not to mention she is taking care of my grandpa.

I am more and more aware of how precious our time is with each visit.  I love their house and I love being there with both of them in it.  I have so many memories of time spent in Niles at their house.  I can smell its smell, feel the wall to wall carpet under my feet, and picture every detail of every room.  Every time we pull away and I watch them stand on the front porch and wave, I am reminded of how lucky I am to still have living grandparents; but it is definitely getting harder and harder to leave with each visit.  I am so happy my kids get to experience the two of them (and their home) like I did.

Grandma always makes sure Nolan is stocked up with jars of pickles.

Classic Boobytrap.  I used to play this exact game with her and my cousins.  Decades later, the kids still love this game.

A visit to Niles wouldn't be complete without a pit stop at Grandpa's Cheesebarn for hundreds of dollars worth of cheese and chocolate.