A Great Visit With Grandpa

For as long as I can remember, my grandpa was the strongest man I knew. He's an Air Force Veteran. He, at almost 75 years old, still does push ups daily. He rides a motorcycle everywhere he goes. He has tattoos. He is smart, really smart. He never sits down. Well, my daddy told me that my grandpa was having some medical issues (he has COPD) and that he was frequenting the V.A. Clinic a lot more. So, we made a surprise trip to visit him. It's a good, long drive from our house, but he is ALWAYS the one who commutes to us. He moved to Lake Hartwell about 9 years ago and this is the first time I have been to his place. He comes for every birthday, every holiday, and anything else that is important to us. I'm going to make a habit of going to see him more.



I talked the hubby into driving. ;)

 

Chyenne slept some of the way, then was a giggly girl before we got there.

 

Check out this view. I'm a country girl at heart. Oh I love this.

 

Cohen also slept much of the way, but he was all smiles when he woke up too.

Both of my parents drove up there too. That was nice. Here is Cohen with my dad, his papa.

 

And grandpa. Who has lost a lot of weight and a lot of muscle tone. It really broke my heart. Never, in all of my life, has he ever, looked old to me. He did this day. We pulled up, he stood up from his garden picking and grinned ear from ear. I have never seen a smile so big on his face. Even when he held Cohen for the first time, and boy was he proud of that!

 

The kids loved pretending to sail on Grandpa's (their great-grandpa's) sail boat. I hope he can take it out on the lake soon.

 

We decided to all drive up to the lake for a picnic. It was such a nice day. Cloudy, breezy, fun.

 

Below is my grandpa and my dad. Making funny faces while chatting. My grandpa has never looked so small next to him.

 

My girl. She's the sweetest. She loved walking in the lake. Btw, Lake Hartwell is clean. Really clean. I loved it.

 

 

She is brave too. Very brave. She is also getting better at balancing.

 

Cohen loved the water too. He spent so much time making his area muddy.

 

It was so serene.

 

The kids wanted Grandpa to help them climb trees. He did. But I could tell he wasn't really up for the task. My kids are both a little over 40 lbs. The Grandpa I grew up loving would not have a problem with that, but the same Grandpa we visited today did.

 

Cohen is the cutest. He knows it too. He did end up falling into the water, soaking his undies and shorts. Sweet boy.

 

Cohen, making muscles with Grandpa.

 

Grandpa kept commenting on how strong Cohen is. Cohen ate it up. He loves being told he is big and strong. The Grandpa I grew up with would laugh when I would call myself strong and then he would proceed to put me on his back while he did one-handed push ups.

 

Grandpa has such a great love for my babies. He adores Chyenne. He comments on how smart she is and how pretty she is. He is so proud of her. He kept asking her random math equations. She got them right every time. He even asked her what 120-90-30+20 was and she answered correctly. He was blown away at her smarts.

 

A picture of 4 Generations of the Warner family. My daddy, me, my Grandpa and my babies. I'm not a Warner anymore and neither are my kids, but it's nice to remember where you came from.

Before we left, they smothered Grandpa in hugs and kisses.

 

Great Grandpa and his smart girl.

 

 Overall, it was a wonderful trip. A trip that was much needed on my part and one that was well-deserved on Grandpa's part. I never want to forget the memories we made. I hope he's around for much, much longer. He turns 75 the day before Cohen turns four. He is planning on coming down for Cohen's party and I am planning on surprising him with a special treat for his birthday. We love you grandpa.