From Beethoven to Picasso

 

 

Grampa and Nolan are having fun with their vehicles.

Nolan leads the parade.

 

 

 

When Grampa and Nolan go to the basement,

Nolan dumps out all the Lincoln Log pieces.

Then he turns to Grampa and says, "House.'

He then goes off to play with something else.

 

 

We have a container of 13 small balls on the toy shelf.

We know there are 13 balls, because that's how many we have to look for after Nolan leaves.

Nolan likes to pour the balls out and watch them disperse. 

He's not as good at putting them back in the container.

Sometimes it takes a whole week to find them all.

 

 

 

Nolan builds his own project,

while Grampa works away.

 

 

 

Another ambidextrous Goedken.

 

 



 

Gramma encourages Nolan to paint.

The paint smock is an exclusive design.

He is in his Orange Period.

 

 

Nolan tells Gramma, "Face."

I make the face and he tells me it needs hair, ears and eyes.

When I added the mouth, Nolan gave it a kiss.

Next lesson is how to get paint off of lips.

 

 

Nolan calling Grampa.

 

 

Grampa places an order for the groceries he wants Nolan to bring home.

 

 





 

Nolan has a face to face phone call with Grampa.

 

 



Nolan takes matters into his own hands.

When he wants you to come with him,

he grabs your finger and off you go.

 

 



 

Our Madonna and Child.

 

 





Seth meets Beethoven,

who conducts him off to dreamland.

 

 



 

Noland and Beethoven call Grampa again.

 

 

Those Goedkens sure monopolize the gene pool.

This is our nephew, TJ (formerly Timmy) 10 years ago.

He's enjoying Grampa's messy chocolate chip cookies.

 

 

From the California Gentlemen

 

 

 

 

Gramma and Grampa sent a trampoline to the boys for their 5th birthday.

Gramma and Aunt Becky enjoyed the trampoline when they were kids.

Our children enjoyed it, too.

As well as many of Gramma's students.

 

 

 

Amazing that Andrew's new glasses stay on as he jumps.

 

 

 

 

Nathan is already trying the seat drops.

We're still waiting for the video of Daddy on the trampoline.

He never had the cage around it when he grew up.

I hope he doesn't jump into it and get hurt.

 

 

One Small Jump for Man,

One Giant Leap for Mankind

by Gramma

 

 

Mousie and Piggie lived next door to Richard and Roger.  They had a trampoline and jumped and flipped over and over.  Mousie and Piggie liked to watch them jump and flip.  They sat in their yards and looked at Richard and Roger jumping and flipping.

 

 



 

 

Richard and Roger liked Mousie and Piggie, so they would invite Mousie and Piggie to come jump and flip on their trampoline.  They were very careful to keep Mousie and Piggie safe.  They told them to just try jumping at first.  Then they could try landing on their butts.  At first, when they landed on their butts, they just sat still.  Then they got better and could keep jumping. 



 

 

 

 

It took a long time and lots of jumps for them to flip over.  It was fun to jump on the trampoline.  It was better than jumping on their beds.  Now there are no more Mousies or Piggies jumping on the bed.



St. Patrick's Day

 

I am looking for the a Celtic harp sound,

in honor of St. Patrick's Day.

 

 

Nolan loves front pockets and back pockets.

He keeps his left hand in the fron pocket,

and his right hand in his back pocket.

Or he's just holding his pants up.

 

I just invented a new game; broom ball.

 

 



 

I like to vacuum my shelf, so it won't be dusty.

I don't think Grampa cleans this well.

 

 

Grampa asked if I was missing my red hat.

I was thinking, "What red hat?"

Andrew used to love my red hat, too.

 

 

Nolan was getting hungry for dinner,

so he decided to check if there was any food on the table.

When he saw no food, he tried his soup spoon;

just in case there was any flavor left from the last meal.

 

 

 

The Galifornia Gentlemen

 

 

Don't his new glasses look cute on him?

 

 



 

And some people are cute, even without glasses.

 

 

These Irish boys are enjoying their shamrock shakes.

The Lynches and the McWilliams would be so pleased.

 

 

 

Super Friends

by Gramma

 

It is a well kept secret, that Gramma Mousie and Grampa Piggie are super heroes.  They are pals of Superman and Spiderman.  The four of them work to stop bad men and women from hurting good men and women.

 

Gramma Mousie has bracelets that stop bad men and women from hurting her.  Grampa Piggie has gadgets on his belt that keep him safe.  He likes his gadgets.  He keeps his remote with him.  His pal, Robin, likes to go with him, when he is Batman.  He has a Batmobile to drive when he's Batman and not driving his Mustang.

 

One time Gramma Mousie and Grampa Piggie went out to eat.  As they were eating, they looked out the window and saw a bank robber, robbing the bank across the street.  They left fast and ran into the bank.  They stopped the bank robber and saved all the money.  The men and women thanked them for helping.  Then they went back and ate cake for dessert.

 

You cannot tell this secret to anyone.

 



 

 

 

 

 

Grandmothers and Their Boys

Two grandmothers and one great-grandmother.
These are lucky boys.

A grandmother knows how to love a child.
Their eyes see with their hearts.
And their arms surround you with love.





This is Seth; armless again.



The California Gentlemen

King me! 
What do you mean?  I just got checkmate.

Even Superman enjoys a good book.

 

Now, if the Bears played football on ice,

that would be an exciting game.

Grampa Piggie's Mustang

by Gramma

 

 

When Grampa Piggie was 17, he bought his first car.  It was a 1967, green Mustang.  He loved his car.  He fixed all the rust spots with fiberglass, to make it look new.  Fiberglass will not rust.  After making new fenders on his car, he painted his green car blue.  His car had two doors and made him look cool. 

 

After he ran into a parking meter, he had to put a new bumper on his car.  It had snowed, and his feet had snow on them.  The snow made his foot slip on the brake, so he ran into the parking meter.  Then the bumper had a dent that looked like the parking meter.  It was time for a new bumper.

 



 

Gramma Mousie and Grampa Piggie lived in a town where there are lots of hills.  Grampa Piggie took Gramma Mousie for a ride in his car.  Soon he showed her how to drive his car.  She did well until she had to stop at the top of a hill.  She had to let the other cars pass her, so she would not roll into them.  A car on a hill may roll down a bit, before it goes up the hill.

 

Gramma Mousie did not run into any parking meters with it.

One day Grampa Piggie asked Gramma Mousie to the dance.  She said, "Yes," because she liked Grampa Piggie.  It had snowed and snowed that day.  Gramma Mousie's house was on one of the biggest hills in the town.  One side of the street had houses and the other side was a cliff.  At the dance, Gramma Mousie's dress ripped.  She told Grampa Piggie to take her home to fix it before they went to dinner.  Grampa Piggie had to go down the big hill in his Mustang.  The car slid down the hill and got stuck at the bottom just before the cliff.  As Grampa Piggie was getting his car out of the snow, Gramma Piggie ran inside to fix her dress.  When she was done, Grampa Piggie had pushed his car out of the snow and away from the cliff.  Off to dinner, they went.

 

At college, Grampa Piggie went to visit Gramma Mousie.  He took Gramma Mousie and her pals out to dinner.  Grampa Piggie fit five girls in his Mustang.  The girls were happy to go out to eat pizza.  He was happy to fit five girls into his Mustang. 

 

 

 

 



Snowboys

 

The first piano lesson is enjoying the sound.

 

 

 

Grampa and Nolan are creating a marching band.

 

 

 

To build a snowman, you must start with a snowball.

 

 

 

The snow is perfect for packing or sleigh riding.

 

 

Then you make the snowball bigger and bigger.

 

 

Pack the snow to make him really solid.

 

 

Nolan does the final sculpting.

 

 

 

A work of art.

 

 

"Frosty," a day later.

 

 

Nolan is preparing a snack.

 

 

Corn on the cob is a special favorite.

 

 

Since Gramma is behind the camera,

don't you wonder if this was a "bad hair" day?

 

 

This reminds me...

Matt and Nolan 2014

 

 

 

 People used to say that Matt looked like Dennis.

People say that Nolan looks like Matt.

Dennis and Matt 1985

 

 

 

Nolan needs something in the fridge.

 

 

 

Nolan lets the "Cold Air Crook" out.

 

 

Engineer Nolan assembles his train.

He's drinking water with lemon and ice, like Gramma's.

 

 

California Gentlemen

 

 

 

Gramma sent a smoothie home with the boys when they were Nolan's age.

They're so good, everyone calls them "delicious."

Even if they're a little sour.

 

 

Gramma Mousie and Grampa Piggie

by Gramma

 

Gramma Mousie and Grampa Piggie love their grandsons, Mousie and Piggie.  They live far from them, but think about them all the time.  Mousie and Piggie love Gramma and Grampa, too.  They think they are lots of fun.

 

Grampa Piggie can fix lots of things.  In fact, he can fix toys, books, cars and bikes.  When he fixes things, they may have parts left over. 

 

 

 



Gramma Mousie plays the piano.  She loves music.  She sings silly songs all day.  She makes smoothies for Mousie and Piggie to keep them well. 

 

 

 

Gramma Mousie and Grampa Piggie like to play.  They go to the park to ride the swings, the slide and play in the sand.  They ice skate, roller skate and paddle boats. 

 

 

 



The Eyes Have It

 

Nolan was delighted when Gramma agreed to get her violin down.

He plans to remind her it's important to practice everyday.

 

When we decided to play with the beads,

I found out, orange is not only Nolan's favorite color...

it's his ONLY color.

 



 

Nolan demonstrates his blindness, or his magic.

He can make the world disappear.

 

Nolan is always happy to take his nap.

Grampa is always happy to take his, as well.

 

 

Special delivery!

What could it be?

 

 

Just what we ordered...

a gentleman for Friday.

 (Nolan's shirt says, "Big Bro.")

 



 

The other half of our special delivery.

 

 

 

I know who Seth looks like...

Auntie Becca!

(Auntie Becca is the one in the dress.)

 

 

From the California Gentlemen

 

 

Andrew is looking forward to getting glasses before kindergarten.

Auntie Becca always wanted glasses and braces.

A day after having the braces put on, she changed her mind.

She used to wear a pair of clear non-prescription glasses in junior high.

 

 

 

Piggie Gets Magic Glasses

by Gramma

 

 

PIggie went to see a wise man.  The wise man told him he had a gift for him.  Piggie was happy to get a gift.  "But it is not my birthday," he said.  The wise man said, "No it is not, but it is a good day for you.  I have a gift of magic glasses for you."

 

 

"What will the magic glasses do for me?" asked Piggie. 

 



 

"They will help you read words, so you can have lots of power to do good things.  You will be able to see your pals smile at you.  This will make you happy.  You will be able to see when your pals cry, so you will be able to make them feel happy.

 

When your Daddy rides in a plane, you will see his plane, until it is a small dot in the sky.  When he is gone, you can see the little stars twinkle, and you will know your Daddy sees them, too.  And you will be able to see the small dot when it is time for your Daddy to come home.

 

You will see little bugs, red and green plants to pick, and cobwebs you can dust.  The glasses will help you see in the sun, too.

 

You will need to work with the magic in your glasses, so your gift can get better day by day.  Then you can tell your pals what you now can see.  They may need help to see as well as you."