Oh, to be Ten, Again!

A greater than usual number of "No-public-school"days has provided some fun opportunities to spend time with our grandchildren, as mentioned in a prior blog. Yesterday was another such day. With schools closed for Martin Luther King holiday, the grandchildren spent yesterday pursuing other interests. Gingersnap was with friends; Reed attended a day program sponsored by the Park Board; and Nana (that would be me) got to spend the day with Miss Ky and Megan, Ky's "BFF" (that would be "Best Friend Forever," as verified by the split-heart necklaces they both wear).

Ky has been asking for some time if I would try to find a time to take her to Casper's, a funky chili restaurant owned by Ky's homeroom teacher's mother. Ky's Daddy is a Casper's fan and has also talked a lot about it. Challenge is that Casper's is open only for lunch and only Mondays-Fridays. Yesterday provided the perfect opportunity, so we headed out for an adventure. I had been there before but it was a first both both girls and they were not disappointed. They declared Casper's to be "the tiniest and craziest restaurant we've ever eaten at!"

The decor (if you can call it that) is nothing short of far-out, and I had to laugh at Ky's question when the chili and root beer were delivered. The chili was overflowing the cup and running onto the plate beneath. So, Ky asked her Nana (who is usually trying not to run things over or to wipe up excess food on the plate, "Nana, is it supposed to be like that?" I laughed and said, "Yes, here, it is!"

As you can see from the picture, Casper's is nothing short of a kwanset hut. Amazingly, one will almost always find every seat full and a line waiting for someone else to leave so they can have a space. I don't frankly find the menu all that appealing, but the flying mermaids, the large-lipped flying fish, and the "way-out" restroom, with "coconut-shell monkeys staring at you" (per Miss Ky) is just too fun to pass up. I took pictures and then printed them out when we returned out so the girls could do a scrapbook page to commemorate the event. (And they had a picture taken with their teacher's mother to share with their teacher.)

Steve picked Reed up from school and took him for ice cream and then played Old Maid with him while I fixed dinner. The three of us joined for another game of Old Maid before it was time for Reed to go. He is good at beating us at a number of games, although he lost at Old Maid last night. Sara said, "He's like his Daddy; rather competitive and doesn't like to lose." She added that she's trying to teach him to be a good loser as well as a good winner. We assured her that he was, indeed, a good sport about losing. The final time he lost, he laughed and tossed the Old Maid card into the air.

It's true that we spend a lot of time--and expend considerable energy!--with our grandchildren, but I have a feeling these good times will be gone and our grandchildren grown long before we're ready for them to be.