Grandkids Rock

Now that the firewood preparation is under control, I'm taking a little time to reflect on what it means to be a grandparent. Sue and I have six grandchildren in our combined family: I had two kids with my first wife, a daughter Sasha and a son, Collin, while Sue had two daughters with her first husband: Carrie and Meghann. I guess you could say we are right in step with the modern American Family.

There are many things I like about being a grandfather. One is that you can sort of get "do-overs," experiences you might have missed the first time round. For one, I take lots more photos now than I did when Sasha and Collin were very little. I did take quite a few photos on our boating trips, starting when they 6 and 4 respectively, so that was good, but I didn't take many everyday photos - so to speak.  With our grandchildren I've tried to capture everyday life, when we visit them or they visit us. This Summer Sue and

I were blessed to have all our grand kids visit Berryridge Farm.


I guess the place to begin is with our oldest grandchild, Meghan, who is now ten years old,

Meghan's family at left,  L to R are Carrie, Meghan and Kevin.

Meghan is named after auntie Meghann, Carrie's sister. Little Megs was a very cute baby from the git-go but especially so the older she got. She stole many a heart at almost 2, when she danced at her Aunt Meghann's Wedding, see photo at right. Meghan's mom has a flare for the dramatic and Meghan often has Great Halloween costumes. A couple of years ago Meghan dressed up as 'Dorothy' from the 'Wizard of Oz', as you can see at left. 

In 2010 she dressed up as a 'Corpse Bride', as shown in the photo at right. 

This costume was the inspiration for Susan's Middle-Grade novelette, The Curse of the Corpse Bride. I actually hope that Sue is inspired by many more of Meghan's Halloween costume choices, because it is fun to see what books might spring from said inspiration. In fact it won't surprise me if Megs takes up acting, perhaps in High School. Both her mother and aunt were putting on little skits as girls growing up.  One of Meghan's talents is that of being a good baby sitter. She gained lots of valuable skills playing with her two younger boy cousins, Seamus and Rowan, who are aunt Meghann's sons.

OK, that is the introduction of the 1st of 6 grandkids. Stay tuned for more.