A fast and furious summer of fun

W
e are having another fast and furious summer of fun with our grandchildren. It always begins “furiously” with four of them enrolled in two weeks of swimming lessons. The ritual of hanging wet clothes on the line more than once a day can be tedious, and things never really seem to dry out when you are having constant water gun fights. Grandpa finally found his vintage super soaker water gun, so nothing will ever be dry again.
There are times when I think I should clone myself for the mountain of laundry that keeps growing and for the sudden trips to the grocery store for a gallon of milk, loaf of bread or root beer float supplies. Hot dogs and marshmallows sure come in handy for a quick supper around the fire pit, and it doesn’t leave too many dirty dishes to worry about. Hot dogs have been the most requested staple for lunch, and the younger boys have usually been requesting and eating two for a meal which I chalked up to all the energy they were expending for swimming. 
Then one day, I was informed by 7-year-old Cohen that he generally likes to have two hot dogs at once; however, his mom only lets him have one. (Oops) We’ve had some interesting food conversations. One evening I asked the Minnesota grandsons if they would like goulash for supper. They both had puzzled looks on their faces, followed by “What is that?” I tried to explain the dish in detail, and it must not have sounded too bad, because they agreed it would be fine for supper that night. After dishing their plates, it was Cohen who said, “You call that goulash. At my school, it’s called penne (Penny) pasta.” 
Moving on to our vintage hand-me-down bicycle collection, the grandkids’ newfound goal or pastime is to renovate each one, and they have them looking very nice. You can’t even tell that Callan’s bike was once a purple-and-white girl’s bike. It transformed into a Dogie bicycle and looks nice painted orange and black, along with a set of brand new black tires, which were very much needed, because he had the white tire tread almost skidded flat on the back tire. The Diamond Back bike got a shiny new coat of silver paint on the handlebars, along with a new seat and handle grips. And paint has been selected for another major bike renovation to begin in the very near future. Get ready Grandpa.
A trip to the Big Horns was completed, along with a go kart engine swap (more horsepower, of course). We still have kayaks to launch, fish to catch — and so much more to do. I hope these memories of catching fireflies, learning to swim, having water fights, riding hot rod go karts, enjoying root beer floats and two hot dog meals, goulash, and vintage bike renovations during our fast and furious summer will last a lifetime, even though it goes by in the blink of an eye. Enjoy your summer while you can.