Bass Pro Shop and Coca-Cola

My kids don't know anything about these two companies. . . except that their Grandpa Larry likes them. They proudly wore their new Bass Pro Shop shirts to school--purchased by their grandpa "everyone gets two!". They are making pictures of Coke logos and exclaim (quite loudly I might add) that "we need to buy that for Grandpa Larry" every time we see a Coke product--they are everywhere!

The passion for their grandparents doesn't end there. Grandma Karen loves sparkly things. Today Noel is wearing her new sparkle t-shirt (over a turtleneck!) to school. It reminds her of her grandma and makes her feel special because her Grandma Karen gave it to her. When we walked into our hotel room in Branson, it was Christmas! Gary's mom had been there before us and had surprises hidden all over. Special food treats, puzzles, stuffed animals, clothes, glow sticks, cookie cutters and even Noah and his family on the ark greeted us and elicited squeals of delight from our ducks.

We don't get to see Gary's folks very often, perhaps once or twice a year. Last week was filled with wonderful memories of grandparents who love them, follow them around Silver Dollar City, buy them funnel cakes, take them to great restaurants, let them play with their jukebox, take them on fast rides around the lake, clean up diaper blow-outs, and get up at 4:30 a.m. to say good-bye. They are spoiled and doted on. So are Gary and I.

I'm so thankful for my in-laws. I'm thankful for the values they gave to my number one guy. I'm thankful for their generosity. I'm thankful that I really like them. Every night we were able to play cards together. That is a great family to be with.