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| SUNRAYS SEPTEMBER 2014
ONLINE:
SCTXCA.ORG
Editor’s note: In honor of Grandpar-
ents’ Day on Sunday, September 7, we
asked Sun City residents to share some
of their favorite moments as Grandma
or Grandpa. Enjoy!
Grand-Moments
Celebrating Unbirthdays!
Submitted by Carolyn Nottingham, N47
My precious granddaughters are Evey, 6, and Josie, 3. Our daughter, Beth, asked
that we not spoil them too much (is that possible?) by having gifts for them ev-
ery time they visit—she felt it would detract from the real special occasions, like
Christmas and birthdays. Being respectful of her wishes, I asked if I could create
our own special occasion, once a year; thus, the
UN
birthday party was born! We
celebrate in July, exactly five months from each girl’s actual birthday. I even send
them an invitation and ask for an RSVP. We pick them up on a Saturday morning
and head to the toy store. Each girl can select a “big” and “small” Unbirthday pres-
ent, as well as Unbirthday balloons and a new DVD. Then we head to McDonald’s
for an Unbirthday lunch. When we come home, we prepare Unbirthday cupcakes
to be lit with candles and we all sing “Happy Unbirthday” to us! We view the new
DVD before bedtime and discuss the day’s events as they drift off. It is so much
fun and the girls plan and talk about it for weeks before. We are a truly blessed
Nana and Papa.
Evey and Josie, granddaughters of Carolyn Nottingham, have a fun time decorating Unbirthday cupcakes.
Zip lining with Grandmommy!
Sumitted by Susie Silcox, N9
In June, we took our grandsons on a cruise
to Progresso and Cozumel, Mexico. The boys
loved it! They did everything from trying new
foods in the dining room, to karaoke, to snor-
keling among the islands.
One of my favorite moments of the cruise was
when we were planning to do a zip line in
Cozumel. We were getting into our harness,
and one of the boys turned around and looked
at me wide-eyed and said, “Grandmommy, are
YOU doing it too?” As you can see, we all survived the zip line, and we all loved it.
Left to right: Blake Silcox, Justin
Morrison, Bryan Maxedon, Jeremy
Morrison, Susie Silcox.
“Can you sound like a
frog?”
Submitted by
Jeanne von Hollerich, N14
Several years ago, whenmy grand-
daughter Drue was 7 years old, I
took her and her best friend, Katy,
to the garden and pond behind the
Social Center to play for a time.
After they wore themselves out,
they came over to rest near where
I was sitting beside the little creek.
Soon after, a large frog jumped on
a rock close to the girls. My grand-
daughter Drue asked me, “Grand-
ma, can you make a sound like a
frog?” I said yes, that I thought I
could do that. With a huge grin on
her face she said, “Oh that is great!
Mommy said when you croak we
can go to Disneyworld.” I had to
laugh! Of course, I spoke sternly
to my daughter later.
