We are in Arizona tending grandkids, not the Idaho girls but their cousins who live in the Valley of the Sun.  Not sure if it is all that sunshine but this trio: Kenz, Griff and Addie, have strong, bright personalities that keep Grandpa and me on our toes.

Kenz is 16, tall, skinny, spends a lot of time on her hair, and has a driver’s license.  We (Brent and I) are barely learning how to navigate the freeway system here in Phoenix/Mesa, but she has it down.  Ear buds are always engaged, which gives her a legitimate (she thinks) excuse for not answering when I call. She runs a tight ship and when her truck leaves the premises the other two better be on board if they want a ride.  She waits for no one.

Griff is 13, tall, skinny, takes about 30 seconds to comb his hair and is convinced he should have the driver’s license.  I bought some wooden clothes pins to keep the chip bags closed.  He eyed them for about two days then last night whittled multiple devices including a toothpick gun and an elastic flipper.  The boy is a born engineer.  He is also stealth.  He navigates two sisters noiselessly, and effectively stays in the shadows until he is ready to strike.

Addie is 11, tall, skinny, seldom combs her hair and thinks she can drive without a license.   The girl does not walk.  She enters the house, mounts her hover board and whips around doing homework, getting a snack and even helping with dinner.  She runs the air fryer like she invented it.  She knows when to add the chicken and when to shake the fries.  However, she does not know how to clean up…that is my job, I guess.  She’s in the process of redecorating her bedroom.  I’m sure it has a floor, but I haven’t seen it.  Her ideas are great.  They moved Griff’s old bunk bed in without the lower bunk.  She was going to sleep up top and have “stuff” down below.  Then, her mom told her that when she was a kid she slept on the top bunk, fell off and broke her nose.  Now Addie refuses to sleep up top.  She gets her winks on the family room couch protecting her nose, and the redecorating has screeched to a halt.  The room has become a catch-all.  Well, we are going to find that floor and see if we can resurrect her design ideas.  I like a good project.

So, the kids are quite perfect from a Grandparent’s perspective, and we find ourselves enjoying the company and the challenge.  Brent and I go for a walk in 90-degree heat as soon as everyone is where they belong.  We do laundry, plan dinner, clean up a little and binge watch “All Creatures Great and Small.”  Life is Good in the Valley of the Sun for now, but I can’t wait to return to our own Valley, our own traffic, our own heat and our own projects!  It’s a Good Life when you know where you belong!