Going to Grammie's House
Story by: Ruth Bowman
Graphics by: Stellar Nova Studio

Before the sun was even up Alex, Anthony, and Andrew jumped out of bed and as quiet as mice dressed in their play clothes.  They were so excited! Today they were going on vacation.

They had packed their clothes and even a few toys the night before.  Alex made sure he had his ball.  Anthony had his tape player and books and Andrew had his teddy bear.  They were all set.  They were going to Grammie and Poppa Art’s house in Colorado.  It was a long trip from Mississippi to Colorado, but they were excited.

“Anthony, do you think we will see any cows on the way to Grammie’s house?” Alex asked.   “Sure, Alex,” Anthony answered.  “We’ll see horses and big trucks and maybe even some dinosaurs.  Poppa Art said they have dinosaurs close to their house.  Maybe we will get to ride one.”

“But what if we don’t want to ride one?” Andrew asked quietly.

“That’s ok. You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Anthony reassured his little brother.

“Let’s go surprise Mom and Dad with breakfast,” Anthony said after they were dressed.

“OK!” Alex and Andrew agreed. All three boys hurried downstairs to the kitchen.

“Alex, you get the milk; you get the cereal, Andrew, and I’ll get the bowls,” Anthony directed as he climbed up on the counter.

“What about juice?  Who’s going to get the juice?” Alex questioned.

“I will,” Andrew replied as he opened the refrigerator.

“OK, guys, let’s see.  We have bowls, spoons, glasses for the juice, cereal - I think that’s it,” Anthony said.

“How are we going to carry all this stuff?” Alex wanted to know.

“Hmmmmm,” thought Anthony.  “I know!” he exclaimed as he jumped down off the counter.  He dropped to his knees and started digging through the bottom cabinet.

“Here!” he shouted as he backed out of the cabinet holding a cookie sheet and a round pizza pan.  “We can use these!”

I can carry the juice,” Andrew told his brothers. “I’m a big boy.”

“I’ll carry the milk,” Alex said.

“And I’ll carry this other stuff,” Anthony replied as he stacked the dishes on the cookie sheet.  “We can pour the juice and milk when we get up there.  That way we won’t spill it.”

“Let’s go, guys.  Mom and Dad are going to be surprised,” Anthony said as he picked up his load.

“Mom! Dad!  Wake up!  We’ve brought you some breakfast,”  all three boys exclaimed at once.  “We’re ready to go to Grammie’s house.”

“Want some juice?  I carried it all by myself,” Andrew proudly stated. Mom and Dad opened sleepy eyes as the three boys trooped into their bedroom.

“What is this?” asked Dad.
“What time is it?” asked Mom.
“This is breakfast,” answered Alex.
“It’s time to go to Grammie’s house,” Andrew replied.

“We thought we’d be good boys and fix breakfast for you so we could leave sooner,” Anthony told his parents.

“Here’s your juice,” Andrew said handing Mom the juice pitcher. “Here’s the milk,” Alex said.  “See I didn’t even spill it cuz I left the lid on it.”

“And here’s your bowls and glasses,” Anthony said as he placed his load on the bed next to Dad.

“This is great, boys, but what are we supposed to put in the bowls?” questioned Dad.

“OH NO!” cried all three boys together. “We forgot the cereal.” “Be right back!” shouted Anthony as he turned to race down the stairs.

“WAIT, Anthony!” Mom called after him.  “Bring some spoons, too, please.” “Yes, Ma’am!” Anthony called over his shoulder and was gone like a flash.

It didn’t take long for the boys to finish breakfast and clean up the mess.  Soon they were all in the car heading for Colorado and Grammie and Poppa Art.

“Dad, are you sure you know the way?” Alex asked.
“Course he does, Alex.  He has the map,” Anthony answered.  “Right, Dad?”

“I sure do,” Dad told the boys.
“Yeah, but how do you know where Grammie and Poppa Art are on the map?” Alex wanted to know.
“Poppa Art told me, Alex,” Dad replied.

                         

“WOW!  Look at all those horses,” Andrew exclaimed.  “What are they going to do with them?  And look; there’s a lot of cows, too.”
“That’s a sale barn, Andrew, they sell them there,” Dad told him.

“Anthony, look at that funny looking tree over there,” Alex said pointing out the window.  “How come it looks so funny, Dad?”

“I guess that’s just the way it grew, Alex,” said Dad.
“I’m hungry,” Anthony said.  “Mom, when are we going to eat?”
“I have a surprise for you,” Mom told the boys.

“A surprise?”
“What is it?”
“Yippee!!!”

“Whoa, boys,” Dad laughed.
“I’ll show you my surprise soon.  Watch for a rest area with picnic tables,” Mom smiled.

It wasn’t long before Anthony spotted a sign with a picture of a picnic table on it.  “I see one!” he shouted.
Dad barely had time to park the car before all three boys tumbled out.

“Race you to the table, Alex,” Anthony challenged his younger brother.  Alex didn’t reply as he ran towards the table.  Both boys reached it at the same time.  They were glad to stretch their legs after riding so long in the car.

“Come and eat!” Mom called.

“Mmmm this fried chicken is good, Mom,” Alex said as he took another bite of the chicken leg in his hand.

“Thank you, Alex.  Would you boys like a banana now?” Mom asked.
“YES, please,” they all three said at the same time.
“Dad, may we play for awhile?” Anthony asked.

“You boys may play while Mom and I finish eating and cleaning up, but you must come as soon as we call so we can get back on the road.  We still have a long ways to drive,” Dad told the boys.

“Alright! Let’s go, guys!” Alex exclaimed as he finished his milk.
“Anthony, will you help me find a rock for my rock collection?” Andruw asked.

“Sure, I saw some neat looking ones over there under those trees,” Anthony pointed towards the back of the park.

Soon the Pagano family was back on the road.
Mom turned around to check the boys’ seat belts.   “I’m going to put a story tape on and you boys sit back and listen quietly, ok?” she said to them.

“When will we get to Poppa Art’s house?” Alex asked as he scooted back on the seat.

“Not until tomorrow.  We will drive some more today and spend the night in a motel.  Then get up and drive some more in the morning.  Grammie will have lunch ready for us when we get there.” Mom told him.

“Goodie! Goodie!” Anthony exclaimed.  “I love motels.  If they have a swimming pool can we go swimming?”

“Probably not this time, Anthony,” Mom said.  “We want to go to bed early tonight so we can get up and go to Grammie’s house faster.”

The next morning when Mom called, “Anthony, Alex, Andruw, time to get up,” there was no complaints about getting up.  All six eyes popped open and three boys hopped out of bed.  They raced to see who could be the first one dressed.

Andrew looked up and asked, “Mom, will we get  to Grammie’s house today?”
“We sure will, Andrew,” Mom replied.

“Yea! Did you hear that, Alex?” Andrew asked.
“Yep!” Alex replied.
 

Later as the car pulled onto the highway, Anthony told his brothers, “Let’s watch for mountains.  Grammie and Poppa Art live in the mountains.”

“What are mountains?” Andrew wanted to know.

“You know, Andrew, great big hills with icing on the top of them,” Alex explained to his little brother.

“Icing?” Andruw asked.  “Who put it there? Can you eat it?”
“Alex, you know that’s not icing,” Anthony said.  “That’s snow.”
“I know, but it looks like icing,” Alex answered.

“Let’s see who can find the mountains first,” Anthony suggested to his two brothers as he settled back to listen to the tape Mom had started.

Alex and Andruw fell asleep as they listened, but Anthony sat quietly listening to the story and watching for the mountains.  He knew when they could see the big mountain with the snow on top, it would not be long until they arrived at Grammie’s house.

“Mom?” Anthony suddenly asked, “What is the name of that big mountain with the snow?”
“Which one do you mean?” Mom asked.
“You know. The one on the way to Grammie’s house,” Anthony said.

“Oh, you mean Pike’s Peak,” Mom told him.
“Yeah! That’s the one. Thanks!” Anthony said excitedly.
“Shhhh. Don’t wake your brothers up.”  Mom told him.

“Yes, Ma’am,” Anthony replied quietly.
A few minutes later Dad said as he pointed out the window, “Look over there, Anthony.”
“Pike’s Peak!” Anthony shouted. “Can I wake up Alex and Andruw now?”

“Looks like you have,” Mom laughed as Alex and Andrew sat up rubbing their eyes.
“Are we there?” Alex wanted to know.
“Where’s Grammie and Poppa Art?” Andruw questioned.

“Look, Alex, Andrew!” Anthony said pointing out the window.
“The big mountain with the icing!” Alex said.

“Alex, it does have icing on it,” Andrew said.
“Where’s Grammie?” Andruw asked looking out the window.
“Where’s Poppa Art?” Alex wanted to know.

“Look! There’s more mountains, but they don’t have snow,” Anthony said as he looked out the window.
All three boys were busy looking out first one window then the next.  They were tired of the long ride and wanted to see Poppa Art and Grammie.

“I wonder if Grammie still has Lady,” Anthony said.
“Who’s Lady?” Andrew asked him.
“Lady is Grammie’s dog,” Alex told him.  “She’s a nice dog, but she likes to lick your face.”

“I see Poppa Art! I see Poppa Art!” Anthony yelled as he bounced up and down on the back seat of the van.  “There he is getting the mail!”
 

Poppa Art waved as he took the mail out of the mailbox.  Dad tooted the horn as he turned into the driveway.
“Don’t open your doors until the car stops, Boys,” Dad warned.

“Grammie! Grammie! Grammie!” shouted all three boys as they jumped out of the van.
“My goodness you boys are getting too big,” Grammie laughed as she hugged them.  “I am so glad you’re here.”

“Where’s the dinosaurs?” Andrew asked as he looked towards the backyard.
“There’s plenty of time to see dinosaurs,” Poppa Art laughed. “They don’t live in our backyard.”

“Yip! Yip! Yip!” Lady had to get in on the excitement, too.
“Lady!” Anthony said as he dropped to his knees to give the dog a hug.

“Hey!  I don’t need my face washed.”  Anthony laughed as Lady licked his face.
“MMMMM! I smell something good, Grammie,” Alex said.

“You sure do, Alex.  I made your favorite meal.  Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn on the cob, and chocolate cake,” Grammie laughed.

“C’mon, guys, let’s go eat!” Alex exclaimed as he started for the kitchen.
“Yes, let’s eat.  We can unload the car later.  I’m hungry,” Poppa Art said.
After lunch Mom and Grammie cleaned the kitchen while Dad and Poppa Art unloaded the van.  Andrew, Alex, and Anthony explored the creek behind the house.

“Look, Anthony, there’s a fish,” Alex exclaimed suddenly.

“Here’s some more,” Anthony yelled.  “Hurray! We can use our fishing poles.”

While Anthony and Alex played in the water, Andrew was busy finding rocks.  He found red ones, smooth ones, white ones, big ones, and funny shaped ones.  He filled his pockets with the little ones after he had washed them off in the creek.  He piled the bigger ones up so he could find them when he came back.

“Look at all these rocks I found,”  Andrew told his brothers when they came over to where he was playing.

“Neat, Andrew,” Anthony said.
“C’mon, Andrew,” Alex said.  “We’re going up to the house to get our fishing poles.  We’ll help you carry your rocks.”

“Mom! Dad! Can we go fishing?” Alex and Anthony yelled as they spotted their parents on the back deck visiting with Grammie and Poppa Art.

“Look at you three!  What have you been doing?”  Mom exclaimed.

The boys looked down at their wet, muddy clothes realizing for the first time how dirty they were.

“We’ve been having fun down at the creek,” Anthony said.
“We came to get our fishing pole so we can catch some fish,”  Alex told his Mom.

“Look at all my pretty rocks,” Andrew said as he emptied his pockets.
“Looks like these boys could use some help with their fishing,”  Poppa Art said as he stood up. “Let’s go find those poles and see if we can catch some fish.”

The boys spent the rest of the afternoon at the creek taking turns throwing bread crusts into the water and watching the little fish grab it.  They would not leave their hooks in the water long enough for a fish to bite it.

“Listen to the music the creek makes, Boys,” Poppa Art said from the big rock where he was sitting.
All three boys sat down on the rocks next to Poppa Art and listened.
“It is singing,” Anthony said after awhile.
What’s it singing?” Alex wanted to know.

“It’s telling you to have fun and be careful,” Poppa Art told him.
“I’m thirsty; can we drink this water?” Andruw asked. “No, Andruw.  We’d better go back to the house if we want a drink,”  Poppa Art replied.

“It looks clean to me,”  Anthony said.
“Yes, it does look clean, but people throw all kinds of trash into the water upstream.  I’m always finding cans,” Poppa Art said.

“I’m getting hungry; let’s go see if Grammie has any more of that chocolate cake left,” Alex said.
“OK!  Sounds good to me!”  Andrew said as he started back towards the house.
Anthony and Alex gathered up their fishing poles and followed Andrew.

That night after their baths, the boys lay in bed with Lady curled up between them.  Andrew was already asleep.
“Listen, Alex,” Anthony said.
“What?” Alex asked sleepily.
“Listen to the creek.  It’s telling us to come back and play tomorrow,” Anthony told him.  Do you hear it?”

Alex didn’t reply because he was sound asleep.  When Mom came in a few minutes later to check on the boys, Anthony sleepily said, “Thanks, Mom, for bringing us to Grammie’s house.”