this and that! IG favorites from Our Grand Lives! summer 2026 edition
- Aug 24
- 7 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
Monday, August 24, 2026
Where did our weekend go?
Where did our summer go?
Before we retired from teaching,
Monday mornings always felt a bit different
when a new school year was quickly approaching!
Today - and in the week ahead -
our hearts are with our former colleagues as they gear up for a new school year!
Wishing you all the best start!
If you’ve been following Our Grand Lives for a while,
you know that, together, we think we make a pretty GRAND team!
While we - Laurie and Laura - each bring our own
interests, experiences and strengths to this blog,
we also share a core vision that’s equally important to us both!
Whether we’re spending time with
our spouses, grown children, other loved ones or, our precious Littles,
we love finding ways to make everyday moments a little more meaningful,
and a whole lot more fun!
And that’s really at the heart behind these quarterly posts,
This & That…
In May, our first This & That post gave us the chance to gather
some of the ideas we had shared during the prior spring months
BUT also ones that had not yet been featured here on the blog.
And today, we’re back with another round!
As a reminder to everyone, Laurie, with her skillset, oversees our social sites
and while she always highlights the content of our blog posts there,
she also posts lots of ideas that aren’t always featured here on the blog.
So, today, Laura has gathered together a collection of posts
(a small sampling, really)
that we’ve been sharing beyond the blog this summer.
We've also got two past faves to highlight that we think are worth revisiting.
Some may inspire you to try something new with your own Littles,
some may simply make you smile,
and others might remind you of a special memory of your own.
So, whether you’re here for a little of THIS, a little of THAT,
or perhaps a bit of both,
we hope you’ll enjoy this second edition of This & That!
NOTE: While each activity is briefly described below,
you can also tap on the link provided for all the details for each!
Where’s Waldo, 2026?
Remember when the Where’s Waldo books were all the rage?
The kindergartners loved it when this collection was pulled out each May! They could spend all their free time laying on the floor, racing with friends to see who could spot that little Waldo first!
Some colleagues had problems with this. They thought they weren’t real books and that our students should be practicing their reading skills at all times. However, as a very dedicated reading teacher myself, I also knew that these same books worked on many skills young learners need to be successful readers… Visual tracking (left-to-right scanning), visual discrimination (noticing subtle differences between characters that then leads to distinguishing between similarly shaped letters, like b and d), visual memory and overall reading stamina (staying interested in a book for longer periods of time) to name a few!
Even more importantly,
I know that when Littles find any kind of book, magazine or comic book interesting,
it increases their love of reading.
Now, that's a winning combination!
I recently pulled out two books from my Where’s Waldo? collection and my 2 and 4 year old Littles were captivated . Even the two-year-old can find him faster than I can! (and I’ve secretly memorized the pages so I can win a couple of times!)
The details are so interesting in the book,
you can also switch things up and play I Spy games.
“I spy Santa pulling a sleigh of reindeer!”
Yep! That’s one that makes my Littles giggle every time!
A Grand’s Job When Playing Barbies!
Check out play time from a Grand’s perspective,
especially when your Little takes the lead!
I guess we know who's really in charge!
Can you relate???
Cloud Watching!
Sometimes it’s just a “lay-in-the-grass-and-find-pictures-in-the-clouds” kind-of day!
It's fun to stare up at fluffy white clouds and tell what we see in them!
Do you remember doing that as a kid, yourself?
Stressless and simple grandparenting/parenting at its best.
Happy Birthday Play Center!
We recognized Laurie’s Little D’s 5th birthday this summer
so it only seemed fitting to create a play center that celebrated it, too!
From streamers that Littles can cut out and decorate with,
to cute table decor, to party invites and hats and crown,
as well as gift wrap essentials and, of course, cake and ice cream,
our play center has it all!
Let’s celebrate!
Rug Jumping!
Stuck inside with your Littles?
Are those little bodies getting a bit wiggly?
Looking for a fun way to burn off some of that extra energy?
This simple activity may be all you need!
A Grammy’s Grand View!
Why, oh why???
Check out Laurie’s hilarious take on play-time with her Littles!
Bath Time!
This is a great activity for keeping your Littles entertained,
especially when you have something you need to get done...
Like making dinner before the whole family comes over!
Put a towel down on the floor, near where you happen to be busy
and give each Little a bin filled partially with water!
Our Littles LOVE to wash their Barbies hair!
Cut off a piece of gentle soap (like Dove)
and watch your Littles wash and rinse!
The best part?
You can still talk to them
and listen to their sweet chatter while you work!
Summer Playgrounds!
Even though summer is winding down,
you can still keep your Littles outside and moving!
Here’s a fun way to do just that!
Take your Littles to a new playground once each week during the summer!
Laurie, her hubby and her Littles did just that and have made it to
six different playgrounds (or even more by now)!
Older Littles can even rate each playground and keep a running record!
Shaving Cream Paintings!
Oh… the things we can do!
And all it takes is a can of shaving cream!
A few weeks back we had fun sharing all kinds of art ideas on the blog.
Here’s one more that’s easy, fun and cleans your sliding glass door, too!
This also works great for painting/cleaning dirty art tables, too!
Just be sure your Littles wear a big old T-shirt over their clothes,
because they will get covered in shaving cream, too!
No worries, though! Just put the T-shirts in your next laundry load!
Let the Countdown Begin!
When planning a family vacation or special adventure ahead,
check out this fun way to build excitement!
Send one photo from a past family trip each day via group text or email
as you count down to the fun!
We started a week before our big trip was scheduled to begin.
As the texts keep coming, you’ll keep hearing, “I can’t wait!”
P.S. We couldn’t either!
AN ADDED BONUS!
While we’ll look forward to sharing highlights from our summer vacay
in an upcoming Life Lately post,
you can find an Instagram reel of our latest adventure here!
It was GRAND!
And now 2 FAVES from the summer of 2023!
Full Body Rock, Paper, Scissors!
You probably know Rock, Paper, Scissors as a hand game,
but did you know you can make it a full body experience?
Face your partner and chant Rock, Paper, Scissors, Go.
On Go use your body to show your sign.
Crouch down for Rock, arms way out to the side for Paper,
and arms in front of you at angles for Scissors.
When you win, you get a point. Play to 10 or 20 or 100…
Keep it moving quickly and it gets sillier and sillier!
To see the game in action, check out this IG reel!
Stuffie Fun!
Our Littles all love their stuffed animals
and we usually come up with fun ways to play with them!
This scene from a few weeks ago
reminded us of one of our all time favorite reels!
(This little one is also the big sister in the photo above!)
Check it out below!
❤️ ❤️ ❤️
Week in and week out,
Laurie shares a little of this and a little of that with us all!
Special thanks to her for keeping the inspiration flowing
on our social media sites!
As always, if you have any thoughts, ideas or insights to share,
we’d love to hear more!
Also, we’d love it if you’d share our site with others who might enjoy our content!
With that said, we’re going to take our annual break from the blogging world
during the coming weeks
before gearing up for fall and all it brings!
You may want to subscribe to our site so you don’t miss out on our BIG return!
😉
We'll be back mid September with new ideas and new content that celebrates
Our Grand Lives!
When the two of us join forces,
you get stories with pictures and pictures with stories...
A little of THIS and a little of THAT!
While it’s true you may never quite know what you’ll find here
- practical ideas, sentimental memories, heartfelt thoughts -
we hope it’s always something that makes your life feel a bit more GRAND!
Thanks so much for spending a bit of your day with us!
SPECIAL THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING SITES FOR FEATURING OUR POST!
A Morning. Cup of Joe from The Cottage Market
Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot from Scratch Made Food for Hungry People
Thank you for featuring this post on your sites!
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You two are mazing grandmothers. the kid always look like they are having a blast plus learning. I love that you share at Love Your Creativity. Happy September.
Wow! So much to see, what a grand summer you all had! This is my Random Pick for WTJR 09.04.2026. Thanks so much for sharing with us!
Aw, I enjoyed this post very much. Looks like you all had a fun summer! So many great activities as well.
Steph@crazylittlelovebirds
Your grand children are so blessed to have both of you as grandmothers!! You are amazing!! Thanks so much for all your visits...I am so sorry it took me this long to get back to visit but August is a rough month for me with anniversaries and birthdays of loved ones who have past along with several loved ones who also passed in August... A tough month for my family that was once a joyous month...I needed to give myself a lot of grace this month for sure...I hope you both are having a great week!! Happy September!Hugs,
Deb
Debbie-Dabble Blog!
What a great post! I especially like the "Grandma, you are beautiful" comment. I have wondered also about the gray hair in a bun / bald head thing -- I don't know many grandparents that look like that! - Make that "ANY that look like that". No Busy Monday today - we were hacked - so I am visiting everybody's blog first this week.