welcome back to Our Grand Lives! life lately! all about AUGUST with the GRANDS!
Friday, September 18, 2026
We took some time away from OGL these past few weeks
and it was a nice break for both of us!
But now, we are ready to dive back in!
If you have followed us at all,
you probably know that we are Laurie and Laura, two Grands - grandmas -
who love spending time with our growing families,
and, most especially,
our grandchildren, better known here as our Littles!
We also happen to be two retired kindergarten teachers
who haven’t quite retired yet from sharing our ideas!
We’ve always loved exchanging ideas, experiences and things we’ve learned along the way with our friends, and that was, honestly, one of the inspirations behind starting Our Grand Lives in the first place. So, while our Littles and family adventures will always have a special place here, we also hope you’ll continue to join us for the ideas, discoveries, experiences and perhaps a few little bits of wisdom that make life interesting at every age.
For us, beginning a new season of blogging feels a lot like starting a new school year once more. Back then, we opened the doors to a fresh classroom — bulletin boards ready, lesson plans prepped, and that unmistakable sense of anticipation in the air. Now, instead of eager little learners, we welcome you, our readers, with that same excitement!
Whether you’ve been with us since day one or are just joining in now,
we’re so glad you’re here!
As the seasons begins to shift,
we are so excited to reconnect with all of you after a little hiatus away.
However, we couldn't start this new chapter without first taking a look back
at the end of summer AND the month of August!
So, before we move into the crisp autumn days ahead,
in today’s post, we’ve got our Life Lately recap All About August…
capturing a few of the memorable moments that closed out our summer!
August began and it was time for our annual family vacation at
Every year for the past eleven years, our family and my sister’s family have taken a summer get-away together. This was our seventh year doing so at Grand View Lodge in Nisswa, Minnesota. My hubby and I also vacation here for a few days each spring, as well!
(photo taken from Google)
When we go with both families each summer (often in August), we rent a large six bedroom/6 bathroom cottage that has room for 12 adults and 6 Littles, similar to this one!
(Again, photo taken from Google)
It’s the perfect getaway and we look forward to it every year!
This year, we arrived late morning and hung out by the lake
until our unit was ready.
The first thing my daughter-in-law did when we arrived in our cabin was to set up the Dirty Soda Bar she had created and prepped for the week. (Don’t let the picture fool you. There was plenty of alcohol nearby for the adults!)
Meanwhile, the older Littles had so much fun
creating and sharing fun drinks during the week.
All the drinks were named in honor of family jokes or activities.
We had such a great time!
We swam, we ate, we played games!
We biked, we played whiffle ball, we golfed,
and some of us enjoyed spa time, too!
And, of course, there were nightly bonfires!
All in all, the week was another fabulous addition
to our family memory board!
The hardest part of our week was the realization of how
time goes by so quickly as our Littles grow and grow!
This picture is from our first year as an extended family at Grand View
And here are our growing Littles in 2026!
All ages - good friends!
Thanks for the memories, Grand View!
If interested, here’s an IG reel we posted of our week together!
Later in August, fun was had during a weekend on Gull Lake
with longtime friends!
It was a perfect way to celebrate the end to summer!
Does anyone else feel this way as August comes to an end?
Even though I had been thinking about it all summer, August really meant school was starting soon... Can a teacher ever see August in any other way?
Our Little D was heading to kindergarten this fall! I was a kindergarten teacher for 35 years so this wasn’t just her year, it was mine as well! It was exciting when my own children started kindergarten - at the school I was teaching at - but I was a busy working mom and their days were the same as mine so we all just kept plugging along. Now I have the time to really think about it and appreciate the wonder and excitement of what Little D is experiencing. In early August she attended KinderCamp (two mornings spent at school to help new kindergartners get a taste of school) which she announced as “even better than preschool!"
My husband and I took her to check out the school playground!
Little D thought it was wonderful, and even spent a little time
peeking in school windows and doors!
I also created a Countdown to Kindergarten for our soon-to-be kindergartner!
These daily activities did not contain prizes. Instead, the countdown was filled with challenges to boost Little D’s confidence as a kindergartner!
The end of an era…
First and last day of my Little D Days!
At the end of August, we had our last Thursday Daycare Day — a day that marked the end of a very special five-year tradition. I had cared for this little girl every Thursday for five years, and while I know I’ll still have school vacations, summers and plenty of special time together, it still feels like an ending. I’m so excited for Little D and this next chapter, but if I’m being completely honest, I’m just not quite ready to let go! ❤️
Thanks for the memories, August!
My August was exceptionally quiet on most fronts
and I’m not complaining,
although, as always, I miss it when we don’t see our Littles!
Thank goodness for FaceTime visits!
During this chat, my friend Chester helped me cheer up our Little P.
Then, on this particular day, Little L read 5(!!!) Elephant & Piggie stories to us!
It was a fairly long but delightful visit!
Hubby and I did live out of a suitcase all month long,
making the 90-minute drive between home and the lake regularly!
We came into town to water the plants, collect the mail
and for any scheduled appointments!
Many mornings at the lake began like this…
and lots of afternoons looked the same, too,
while many evenings ended this way!
Our own little slice of heaven!
August did bring several projects to the lake,
beginning with tree trimming!
Before photos…
and after!
Do you notice the difference?
Yours truly would have preferred more trimming from the trees
in the photo on the right
but I was overruled - at least for the time being!
And, did you happen to notice how much rain was needed, too?
Our poor grass!
The other big project we began,
involves a new shed down by the lake!
It’s a work in progress!
(It’s also an upgrade for an old, decrepit one we tore down.)
The days we were at home were filled with
closet clean outs and runs to various donation sites.
We also put the finishing touches on one of our recently remodeled bathrooms.
The only thing left is to figure out what to put on the walls.
That’s also a work in progress!
One other BIG moment was when Hubby and I went out for pizza!
It may not sound like anything special, but for us
It was our first shared pizza in over two years!
Some of you may recall that he has been gluten/grain/dairy/nut-free for over three years now. He/we have been following the Autoimmune Protocol Diet (AIP) for quite some time (we’re on Day 889 as of today!) and that has made such a difference in his overall health as he's dealt with symptoms from a diagnosed autoimmune condition. As his gut has healed, Hubby slowly began reintroducing foods to his diet, and on this particular night, he was ready to give pizza a try!
Nothing fancy, but, boy, did it taste good!
I’m happy to report that he experienced very few issues
and, while we don’t eat it on a regular basis, we’re looking forward to
adding a pizza pie and even pasta occasionally to future meal plans!
Finally, our Little L is headed to 4K this fall!
She went back-pack shopping and her mom sent me this sweet photo!
She sure looks ready, doesn’t she?
August, while a quiet month, was also good on all fronts!
Our August recap wouldn't be complete
without revisiting the posts we shared during the month at Our Grand Lives!
Before we started our Blogging Break, we shared 7 new posts in August
and this month we're sharing them in abbreviated form!
In addition, we’ve got LOTS of content on our social media sites
that you won’t always find on our blog!
Here’s a few photos from late August
to give you a taste of what you’ll find there!
If you’d like to learn more - or see what else has been happening there,
Even better? We invite you to follow us on either (or both) sites!
We had such fun creating our collection of Weekly Spotlight posts this past summer
and we look forward to continuing with our monthly series,
How to Play the GRAND Way,
as well as regular Simply GRAND Recipe posts, too!
And, beginning in October, our Monthly Story Time posts will be added to our plans!
The two of us met recently - twice, in fact!
The first time we spent 3+ hours simply chatting and catching up
and then, earlier this week, we got down to business
and spent another 3+ hours planning out our fall schedule of posts!
We're ready for another GRAND season of fun!
We’ll be back early next week with a new post and then we plan to post twice each week during the fall months. And, of course, we’ll be sure to update you about the first weeks of school for our Littles in an upcoming Life Lately post!
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Special THANKS for reading, commenting, and/or emailing!
What was your favorite summer memory?
As always, we value your input and insights!
Please feel free to comment and share your thoughts, ideas or suggestions
at the end of this post
OR
you can always reach us by email, too, at
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we’d love it if you shared our site with them!
THANK YOU!
And with that, we’re ready to turn the page on summer — and on our little blogging break — and see what this next season brings. We’re always grateful for the people, places and moments that fill our lives and for the chance to capture a few of them here to remember and share. We hope you’ll continue to stop by, whether you’re here for the Littles, the family stories, the ideas we’ve collected over the years, or simply a little glimpse into Our Grand Lives.
There are always more memories to make,
more stories to tell and, we hope,
many more GRAND adventures to fill our days!
💗 We are delighted to join the following link up parties and blog hops! 💗
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THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
Some great pictures there, it sure looks like you have all enjoyed your August!
Laurie that family getaway looks amazing! It sounds like you had a lovely August. Laura, those sunsets are incredible. It sounds like a lovely and relaxed August.
Welcome back! That is exciting about the gut healing and the pizza!
Suggestion for the bathroom wall - some of your personal photos blown up - I did that and used black frames in mine. I have also had canvasas made.
So much exciting stuff with school starting!