Granma Camp

Summertime brings many opportunities for children to pack up and head out. For some kids it’s ball camp, for some it’s band camp, and for others still, it’s church camp. The Smith kids are still a bit young for all of that. But this summer they were old enough to depart on one special for-kids-only excursion: Granma Camp.

After seven days on the road trip of a lifetime, Cooper and Brisco had only 24 hours to rest and recuperate for the first annual Granma Camp in Duncan. See, Granma Donna had been making plans for weeks to hold a special session with her favorite little people on earth, and the boys couldn’t have been more excited.


Of course Granma has a total of eleven favorite little people, so she set her sights on anyone over the age of four. This made one daddy, who was a little unsure about his mother being bombarded by that many Smith children, feel a little better about the whole event. There would be six excited campers and one brave Granma.

We were instructed to pack lightly no doubt to help reduce the amount of laundry and chaos that can be created when six little kids (four of whom are boys) decide it’s time to change clothes or dig through a suitcase. The campers would be attending Vacation Bible School every evening where they would receive a T-shirt, as well as their First Official Granma Camp T-shirt that Aunt Becca would be helping them tie dye. Such a brave soul.

That is pretty much all the information we received as far as the itinerary for the week, but I was sure that Granma-this mother of eight-would have them lined out and entertained in a manner far better than any of us parents could do on our own…if she could just get all the grown-ups to go home.

We were to drop the kids off on Sunday afternoon, and by 10 p.m., or somewhere thereafter, the last of the big people finally drove away, leaving Granma to corral her six rowdy stallions and convince them it was time to hit the hay. It seems it was us parents who put a kink in Granma’s schedule right from the start, but she was able to calm their high spirits and dry a few tearful eyes, soothing them to sleep, as only a granma can.

And so the week began. Like an actual summer camp--the kind you usually have to pay for--Granma had events and activities scheduled to keep their hands and their minds busy and engaged. From picnics and baseball to just hanging out in the pool, there was always something going on for the kids to enjoy.

One morning was spent at the Chisholm Trail Museum, which apparently made a lasting impression on every child attending. I wasn’t sure our kids were really old enough for the experience, but it seems Granma knows best, as all the children had stories to tell about their day. “We got rained on during the movie! And the seats moved!” Cooper remembered. “Real water came our of the TV and got us wet!” Mattie added. There was apparently lots of interactive learning, as the boys recalled beating on the drum so it would “toot” and say, “Not beans again!” Mattie and Cooper remember how scared Brisco would get every time he pushed the button to hear the Buffalo sound. “He would run back to the rail every time!”

But it wasn’t just the museum that had the kids talking. For Tyler, the oldest, his favorite part of the week was playing with Cooper. Two little boys with different talents and interests, but the same gust for playing hard and having fun. No doubt he gave the little guys (and girls) tips on climbing trees and put on a show with his unbelievable acrobatics on the trampoline. Mattie had fun swimming, but enjoyed it most of all when Granma taught her how to swim on her back. Cooper loved having a water balloon fight, watching “the Babe” and “getting Granma awards”. My son, always the competitor.

Haley, the youngest of the two girls attending, enjoyed spending time with Mattie and painting the rocks that Granma provided for all the kids to decorate and put in her pathway off the back porch.

Brady, the lone brother in a house full of girls, had an especially good time being surrounded by a bunch of boys. “I liked playing water balloons with Tyler, Cooper and Brisco. We would try to hit each other with the balloons!" He also enjoyed it when Granma got in the pool “because it made her hair all smooth".

For Brisco, the youngest of the crew, his favorites had to include the food. “Swimming, watermelon, and Granma’s biscuits”.

It’s not easy on a family when you’re spread out from the Oklahoma panhandle to near the Red River. But what better way for children to enjoy their grandparents, and each other, than to pack their bags and head to Granma’s.


Generations of grown-ups can recount the history of their childhoods told from memories they made with their grandparents. And now ours will too. From Sunday dinners at Grandmother Hightower’s, to running downstairs on Christmas morning at Martha’s, to summer camp at Granma Donna’s. What more could a little kid ask for?

And that’s All in a day’s work!