The story of the gold coins (UPDATED 2/27/11)

One day when Zoey was very little, probably younger than 2, Tony and I were watching her at our house.  She had on tiny jeans with lots of pockets, and Tony was entertaining her by placing little bits of crumpled paper into her pockets.  Zoey was delighted to have something in each pocket.  Later on, this evolved into small rocks when we were outside playing.  Jenni was not amused at finding stones in her child's clothing!  So Tony decided to start a tradition with our grandchildren.  He went to the bank and purchased a roll of shiny "gold" dollar coins.  Every time a grandchild would visit Grammy and Papa, he/she would receive a gold coin to take home.  This worked out pretty well when we had only one grandchild, and even once Leo was born.  It started getting a little more painful (!!) when Ruby came along, and now that we have 2 new granddaughters, Tony laments that he should have started with shiny new pennies instead of dollars.  But the kids love the tradition, and they all have special banks at home exclusively for their gold coins.  Not only are we making memories with the coins, but we also hope to be helping with future college expenses.  It's a win-win for all!!

This is the container of gold dollar coins we keep on our fireplace mantle.  The kids zero in on it as soon as they come over!

A sample gold dollar coin        

Leo selecting a gold coin for himself and his sister.       

                            
     This is Etta's special piggy bank for her gold coins--sparkly gold, of course!!

       And Leo's is clear glass so he can see his pile of coins grow.

                     Proud Leo holding his pig full of coins

 Etta came over Super Bowl Sunday and received her first gold coin.  Here she is eyeing the shiny coin.

"Don't you even think about taking this coin away from me!!"

Maggie hasn't been to our house for a visit yet, so next time the girls come over I'll post pictures of them with their coins, too.

UPDATE:  As promised, here are pictures of the Cribblets and their coins from 2-23-11.

      Zoey is quite the experienced coin selector.

               And Ruby's pretty good, too, for a little lady not yet two.

Maggie definitely shows promise, although it looks as though she's thinking, "Now what am I supposed to do with this hard round thing?"

Having a blast!! (arctic, that is)

Last week we had winter here in North Texas!!  For the first time anyone can remember, everything completely shut down--schools, businesses, city governments, Mama's Daughters' Diner(!!) for 4 consecutive days.  Driving and walking were treacherous.  Parking lots were like skating rinks.  Our entire region was glazed with slick ice until Saturday, when temps finally climbed above freezing and the thaw began.  Right now we're in good shape, but there are predictions of more "wintry mix" Tuesday night into Wednesday.  I feel like I need to wake up and realize moving to Texas was all a dream a la Bobby Ewing--we still live in New York State, right?

                                        Skating, anyone?

                             Millie LOVES the cold and snow!

                        Nanook of the North with her sled dog

                      Who needs blush when it's 18 degrees?

                          Of course a cold, icy day requires Starbucks.

But driving can be hazardous.  We have front-wheel drive and were okay, but there were lots of cars and trucks spinning and fishtailing.

                                                 WHITEOUT!!!

              Staying cozy and warm inside, looking out back.

             View of our neighbor across the street through the snowstorm.

So beautiful.  So cold.