I woke up on a beautiful Sunday morning at around 9 AM. The birds were singing, the sun was shining, and everyone was in a great mood for once. My whole family, except for my one older sister, always loves to spend time at my grandparent's house. 

There is a two-story house on a beautiful property. The house is typical for a house more in the country area. A large backyard filled with children swimming, playing games, talking to each other. Laughter was everywhere in the air. Looking past the pool and you see a neighboring farm field about a quarter-mile away. The rich green grass yard was the perfect spot to play a game of backyard soccer or capture the flag. Every second at my grandparent's house you feel the love from everyone there. It is a feeling like no other and will never be forgotten by anyone in our family. The best part of it all is the smell of the food cooking on the grill. Wafts of grilled ribs or chicken drift through the air. The mouth-watering taste of the foods and desserts that my grandma and aunts prepare is like no other. 

Memories from my grandparents’ house are always the most enjoyable. From grandmas cooking to competing with my cousins in various sports. On this particular day I and about 10 of my cousins all planned to play this game we made up.  It was called ripstick hockey. How you play the game is you take the heavy ripsticks, which are like a two-wheeled skateboard that you propel by shifting your back foot forward and back. Constantly doing this motion will give you an immense amount of speed. All ten of my cousins are all very competitive. As you can probably imagine, we are all extremely hot and sweaty, wanting to win the match quickly so we can jump in my grandparent’s pool. All of us holding hockey sticks we divide into teams of 3 to 5 each. We have the best players as team captains and they choose who they would like to be on there, hopefully successful, team. The game gets very intense to where my cousins run the ripsticks into each other and knock the little cousins to the ground. No one cares because they have so much fun and just want to win the match. As I would stick handle the ball down the driveway I shoot and score. My team gives out fist bumps and dinner is almost ready. The best part of these hot summer days is the food my grandparents cook up for us. Everyone gathering around large white tables and talking about everything is going in their lives and you know that everyone is there to listen and care for you. The food is plentiful and warm on the cheap paper plates. The fridge in the garage is loaded with every drink imaginable.  My favorite dinner from my grandma is her oven-baked breaded chicken. The chicken in the most tender and delicious chicken ever cooked. After dinner, we move onto dessert, which each family provides its own special recipe. It is a glorious mouthwatering display of sweets. Cookies of a variety of flavors, homemade chocolate cake, cherry pie, vanilla ice cream, and much more. In the snap of a finger, the desserts would vanish into the warm accepting bellies of everyone in the house.  These are memories that I remember every time I step foot into my grandparent's house. 

My grandma is a woman that shows love in her eyes at all times and you can feel it. She is an old fragile woman, but will never show it. She has curly brown hair and wrinkled skin on her face. Her light brown eyes tearing up as one of her grandchildren perform even the smallest act of kindness toward her. The immense love in her heart for her grandchildren goes far beyond explanation. She is my number one supporter at all of my sporting events. She cooks the most amazing food. The only time you would want to keep your distance is when someone messes with one of her grandchildren because she will have their back at all times. 

Memories from my Grandparents’ house are those I will never ever forget. I will enjoy carrying them with me throughout my whole life and always knowing that my family has a deep care for me, as I do everyone else in the family. I carry these memories by choice because they are among the best times of my life. From competing in sports with my cousins to eating the delicious food made by my Grandma, I will always enjoy carrying these memories from my Grandparents’ house.