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Raising her great grandsons
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Barbara Evans along with her husband David is raising great-grandsons Monte and Skyler. - photo by Photo Contributed

One set of great grandparents stands tall in their family for giving their all to a pair of great grandsons.

Barbara Evans and her husband David took on the 24/7 care of two boys when their mother was unable to care for them any longer. 

She said she and the boys — Monte, 7, and Skyler, 5 — have a lot of fun throughout the week. She said she and her husband want the children to have the same opportunities in their childhood that other boys and girls enjoy in the absence of their 26-year-old granddaughter.

“We have a little routine every morning,” she said.

She fixes them breakfast and takes them to school along with two other grandchildren she picks up on the way — Hannah, 15, and Brent, 12.

The boys have to be responsible. They have a bedtime routine of picking up their toys and brushing their teeth. There is often a bedtime story read by their great grandma. During after school playtime they go out and play with neighborhood children and play soccer on the grass.

While her 7-year-old is intrigued by science and computers at his young age the 5-year-old has a passion for golf. Grandpa David has bought him a child’s golf set and they go to the driving range together and watch golf tournaments together on television.

“I don’t understand how they can sit and watch golfers,” she said. “To me it’s boring.”

The great grandmother said the boys are “a lot of fun.” 

“They really keep us going and young,” she said. “We are retired and we have a lot of time for the boys. They’ve always lived here with us and their mom. She is working on herself and comes back and forth as she can.”

Great Grandma noted that the boys have a lot of security in their Turlock home. They love the neighbors and children friends in the area as well as enjoying their routine day in and day out. 

“We go on little outings to the beach and to the mountains along with taking them swimming at their grandparents’ home in Ripon — whatever their little hearts’ desire,” she said.

They call Barbara “Omi” a derivative of Oma for grandmother. Her husband David is simply called grandpa or if he should get grouchy, they refer to him as “Grouchpa.”

“We bake cookies together and we bake cinnamon rolls and they help make mac and cheese. They stir it up and I also make chocolate milk shakes and they like to help with that. We like to teach them with their prayers before bed and take them to Vacation Bible School,” she said. Grandpa makes his famous pancakes every weekend.”

The boys have three cousins and a young aunt and uncle in Ripon, Paige, 10, and David, 9.

On TV they like to watch Sponge Bob and are faithful to National Geographic and science shows as well as Animal Planet. The older boy, Monte has always loved anything about science and loves books about storms.

They both enjoy using a computer tablet to see Mine Craft games where they stay busy building cities, and an amusement park.

“Every day is a special day going to the park and the Turlock college campus that has its rivers and lakes,” she added. “When I pick up Monte at school, I see many grandparents picking up their kids at the school. We are very happy and want to give them the most normal a life as possible.” 

Barbara was a teacher for a special education class for about 15 years before retiring. Her husband David was a production manager for the Curry Machinery Co. before he retired.

“It has its ups and downs,” she said of their second family life, “but in general it’s a lot of fun. There’s never a dull moment from the time we get up chasing the little ones.”