Summertime Fun at Grammy's

I took the boys to visit my Mom for almost a week in August. It was a lot of fun. Some of the things we did together-- shopping, hot dog roast, visit the Discovery Center (free Friday!), swim in Teresa's pool, swing in the kiddie swing, Sunday walk along the canal, watch Monk 'til late, hot fudge sundaes, and more.

With lots of encouragement from Grammy, James started calling out for Grandpa. Mom would say "Grandpa" and James would say "Da-dah" in the same sing-song voice as her. Very cute. Then he started using "Da-dah" as a way to call for other people, including Grammy and myself. James has been slow to talk and hasn't said many words before, so this was an exciting thing for us and him. He would also say "Dah, dah" while waving goodbye.


Noah had fun with his cousins. We didn't see them for the first couple days of our trip, and he asked me once, "Where's my kids?" Noah is used to them always being at Grammy's house. Noah was glad to finally have them over for a hot dog roast one evening.



Ethan, the little mechanic-mind, talked to me about sprinklers and water pumps and how a toilet works. He knows WAY more about that sort of thing as a 6-year-old than I'll ever care to know. Emerson did a great job playing some fiddle pieces.

I went running one morning along the canal, which was really nice. I surprised myself by the pace I was able to keep. I have been needing to get back into running, but I just haven't done it. Here's a picture of a our Sunday walk along the canal.


I really enjoyed swimming in Teresa and Haven's pool. It was so nice! Before getting into it, I thought it looked nice but wasn't all that excited about it. Then I got in and WOW, I realized how great it was! It is a salt water pool, so there's no chlorine smell. This makes it seem like it's not a pool, but something more natural, like a lake. The pool is surrounded by lots of large rocks, some of which you can jump off of into the deep end. And the surrounding view from the pool is sage brush hills and big sky unimpeded by trees. So it really felt like I was swimming out in the "wild". I loved it!


Noah and Clarissa giving hugs. They are quite the happy little pair, always running and laughing and getting into mischief together.


Noah had some fun rolling down the hill in Grammy's backyard one afternoon. He also played throw and catch ball with Grammy and Grandpa. Noah really has a strong, accurate throw. He can also hit the ball with a bat. He'll be a natural at baseball someday.

Here's the little guy tuckered out one night on the couch. He played hard!



Thanks Mom for asking us to come for a visit. We had a great time!