Play, Swim, Eat!

It was another wonderful day!

We visited our favorite playground.

So many fun things to do!

I was amazed when Kyle completed the monkey bars

Lots of climbing...

Adele is very careful.

Swings are always a good option.

Steve joined us after a morning of moving a ward member.

Papa Ben had fun with Steve.

After meeting up, we got lunch.  Yum!

Adele loves this restaurant.

The door from Thursday needed some attention.
Camille insisted on helping.

Steve supervised.

A trip to a pool was in order.

Kyle is a fish.

Adele was surprised to see what came floating by.

Papa Ben and Camille worked on her swimming.

No one needed to teach Kyle how to jump.

Or splash.

Please notice Adele's feet.

Back at the ranch, Kyle kept Lewis occupied while  I set up my computer in the basement.

That's where he and I stream Star Trek.

A Most Interesting Day

We visited the Mabee Farm this morning.  The kids couldn't take their eyes off the docent.

This is the oldest home still standing in New York State.

I loved every second.

This was a Dutch home, with many new things for me.  But some were the same.

Steve thought it was as interesting as I did.

Kyle assisted with a demonstration on how children collected water.

A 10-year-old boy could have carried 2 buckets on the yoke.

Camille was enchanted.

All of the children were interested in the tour.

Camille demonstrated how to flail rye grain.

Papa Ben pointed out some of the interesting features of the barn.

Such as this wooden hinge.

Lewis wasn't very interested in anything, but he was well-behaved.

This was a great place to have fun together as a family.

Adele planted some corn.

This was Indian corn for bread.

This afternoon Kyle and Steve played the cello for us.

I don't remember what was so funny, but we were all laughing.

Eventually we got serious and had a wonderful concert.

Papa Ben and Lewis were an appreciative audience.

One of my favorite events here is the food.  Camille now operates her own restaurant.

The menu was very enticing!

Nature Walk Along the Erie Canal

We were excited to get moving on our morning.

Steve cooked us Egg McMarkhams for breakfast.

In no time we found ourselves walking along the Erie Canal.

Many families were there.

We had a wonderful time together.

I particularly loved seeing all the turtles warming up in the morning sun.

Camille helped Adele see everything.

We saw many, many turtles.

I was not the only one taking pictures.

I was not the only one having a good time, either.

Papa Ben made sure I saw every single turtle.

Sometimes I got distracted with other wildlife.

Between the turtles, goslings and kiddies, it was a perfect walk.

Some of us got permission to go farther along the trail, as long as we got back in time.

We didn't want to miss anything.

Although we might never know what was around that last bend.

Pretty soon, it was time to go.

One of our traditions is eating lunch at Sitar.

Kyle always orders mango lassi.

Back at the ranch, we played Qwirkle.

We put together a new puzzle.

Kyle and I put together Dogs on the Beach, borders last.

Kyle showed me his coin collection.  One of his pennies is a century older than I am.

Kyle spent some time building a new invention.

This involved a pulley, centrifugal force, and me ducking.

In the meantime, Papa Ben helped Steve with a project.

Some of us went outside to watch.

Maybe the project took a little longer than expected, and a second trip to Lowe's was required, but Steve now has a new door. 

All day long, Camille had asked me to tell stories.  At dinner I started to tell about paint ball guns.  Steve disappeared, but returned with visual aids.

Then we had cake.  It was a perfect day.

We'll return tomorrow for more fun!