Revisiting the Stereoscope Slides

Sammie looked at the stereoscope slides today.  He went from, "What are these again?" to "Can I show them to Bradley?"  He was totally engaged.  I loved it.  Thanks, Aunt Joan.

Two Grandparents and a Happy Grandson

Our day started out with two grandsons!

Bradley was whisked off to spend the day with a cousin.  Mom and Dad had important business elsewhere.

That left Richie spending the day with us!  He loves my car collection.  I set out the cars in a line.

He went after them.  This was amazing to me.  He carefully chose one car, one at a time.

Then he opened the lid on the car container and dropped in one car.  He closed the lid.  He chose another car and did the same until they were all put away.  Ben says it's an engineer gene.

Lickey-split -- Richie figured out how to clean Papa's tank.  He knows the outside piece belongs with the inside piece.  He also knows how to make the magnets stick together.  He's actually not very good at cleaning the tank, though.

While I made bagels, Richie cleaned out my cabinets.

This kept him occupied for a long time.

Don't tell Mom and Dad, but he didn't go down for his morning nap until almost 11.  Papa was the one who rocked him to sleep and then carefully moved him to his bed.

I love my grandchildren, every single one.  But this one, oh my!

When he woke up, Richie decided he couldn't be separated from Papa.  After a while, we took him on a walk.

We found rocks at the river.

Walking was a little tricky.  Papa Ben helped out.

You are looking at two best buds!

I Want a Big Puddle of Syrup!

I was ambushed soon after I arrived at Steve's house this morning, and it was a good ambush, too, one I didn't see coming.  Adele was masterful at leading me to my own destruction.  The kids were hysterical afterward. I felt loved.

On his own, Lewis found yesterday's pancakes in the fridge.  I offered to help.  He likes lots of syrup, just so you know.  This kid -- I can't get enough.

Adele showed me the art wall.  Many of the paintings are hers.

After church and lunch, quiet time was declared.  Kyle chose to improve his abilities with his birthday present.

Camille and Adele painted.  I twisted caps and opened bottles.

Both girls knew exactly what they wanted to paint.

Creativity often requires patience, and Camille has it in abundance.

When quiet time ended, Steve played the Bugs in a Rug game with Adele.  Fortunately, they won.

Kyle came in from archery and practiced another kind of bowing.

I enjoyed this very much.  So did Papa.

Kyle played quite a bit of Bach.

Then he moved to some fun music.

By this time, Janet was preparing for an extended family birthday party.  Her peanut butter bars were playing a large role.  I struggled to wait, but any snitching would have been too obvious.

Great-grandma Maughan brought a fruit salad.

The main course was tortilla soup.  It tasted as good as it looks.

Kyle's birthday was one being recognized.

Great-grandma gave Kyle a gift he had been hoping for.

Lewis received a belated birthday card.  He was completely delighted, which are the words that describe how I feel at the end of this trip.