Over the River

and through the woods

to Grandpa's house we go!

My Mom and I decided to go to my Grandpa's house. We only spent a couple of days but we had a great time! He lives on a farm that my great-grandpa built. This is where I was born and we used to spend every summer here growing up. He's getting remarried soon and Bonnie has plans to scale back and update things. It's kind of sad, but badly needed. So mom and I went to see if there were things we wanted to take. We spent the two days getting to know her better and hanging out with them and my Aunt. I must admit I didn't like the idea of him remarrying at first, but she's wonderful and they make each other SO happy. Now I think it's great! It certainly is wonderful to see Grandpa turn back into the witty tease I knew growing up. In fact he seems younger than ever before! Anyway, we had fun all hanging out together and the kids had fun on the farm. They enjoyed petting and feeding the goat family. They played with the ducks and the dogs too. The dogs loved having someone to play with. One time they were running around together, Everett and a dog collided. Everett got up and said "Oh, showy (sorry) puppy." and they went back to running. It was cute! The kids also had fun playing with Grandpa's tiger slippers, the rocking chair, and exploring the land.

It didn't take long for us city folk to get eaten up by bugs and injured. Mom and I set out one morning to find The Creek where we used to play. The path was totally overgrown with briers, so we quickly turned around. Mom carried Everett and tried to keep him out of them but caught a MASSIVE one in the neck. We had to break the branch off in order to get it out! She and Everett got scraped up by it. But thanks for saving my baby! So Grandpa offered to hook up the tractor and trailer and take us out to The Chimney and The Hill. The kids, of course, loved driving the tractor!

We came prepared to slide down The Hill only to find it blocked by a tree. We found another good spot on the hill, but I chickened out! It looks WAY more steep as an adult! Plus, I never could bring myself to be the first one down. Growing up, I always had to let my brother clear off some of the slippery leaves first. Eh, c'est la vie!

We then roasted marshmallows. That was a HUGE hit with the kids! Chloe was scared to get too close to the fire, but they couldn't shovel them in fast enough. Everett didn't like the stickiness at first, but then decided the taste was worth it. He was a huge mess by the end!

While waiting for the fire to get going, Everett brought me the camera and asked me to take a picture of his shoes. So I did. He sat in my lap the whole time just looking at and talking about the picture of his shoes (the real ones were of course inches away from the picture.) He got SO upset when the camera turned off and his precious picture went away! Crazy kid!

We all had lots of fun. And it's SO great to be able to continue such cherished traditions with my kids. And though Bonnie isn't my grandma, I already love her and she'll be a great Great Grandma!