The Rest of Our Visit With Family

At the end of the last post I planned to update in a day or so but never got around to it. We're home now and here's a brief re-cap of our time with our children and grandchildren.

Last week, our second week with them, our school-age grandchildren had winter break so we spent time going on "field trips" and trying to keep them busy so Keely could have some quiet time at home with Addison. Of course, we loved getting to spend more time with them while they were out of school. David, our grandson, was with his other grandparents, but Hannah was in town so Aubrey and Ashlyn wanted their cousin to go with them and we did, too. Our first field trip was to the American Girl store (I feel quite sure David would not have enjoyed this trip anyway!). I had been before but Pops had not and he had an eye-opening experience going to the doll store with three little girls. We had dessert and so did the dolls. Dessert was delicious and the trip was lots of fun!!



The next day we went to the aquarium. Aubrey decided to stay home so just Ashlyn and Hannah went with Pops and me. Here are a few pictures of them at the aquarium. I LOVE the aquarium.



Our last day of fun together was to go to Jumpin' Monkeys. Hannah and David were busy that day so Aubrey and Ashlyn "jumped" without their cousins. They had a great time.
Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the jumping trip but suffice it to say there was lots of running and jumping and sliding going on.

During our time at our children's house, we were able to stay with Addison while Keely got out one day and also while Todd and Keely went to dinner one night and a movie another day. How special to get to keep our fifth grandchild and spend time with her.

It was time to come home at the end of the week so we reluctantly said good-bye to all of them and left. Before leaving, we took a few new pictures of Addison (we really miss those times of holding and snuggling her and know she will change so quickly over the next few weeks). We miss them all, but we were blessed to be able to go help out and be with them. It's an added blessing that both of our sons and their families live near each other, go to church together, and, when we go, we get to be with both families. We miss all of you!!

Updates of Addison and More Grandchildren Activities

We are at Todd and Keely's house to help out with Addison and to help chauffeur Aubrey and Ashlyn to school and other events. The other grandparents have gone home now and we'll miss them. It was great for us to get to be together and share our children and grandchildren. We laughed and reminisced and laughed more---how richly blessed we are to be able to enjoy being together now and also to remember fun times when it was just the four of us.

Friday night we celebrated Todd's birthday as well as Marc's birthday. (Marc is married to Keely's sister.) It was the first time David, our grandson, had held his new cousin. He really had strong opinions about wanting a boy cousin this time but the night before she was born, he said "Little Addsion. I can't wait to see her." He had seen her, of course, but had been too busy playing with his "cousin-in-law", Kaden (Marc and Kristin's son), to stop and hold Addison. However, Friday he made the statement that he was really ready to hold Addison but he really didn't want to drop her. We really didn't want him to either and we were close by, of course. The holding didn't last long, but he has now held Addison.

Pops and Addison

Aunt Jennifer and Addison

David and Kaden looking at a Lego sticker book

Saturday was spent at the gym watching our grandchildren play Upwards basketball and our oldest granddaughter cheer for Upwards---a great program by the way.

The teams praying before the game

Aubrey's half time dance routine (back row--middle)

Sandy and Dorsey, our friends and the other grandparents (taking notes during half-time devo)

It was a fun day with a few more exciting adventures before and after the games. That'll be another post coming soon.

Happy Birthday, Todd!

How could it be possible.......................................

for our first little baby to be all grown up with three little girls of his own?It seems no time since we were eagerly anticipating his birth---where did all the years go? Happy Birthday, Todd! We love you and are so proud of you and the man you have become. Have a great day!! (Sorry about the quality of the baby picture. I had to take a picture of the picture because my scanner wouldn't work!)

Could the Ground Hog Be Wrong?

Today we drove to our Farm to feed the animals. It was a gorgeous day and it made me really ready for spring to arrive. Robins were hopping around all over the place hunting for worms. I was also able to get a good shot of one perching on a tree branch.

This next shot of a robin is down at our pond. I managed to get a few good shots but missed some excellent shots because I literally got "ant in my pants!" I decided to sit on a stump in order to get a closer picture of the robin near the water when I suddenly realized I was apparently disturbing an ant bed which was beside the stump. After jumping up and stomping my foot and taking my shoe and sock off and hopping around, I was able to get rid of the ants but that had scared the robin away. Here is a shot I managed to get before the ant escapade!

Apparently the geese don't mind the cold water because this is where we found them.


Of course, the animals were glad to see us as always because they knew we were bringing food. If you will look closely at the picture of the goats rounding the corner of the barn, you will see a dolly loaded with hay pulled by Farmer Pops. The goats were not letting him get far from them at all!

Farmer Pops below-----

I loved these pictures of one of the cats. Apparently he thought he heard a mouse in the old smokehouse so he decided to investigate. He had already eaten the food we took him but his "barn cat" instincts took over and he decided to investigate.


I can't end the post without a cow picture. I LOVE cow faces!! Here is one watching me hoping I have a handful of hay for her.

So, maybe the Ground Hog is wrong and spring is right around the corner!! I'm ready. Be sure to go over to Susan's blog to see more outdoor pictures.