Grandkids for a visit!

 

I started this painting a year ago during raspberry season. I pulled it out last night around 11 pm …painted until 1:00 am, climbed into bed and couldn’t sleep. Such is my life…I’d rather paint than sleep.

 

This painting also reminded me of this past week with Kristi, Jackson and Sadie - they came for a visit right during raspberry picking season. So I decided to make a post of our fun week!

 

I loved picking raspberries with these cute grandkids. I think they ate more than they picked…

but aren’t they cute?!

 

 

 

Eager to eat raspberries while we had plenty of them, we ate them on waffles, French toast, ice cream, angel food cake,  pie, and of course, fresh off the bushes.

 

We kept busy while they were here – FUN BUSY…

 

We took the kids to Tautphaus Park to ride the rides. I used to ride the same rides when I was a kid visiting my grandparents on our summer vacation (I hope they’ve tightened the screws and oiled the pullies since then!).

 

 

 

 

 

30 minutes playing a make-believe baseball game!!

 

 

We went to Del’s 44^th high school reunion in American Falls. The kids swung  for over an hour while Del visited with a bunch of “old” people. Are we really that old?! Afterwards we drove past the cemetery where Del's parents are buried. Kristi misses our traditional visits to the cemeteries over Memorial Weekend, so we went to the American Falls Cemetery to reminisce about Del's parents.

The highlight of the day was eating at Red Lobster in Pocatello.


For a 4-year old, Jackson has the tastes buds of an adult! He asked for crab legs! I wish we had a picture of him eating them. He loves crab - cracking the shell, getting the meat, and eating it!

 

 

 

 Sadie, age 2, loved the Salmon, mashed potatoes, and broccoli

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The highlight was touching a real lobster!

 

 

 

 

 

 

At church on Sunday Jackson raised his hand to answer a question (He always had “2 things to say” letting others take their turn before raising his hand to say “2 more things” – cute!) for one of his comments he said in one sentence with no pause, as if they were a connected: “Jesus died on the cross because of mean men and I pet a real lobster!”

 

We also went fishing at Warm River. While saying a prayer on our picnic food, his mom thanked Heavenly Father for Warm River. Jackson leaned over to his mom and whispered during the prayer: “Why is it called Warm River? It’s a cold river!” Cute, and true! He knew first hand it was cold as they were in the water quite a bit and we also floated the river. I’m not sure if “floating” is the correct word…I think we pushed us along with our hands as we kept getting stuck in the rocks…it’s a very shallow river!)

 

Jackson fishing

 

Grandma, Sadie, and Jackson, with Grandpa fishing in the background

 

Grandson following Grandpa!

Sadie did her own kind of fishing!



 Jackson fished a good portion of the day. We thought he was oblivious to the fact that he didn’t have a hook on the end of his line. But later that night his mom told him that they might go fishing with their dad when they returned and would have to buy him his own fishing pole. To this comment he said: “this time I want a fishing pole with a hook.”

 

Jackson  sitting on a rock in the middle of the river fishing where Grandpa was earlier.

 

 

This was our biggest catch of the day! Grandpa Quack Quack (his acquired nickname from Jackson because he can speak “Donald Duck” language) wondered if he also was missing a hook!



I squeezed in my favorite thing to do at Warm River - watercolor painting!

 

Two other highlights of their trip were riding in Grandpa Quack Quack’s sports car and on his lawn mower! The simple joys of childhood!!

 

Jackson & Sadie in Grandpa Quack Quack's sports car!

 



Jackson on lawn mower with grandpa

 

Sadie on lawn mower with grandpa
 

All on her own, Sadie ran up to Grandpa and thanked him for the lawn mower ride!

We miss you Kristi, Jackson and Sadie!! Our house seems awfully quiet without your smiley faces but I bet your dad is glad you're back home! Don’t forget, Sadie and Jackson, to always keep smiling so you can be in our smiley club!! (We face-timed them on the night they returned back home. Hanging on their wall was a white paper plate with a smiley faced drawn on it. All on his own, Jackson drew the smiling face and had it hung up to remind them about the smiley club!)