post-poned

I was waiting to post because I knew I was going to just get inundated with responses from my request to check out the website. But I guess I'll move on (thanks, guys). Truly a testimony to the phrase "to each their own" I suppose.

and so ... without further delay ... our week with our grandson Christian, who will be a big 7 year old on August 6th.

Christian here in the machine that picks the dirt out of the hillside and puts it in the dump truck! Forgot the name again, but it's H.U.G.E. and intimidating looking to me. He and Paul Paul finished retrieving the dirt for the front yard project.


Christian really got to work the controls! He was mega concentrated on everything. And so was Paul Paul! Hard work!

BIG toys!

Christian directed Paul Paul on where to dump the dirt ... here he is conducting!

We rewarded the hard work by picking cherries from the cherry tree and then sitting on the swing and eating them. You can see a little cherry splatter on the back side of the swing. Nice.

Our friend Barbara from Sundance Farm gave Christian some sunflower seeds when he was here for Spring Break, which he planted then. This is how big they were when he was here this time! They are this close ( ) to opening up! They are on target to be HUGE!

Charles came over to spread out the dirt, and of course he couldn't even think of doing that without his co pilot, Christian! Unfortunately, about the 2nd pass the big orange Kioti tractor began to smoke and so all the go systems had to be stopped! Hopefully it isn't anything ultra serious and we'll get our tractoring done soon and a project finished. Better late than never. My personal target was late May/early June. Whatever ....

Christian and I went gemming and trout fishing (fishing for Fabio, gemming for Christian). It was a lovely, restful couple of hours, and he found a HUGE ruby, a beautiful quartz crystal the size of his 4th and 5th finger and 3 gorgeous amethyst pieces! He got impatient eventually though, so we kind of just left the rest of our gems for the next person and headed home.

We had an art day too ... sitting in the studio, mosaicing together. It was pretty cool for Nana. Christian chose a pre-made frame to decorate. So he found some paints and tiles and mirror pieces and all sorts of things, and he made a beautiful frame.

Our friend Patti gave him some of her parrot's feathers and we thought these two were just beautiful with his frame. So here is his finished art work!

We had Monopoly night too! It was an interesting take on the Monopoly game, playing with a 6 year old's understanding of money and real estate! What a hoot! And in case you were wondering, Paul won. As usual.

Paul Paul and Christian went down to the falls and climbed on the rocks, and swam in the freezing cold water while I was preparing a little bit for Fabio and his children to come over for a cookout. Christian came home with a very cold body temperature! Paul said that the water was really cold. This from someone who learned to scuba dive in the water in England ... THAT water is cold!

We set up a slip and slide for the kids ... and it was quite fun to watch. They giggled ... that was quite fun to hear! Kids! Although I must say that Paul gave it a try too!

See! I wouldn't lie to you ...

Then, just like that, it was time to take Super Fly home. So he buckled up, put on his headphones and his all important sun glasses and we headed downhill.

A long way down hill ...

We met his beautiful mom in Chesnee and found a Mexican restaurant, had a quick lunch, made the hand off and I drove back uphill as they went on back to the big city.

A side note ** While Christian was here, Fabio's son (Fabio Jr.) hooked up our Wii that Father Christmas brought, which we have not been willing to delve into, but Jr. is TOTALLY into electronics, thank goodness. Paul, Christian and I bowled a lot. Paul stayed up late practicing on this Wii thing he DID NOT want. Now I come home and find him playing tennis and bowling. He is now a PRO status. So is Christian. My neck hurts.

I have to admit, it's fun to play but I think I need to get the games that are slightly more exercise oriented for me. Then maybe I wouldn't feel guilty playing instead of working! Any suggestions out there? HA!

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July weekend. I'll post parade pictures later in the weekend. I'm sure you are all just holding your breath!

Cheers!

Paul & Cheri (and Christian this time!)