Dancing and posing for the camera....
Claire and one of the chickens that all seem to have names except I can't keep them straight.
Chris contemplating some chicken matter....
All three working on that never ending gathering and piling of rocks.....
Ooops....we had some disagreement about the rocks. Chris wasn't too pleased.
Sidewalk artists....
On the following Saturday Daddy brought them up to swim. The girls are always so anxious to go to the deep end. Water wings required when Grandma is around! Daddy and Chris do some swimming too.
Last Monday, we also spent the morning at home. Claire, Chloe, and Chris spent a long time racing cars down their steep driveway. Chris was gracious enough to share his cars.
Claire and Chloe came home with me in the afternoon to spend the night before we left on a fun adventure the following day. It would be a new adventure for them but a much loved activity for Papa and me, we have previously gone maybe 6-7 times. We (Claire, Chloe, Papa, Me) along with our friends, Connie and Wayne, and their two granddaughters, Danica and Aubrey, traveled to Gold Beach, Oregon to ride on Jerry's Jet Boats up the Rogue River. We stayed in a very comfortable house on the Ireland's Rustic Lodges property which had a great back yard for the four girls to play in and explore. We all had a ball and the four girls got along so well we hope to do more activities with them. As we traveled in a caravan at each stop the girls would run up and hug like they hadn't seen each other in years. It was really something to watch.
Here they are at the first "stop" along the way.
The view from our back deck at the rental house just a few minutes walk to the beach.
Dinner out... Claire and Chloe, huge seafood lovers, ordered shrimp...actually all three days we were traveling!
Beach time after dinner.....
Showers, and then pre-bedtime entertainment including dancing, singing, and magic!
They colored and worked on sticker type paper dolls, gathered flowers, driftwood (from the garden displays, unbeknownst to us...yikes!), and lawn chairs and made a fort in the back yard.
We took a walk to the small lighthouse on the property,climbed the stairs, and also checked out lots of the many, many, painted rocks that guests have signed and left on the property. Next time we will try and do that as well.
Then it was time for our afternoon boat ride up the Rogue River. While waiting for our boat the girls were entertained by a dog that pushes a large rock around the entrance area. It was fascinating to watch. We estimated that the rock was 20+ pounds and the dog would push it and expect the nearest human to rescue it from under cars or wherever it landed. The girls giggled and giggled which was entertainment in itself. We all enjoyed it. The boat ride was fantastic. It was a bit colder that we would have liked (and probably colder than we have previously experienced) but it was so enjoyable. We all got pretty wet but dried off during dinner break up the river and then bundled up as well as we could for the even colder ride back to Gold Beach. We saw bald eagles, osprey, ducks, geese, turtle, deer, and a bear along the route, not to mention the beautiful and captivating scenery that is there.
Here we all are, waving from the third and fourth rows from the front of the boat.
That night before bed the girls had a blanket campfire time around the wood stove. They had snacks and we took turns telling stories.
Both sets of grandparents kept close touch with the children's parents by cell phone and texting. Thursday morning these are the "good morning" shots we sent to Paula and Mike.
It was a great experience for the grandparents and even though it was quite a distance to go by car the girls enjoyed it all. We had snacks and Leap Pads and children's CD music in our car so there was very little time for boredom. We all came home quite tired but not enough that we won't try it again sometime.
Yesterday Papa's family had a gathering at Uncle Larry's cabin. The little cousins, big cousins, and the adult siblings enjoyed a great day of water activity, food, and just chatting. Here are a couple of shots of the deer that came around for a snack and some of the family watching from the deck.
Chris was very excited about the deer. Guess he was just taking a moment to soak it all in. :)
Once again, I will express how thankful I am that I do have time with my precious grandchildren. I will never take it for granted and hopefully these memories will stick in my mind as they grow older and their interest in spending time with us may diminish. We are blessed beyond measure.
