An Amazing Autumn

Could there be a lovlier autumn?  I don't think so!  I am looooving it!  Last Friday we did another swim day with the grandkidlets.

Otter pops included.

When James hopped on the motorcycle before Ashley could get him dressed I had to get a shot of it.  Sorry, James, this could be a blackmail picture someday.  But that tooshie is so stinkin' cute!

Friday night Ash invited me to her ward's mother/daughter sleepover at her Stake Camp at North Fork.  We had dinner, played games, did our nails, did crafts, and had breakfast the next morning.  The drive through the pass was gorgeous as the leaves are starting to turn colors now.

Sunday we had my parents over for dinner to celebrate mom's birthday.  My mom is so cute I can hardly stand it.  Love her!

And how great to be able to eat dinner outside.  It was that perfect temperature where your skin doesn't feel hot or cold.  Just right.  I made homemade raspberry icecream and even made homemade waffle cone bowls to serve it in.  Delish.

I don't want to jinx anything by saying it, but I hope this great weather will continue for a very long time.

Nana's Birthday

Sunday we celebrated Nana's 91st birthday.  It's not everyone my age that still has her grandma living.  I feel pretty lucky. 

Five Generations:

Dad's orchard and garden are amazing.  Look at the peaches loaded on this branch:

Aaaa, I am loving this prolonged summer weather.  It can stay as looooong as it wants to.

The weekend - a tandem ride, a shower and a birthday dinner

This past weekend was a busy, fun one.

Dave and I went on a tandem bike ride with our friends, the Rawlings.  I was a little nervous as I had never been on a tandem bicycle before.  I wasn't comfortable turning over complete control to Dave.

I have to say it was a blast.  We rode 31 miles and it was so much fun.  Theon and Stacy are hard-core cyclists.  They took 2nd place last year in the Lo-to-Ja race, in the tandem bike division.  They were so generous to let us use one of their bikes.  We used their "touring bike".  They take this, with a small trailer loaded with a tent and sleeping bags, on week long rides, where they average a 100 miles a day.  I was happy with our little ride and would do it again, for sure.

Later that day I had a baby shower for Micaela.  Her baby, Keonn, is so darn cute!

Sunday we had a birthday dinner for Holly.  Her birthday was actually last week, when we were at Steph's in Michigan.  So we celebrated it a week late.

If Olivia could talk she would have been saying, "What? You wanna piece of me?"

Yes, I love this past weekend.

Baby in the dark

A few weeks ago I babysat Holly's kids.  At one point I could hear them in our locker room, which has no windows.  They had the light off and it was pitch dark.  All three kids were having a great time, no fear of the dark at all.  When I opened the door, there was baby Olivia with a flashlight.  She was loving it. 

Once upon a summer time . . .

Days like this make me really sad that summer is coming to a close.

Lunch al fresco.

Otter pops.

Laying around by the pool . . .

with a Kindle and my favorite magazines.

I got a kick out of the kids pretending to fish.

Ahhh, how I love summer!

Visiting our Michigander

I never knew people who lived in Michigan were called Michiganders until we visited Steph (and Jared for a little while) last week.

We drove up to Frankenmuth, a Bavarian village.  We went inside the "world's largest Christmas store" there.

We had a chicken dinner, actually lunch, at the famous Zehnder's.

Check out the cute bush made to look like a chicken. haha

Frankenmuth had a very unique atmosphere.  Kinda cute in a German village sort of way.

We went a little crazy at all of the candy shops.

The next day we went to a farmer's market. 

Jared's school.

This is the hospital where Steph works.

The Lansing River

This was an indoor Farmer's Market.  My favorite part was eating gelato there.

Our last day we went to the Henry Ford museum.  This is the original wiener-mobile. Ha!

Cruisin' in a Model T.

This is the limo JFK was riding in when he was shot.

Thanks, Steph and Jared, for your hospitality.  We loved visiting with you!