Hoot Hoot

The kids are a hoot every day.  Here's a sample:

Claire calling GG as soon as we get to the farm for our weekly farm day ~
Claire:  GG, can you come and play?
GG:  Who is this?
Claire:  It's me!
GG:  Where are you?
Claire:  I'm right here!

Brody was driving his motorcycle around the farm.  Somehow it got into reverse and he didn't know how to get it into drive.  He continued to back up and ran into the Barbie car.  He got off the motorcycle and moved the Barbie car so he could keep going backwards.  Then he got off the motorcycle again and was pushing it up the driveway.  I asked him what he was doing.  He replied, "I'm pushing my motorcycle!"  (It is electric and runs on a battery.  It is VERY heavy when it isn't running.)  (Daddy later gave him lessons on how to change from reverse to drive.)

On the way home from the farm in the car today, I asked Max if he wanted to shut his eyes and go to sleep.  He gave me one of his new "looks" (confused and puzzled), then turned to Claire and gave her the look too, as if to say, "Is she nuts?  I'm not going to go to sleep in the car!"  All I could see as he looked at Claire was the whites of his big eyes.  I started to laugh out loud (OK, very loud), and that got Claire started laughing loud and hard.  Max thought this was great, and wanted to keep playing the game.  I asked him again about shutting his eyes and going to sleep and he kept giving us the look, and we obliged by laughing out loud.  VERY funny trip home!

Mieska Family Reunion 2012

Three total hoodlums!

 Our fourth grandchild - Maverick Barrett Park - snuggling with Omi!

 The bestest of friends!

 Max gets in on the boat fun - and a free ride from Claire and Everleigh!

 Papa giving the love to baby Maverick!

 Girlfriends Everleigh and Claire!

 Max LOVES baby Maverick - he calls him Averit - and hugs and kisses all the time and wants to hold it!

 Papa takes Claire and Brody on a pontoon ride!

 Four kissin' cousins - setting up their drive-in restaurant business in the playhouse!

 Omi takes a turn at entertaining the girls in the water - they were in the lake ALL DAY!

 Introducing our fifth grandchild - waiting in Mommy's (Heather's) tummy to be born in September!

Maverick strikes a pose - don't worry - his mommy LOVES this shot!

Such a good time was had by all!  The weather was awesome, the lake was warm, no bugs, soft grass and a nice breeze.  Good food and fun toys to play with for all ages.  I printed 101 pics of this event, but am highlighting my own grandchildren on my blog, since I doubt you want to see 101 pics!

My Day Off, or, Funny How Life Works, Isn't It?

We've had a busy week, well, a busy summer!  On Monday, I was sick, and the kids were fighting off the ends of their colds, so we laid low, but still enjoyed the out of doors (all 100 degrees of it) in the pool. 

On Tuesday, we went to the Burnsville Mall at 8 a.m. and the kids played in the play area (we had it to ourselves until the very end) after we had a muffin and coffee at Caribou.  We had a pretzel before we headed home.  Played outside after naps.  Wednesday we tried to lay low again and get everyone plenty of rest and get rid of those nasty colds for good.  Nana visited in the afternoon and the kids were trying to tell her everything and show her everything - Claire had a little alone time with Nana while Max slept, so they worked on removable sticker rooms (a WONDERFUL toddler toy!) and Claire wrote out grocery lists (one of her latest favorite games).  Thursday we got ready right away and headed to Aunt Sue's lake for the day with Uncle Barry, Auntie Bethanie, Brody, Maverick and GG.  It was a cool and overcast day (go figure, after our extreme heat), but the kids had a great time anyway.  (When we got in the car to go home, Claire sighed and said, we sure had a fun day, didn't we!)

Sooo, crazy week and Omi had a busy day off planned on Friday at home.  Whitney had her own fun plans for the day with the kids.  However, Whitney got sick with the flu on Thursday at work and it stayed with her, so she brought the kids to the farm around 11 today.  If I had really been on my game, I would have gotten a lot more done by 11, but alas, that is life! 

The funny part is, I wasn't one bit disappointed that my day off changed.  I wasn't bummed that I wasn't going to get my list completed.  I wasn't sad that I was going to take care of Claire and Max for the day instead of being free to do whatever I wanted.  In my old life, at a job, if I had been notified that I had to work on my day off - it would not have been pretty!!  In this new Omi life, it was actually a blessing.  Papa got to see the kids (he'd really been missing them) off and on all day.  They got golf cart rides, they got cookies at GG's house, they played in the tent, they took long, wonderful naps.  I kept working on my list long after they left.  It seems I was energized somehow by their visit.  It will all get done - someday!  Funny how life works, isn't it?  My grandchildren (all 4 3/4 of them) are really GRAND!

And then there were 4 - Zoo Day

Our first trip to the Zoo with new baby Maverick and the other grands.  Here we are in the Buzzy Bee play area (our first time there) - working off some energy and noise!