More fun...

We miss Brody and Maverick at Omi Daycare.  Here's what's been happening at the farm...

Claire is busy working on Kindergarten prep work.  Max is working along side her in solidarity.

Identifying and pointing to the lowercase letters.  Lowercase letters are hard.

A Science project.  Working with corn starch.  It's a solid.  It's a liquid.  What is it?  It feels funny!

Not quite mud pies, but Claire is cooking up soup from nature!

The girls are matching today.  Just a coincidence, but Claire loves to match everyone.

Trip to the Library.  So many books!  And the more-than-lifesize stuffed animals are awesome!

Cuddling with a giant turtle and snuggling with a teddy bear.

Max is telling this puppy a thing or two!

Mara and Omi are matchy-matchy today!

Max wanted a photo of him looking fierce.  What do you think - does he look fierce?

Max is riding in the tractor with Papa these days.  He has his own Spiderman water bottle and snack bag to take along.

Here we go, dressed for success!  Papa says he never stops talking and asking questions.

Yes, Papa and Omi get to have some leisure time on occasion.  Cruising the lake.

Papa is teaching Max to operate the sand loader/mover on the beach.

Claire is showing us how it's done on the Colosseum.  So much fun in the sun on the water.

Papa time.

Papa and Max paddling around the lake.  Max wanted to go on many, many rides!

And again.

And again with Claire and Everleigh.

and we're running...

and we're dancing...

Roanoke, Virginia - July 2014

We surprised the Park family and drove out to Roanoke on a Tuesday night, arrived there after naps on Wednesday.  Guess everyone was happy to see us!

Cool dude Brody at the pool in his swim togs.

Cool Maverick in his swim togs ready for a day at the pool.

Downtown Roanoke Farmer's Market, open 364 days a year - this ain't Minnesota!

Plenty of fresh produce, even on the 4th of July - and coffee!  We tried to dress patriotically!

Maverick shows Papa how to choose a good watermelon.

The Park Boys on the drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway on the way to Mabry Mill.

The Park Family.

Papa and Omi with the boys.  Oops, one is trying to get away...

Great climbing tree, but Brody was a little scared, yep, he really was!

Here we are at Mabry Mill.

The day sure tuckered us out.  I was willing to lay down with Maverick so he would take a nap!!

On a different day, Papa tried the same thing, with better results.

Papa and Brody are playing a matching game.  Brody won!!

Omi and Maverick were trying out some new tricks.  Brody had lots of tricks, but they are all captured on video instead of still shots.

Bethanie and the boys with us in the pool, our favorite hangout, on a hot day.  (they are all hot)

Park Family poolside.

We scored some excellent cupcakes at a little cupcake shop (3 blocks away - look out!).  Maverick literally sucked his down...

Taking a time out of the pool.

We had such an excellent time.  The drive was not bad.  Their home is so comfortable and roomy.  We worked on some decorations and storage solutions.  The boys have lots of room to play and their own private backyard for outdoor fun.  The town is pretty and seems to have everything you need.  So funny to hear everyone with a southern accent.  The boys seem to have taken the whole move in stride, and seem happy to have their mama home with them all the time.  Their routine keeps them busy each day, and they wait for Barry to come home and join the fun after work.  They will be exploring other things to do and places to explore after the pool closes for the season.  For now, they spend a lot of time there and the boys love it, they are learning so much and are so comfortable with the water.  It is a 2 minute walk from their front door, so pack a bag of towels, sunscreen, water and snacks or lunch and you are good to go!!  We can't wait to go back and visit again!