PawPaw came for a nice, long visit about a month ago. We still miss him! He is a pretty fantastic guest - cooking, cleaning, changing diapers, and making sure the boys are having fun. It was like a vacation for me!
Who knew that bait worms would be hard to come by? We ended up fishing with hot dogs. It wasn't ideal, but PawPaw made it work.
Look how excited he is to be reeling in a fish.
The catch of the day! As long as they caught something, everyone was happy.
Peek-a-boo at the park!
Ryan is so much more brave on playground equipment than William was at his age. I think I am in trouble!
What a handsome group of guys.
This kid loves swinging. I am proud that he has finally moved to the big-kid swing and is doing great. Ryan had to kick him out of the baby swing.
He also learned how to climb up the rope ladder at our neighborhood park! I know this probably doesn't seem like a big deal to anyone else, but it's a big deal to us because he has always been so timid at the park.
PawPaw and Ryan got to experience the Children's Museum together for the first time. William could stay at this ball thing all day long. Big surprise.
That's my boy! A basket of onions - he comes by it honestly. Mikey and I love onions and put them in pretty much everything.
After awhile, I took Ryan to the Tot Spot while PawPaw and William explored the big boy stuff. It was fun to watch Ryan get a kick out of the Tot Spot just like William did when he was a little guy.
You can't go wrong with a giant Lite Brite.
The day after the Children's Museum, we braved the zoo. I'm not sure I have ever been more tired than I was after those two days, but it was so much fun. I hope the boys love the sea lions as much as I always have.
I mean really - how can this not make you smile?
I went a bit crazy with the giraffe pics this trip. I just love them!
How cute is that?!
It didn't take Ryan long to realize it was way more fun to hop out of the wagon at every exhibit. I love seeing them side-by-side, looking at all the animals together.
PawPaw took Ryan on his first-ever carousel ride. They started out just sitting down.
PawPaw soon realized that Ryan the adventurer would want to ride like the big kids.
At first, William said he didn't want to go. Of course he changed his tune once he saw Ryan riding the carousel. He got to ride the next time around and certainly enjoyed his turn.
I want an otter. That is all.
The wagon is the perfect way to get around the zoo.
I was glad to see William giving some attention to the turtles and pelicans. I feel like they probably get the shaft since they are situated next to the ridiculously fun otters.
More time with the otters.
Ryan was not as enthused about the petting zoo as I anticipated. Maybe next time.
This picture makes me laugh because when Mikey saw it, he thought William rode an actual wild pig. Um no, that is a statue. I'm pretty sure it would not be good to put a kid on one of those.
Bet you thought we were done with the giraffes. Nope! We got to feed them. What an experience!
Ryan is fearless.
Hey look - I really do exist.
One last giraffe picture for good measure.
William sure enjoyed watching the elephant fill its trunk with water and put the water in its mouth.
My monkeys!
These two put on a show for us. They are mother and son. The volunteers in the exhibit said that they will likely move the son to another zoo soon. That seems really sad to me. They said that the mom would definitely be sad if they took him away. :(
This is when the craziness began. He apparently has always liked to play with the turtles, but this was a BIG turtle. The volunteers kept yelling at him to throw it back in. The keepers came out quickly and said that it is really best to ignore him when he plays with a turtle because he thrives off the attention.
We couldn't believe that the turtle never once retreated into its shell. Clearly, the turtles are used to being thrown around and played with. Eventually, they called the son over for a treat, and they gave the mom a command to throw the turtle back in the water. She did just that, but unfortunately not before the turtle's shell made a loud THWACK on the concrete. I sure hope it was OK.
We probably should have thought to get a group shot taken before this. We were all SO tired! But it was a wonderful day and worth every bit of exhaustion.
We went to Mimi's house in Ft. Worth at the end of PawPaw's trip. We were there for the funeral of Lena/Grandma, PawPaw's mom. While it was a sad occasion, it is always heartwarming to enjoy a little family time. I loved seeing my boys play at Mimi's house, which is where I spent a ton of time as a little girl. Mimi busted out her poker chips. Genius move! The boys loved them.
This the greatest dollhouse ever. William enjoyed moving all the furniture and people around, but the best part has always been the doorbell. I spent hours ringing that thing.
Mimi and 1/3 of her grandkids.
He looks sleepy but was actually quite happy at Mimi's house. There were lots of people to lavish attention on him.
We clean up pretty nicely.
Aunt Lisa loves her great-nephews!
Uncle Bobby is a total softie when he thinks no one is looking. That's right, I said it. Well, it is only true until the kid is around seven. After that, everyone is subjected to his unique form of tough love!
I love, love, love seeing my family with William and Ryan. Of course CC had to get in her time!
