The girls and I just returned from a five day end of the summer hiatus at Grandma and Papa's. As you can see from the pictures, the ever indulgent Papa purchased another new toy for the kids. Sometimes I wonder who enjoys these trinkets, toys and contraptions more. This particular vehicle is a little small for Papa but he sure gets a huge "Peanut Smile" watching the kids cruise on it. Grace loved it and grew more and more adventurous with each pass around the track. Speaking of the track, it never ceases to amaze me the things that Papa and Grandma will give up for their grandchildren. "Yard of the Week" has been their dream and life's passion for years now and their yard is without a doubt no longer in contention for that particular honor. Ella's feelings towards the four wheeler were best expressed by her as she and I were zipping down the hill in the backyard. I believe her exact words were, "This Four Wheeler is AWESOME!". Lily had a great time on it as well. She kept asking me if I could take her for a ride and then she would yell, "Whee......" every time we went down the hill and urged me to go faster. It has been said that I drive it like an old lady. Whatever, sometimes it pays to be cautious.
Other than four wheeling, we went to the pool again and Grace went off the diving board about 5,000 times again getting progressively more brave and ending the trip with her grand finale straddle jump off the board. We headed over to the world famous Kaiserhoff in New Ulm for a celebration of Kim and Randy's 25 years of wedded bliss. A good time was had by all, as expected and the food was great. Kim had an America's Next Top Model moment when she pulled out her wedding dress and strutted around in it. Other highlights of the trip were a bike ride, a visit with Grandma and Grandpa Jack, Grace and Austin playing as husband and wife owner's of a taxi company and three, yes, you read that correctly, three meals of Jake's Pizza! Oh and my personal highlight was when Grace and I made chocolate pudding. I suggested putting the pudding into sundae cups and Grace said, "Mom, you have the best ideas.". Those types of comments (and ideas, if I am being completely honest) are generally reserved for Jason so I was extremely happy to have earned such a kudo.
We had to leave our poor, hardworking Jason at home this trip. He has ridiculous amounts of work to get done and we missed him terribly. Unfortunately as we were whoopin' it up in STJ, Jason was logging way too many hours on the job site. As much as the girls love going to Grandma and Papa's, they had a countdown going of how many days it would be until they got to see Daddy again.
I do believe, for myself, I finally achieved the level of calm and tranquility that I have been searching for all summer. There is something about being in St. James that allows me to just relax. Although I bring my responsibilities with me, I am able to not worry about the housework, the grocery shopping and all the other necessary evils. That coupled with the knowledge that this would be our last summer hurrah made it a very nice trip. I thank Mom and Dad for providing us with such a great place to spend our time. It is truly my home away from home!
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