Grand Summer

It has been longer than expected since our last Grand Loveland visit (due to the delay in getting the basement all ready); so it was safe to say that everyone was very excited when they were finally able to make it!

Shiloh was thrilled to give Grandma a present that she made first thing.

Then came out the gifts for the kids...

Ezra received a play gun that his Grandpa had made...

and daddy explained how it worked.

Legos and other treasure finds from Beach's youth!

Grandma always has some fun fashion as well!

They sure are loved!

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The kids had a great time with their new toys.

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Dollar movie date to see the Lego movie....I'm pretty sure we were all singing, "Everything is awesome," the rest of the day! 

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Then it was off to lunch at my parents' house and enjoying the great unseasonable weather.

Gator ride around the pond.

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These kiddos love getting all the grand attention...

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Grandpa is a huge fan of a good malt...

and demonstrated to the kids how to make one happen.

Watching very carefully... 

I would say they were easily won over...

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The next day was a great morning for the park...

Grandma and Zoe matched somewhat this day.

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Then, while Daddy was off with a date with his mom, Glenn took us out to Chic-fa-la. 

Topped it off with ice cream.

Selfie to prove that I was around that week too.

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The kids were pumped to be taken to Texas Roadhouse later that night!

Love them!

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The next day was shopping day for the ladies....we were busy, so this was the only picture I managed to take of our time together. 

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Saturday morning waffle making, this edition with blueberries.

Little did we know that a slight mistake with the ingredients (mainly coconut flour) meant that we were all stuffed for hours later.

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We headed to the downtown library were they had some events going on.

There were several stations set up for some crafts to be had... 

along with some hooping. 

 

 
AND free Pelicans snowballs.  

Their first henna tattoos.

While we did have a great time there was also a bit of kid drama, tears, heartache, and a bit loss of my sanity (not pictured). 

Since we were stilllll full we took a short trip to riverfront park.

I snuck away for a bit of one on one time with my Zoe. 

Later that day called for Donna's cookie making extravaganza...

with some eager helpers.

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On the baking roll...Donna also got up early the next morning to make her cinnamon rolls.

"Little piece of Heaven!"

Then we headed to church.

And later our traditional Mexican for dinner.

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Last night hugs before the Grands departed early the next morning.

Shiloh was determined to loose her front wiggly tooth while they were there and made it happen in the last hour.

Grandpa immediately handed her some prize money...

and got a good look.

While excited about this she was also so sad to have them go (and got some comfort from daddy).

Fortunately, it won't be to long before they are back again for another great visit!

Blowfish

Dad is always up to heading to a baseball game with us!  This time it was Blowfish for the win (well for us anyway...the team sadly not).

It turned out to be a beautiful night (and I realized all of us had some type of Loveland Coffee gear we were representing).

Nothing says small town to me like this experience.

One of the kid's favorite parts was when they could chase Blowie across the field between innings.

But we all know what there true favorite thing is....

They had some tickets to the carnival type game....

that was over quicker than they expected.

Super Cheese!

Shiloh very focused on the Macarena dance.

Beach had the best time explaining to the girls what the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was about (by monologuing the into).

I honestly have no idea what this thing was...he was cleaning up trash.  But my kids wanted a picture just the same.

Thanks for the love Blowie!

Topped it off by the kids running the bases...

A kind staff member ran along with Ezra and seemed impressed of his speed.  She explained between breathes that she should know, as she runs track.

Home Run fun for the Lovelands and Poppy tonight!

Dinasours

When we make it to the zoo, it is usually a several hours ordeal.  We had yet to make it to the dinosaur exhibit, so the kids put on their swimsuits, packed a lunch, and we were off for some fun!

All sorts of nature everywhere.

Dinosaurs were up first, since we will still dry, and the kids demanded to wait and ride the tram.

Why I rather walk any day, I do enjoy their excitement!

Thankfully the exhibit was not to crowded and pretty fascinating!

Hard to imagine seeing one of these in real life.

They looked pretty realistic though!

Then it was off to the Dino dig to look for "fossils" themselves.

Sometimes my tween is to cool for the activity.

We always love checking out the garden.  The pomegranate tree was especially fascinating to compare to the one growing in our own yard.

Okra is so beautiful.

Finally the water fun...

They LOVE it...

but I eventually had to drag them back home after a blast of a day.