Grandma and Grandpa Visit!

 

 This visit came at a great time.  We had rested up from the big Branson getaway and we were ready for some more summer fun before school started up again.  What could be better than a visit from Grandma and Grandpa?  Nothing I tell ya! Grandpa Chuck got to go to his first Midwest county fair this trip.  This is the Brown County fair in New Ulm and it was our first time there.  We had fun touring the old school house, watching a dog swimming show, and seeing the top prize winners in the flower show.  We enjoyed the petting that included a camel and had a couple of milkshakes to round out the day.  Good family fun.

 On Monday we headed down to The Works museum.  This is a place filled with hands on learning exhibits for kids of all ages. This looks like a game I had as a child and the kids had fun trying to trap the balls in the tube.

 Sister enjoyed this magnet experiment with Grandpa Chuck.

 Peanut and Grandpa built a balloon powered car!

 And I think our trip inspired them to continue creating when we got home.  Grandpa Chuck is great at engineering contraptions and it's so nice when they can have time to complete a project together.

 Grandma Sharon surprised us all by climbing right in the bounce house!  She let Peanut bounce and said it was quite nice like the waves of the ocean.  It made the kids so happy.  She is braver than I am!

 After we put Sissy to bed each evening Peanut got to play a "big kid game" with Grandma and Grandpa.  Guess Who is one of his favorites.

 One thing I really admire about my Dad is that he is always interested in learning new things.  His latest hobby is making 3D photographs!  He collaborated with Grandma Sharon to make an entire 3D story book for the kids and it is fantastic!  Here they are in their 3D glasses before reading it for the first time.

 That dinosaur horn is coming right at me, AAAHHHH!

 Grandma and Grandpa are animal lovers just like us and it had been several years since we'd all been to the zoo together so we made a point to go this trip. 

 The weather was great and we got to go to the butterfly exhibit as well as the bird show, the tropics and the big outdoor loop.  Here is Peanut using his new real binoculars that Grandpa bought him.

 Later that evening Gammie and Pappa came over to enjoy a grill out with us.  I'm so glad that my parents and in laws truly enjoy each others company and it's fun to have everyone together to catch up on family news and watch the kids play. 

 The rest of the time they were here we spent playing inside, outside, walks to the park for birding and butterfly hunting, with the occasional stop for a treat.  No more sharing for Sister, she gets her own cone now!  And I love her hair in this picture.  Grandma and "the Captain" look pretty happy as well.  Smile.

 Relaxing at home reading books.  Both of my parents are avid readers and I love to see them share this love with the kids.

This is probably my favorite picture from the trip.  Sister and Mom are so happy to be together again.

 And the bond with Grandpa continued to grow as well.  One of Sissy's favorite things to do is to copy Grandpa's laugh.  It's really cute.

 On one of our little outings Grandma and Grandpa bought Peanut an animal sticker book with about a million reusable stickers and pages to place them on... Here is Peanut working on it with Grandma.

 And here is the last picture before we left to take them to the airport.  It's always so hard to say goodbye.  We had a fabulous time though and made so many wonderful memories.

Thanks so much for visiting us Mom and Dad.  We all enjoyed having you so much and we are looking forward to next time!  Love you!