This summer has been a blast with our grandkids!
The oldest, Rannen, came with my mother and me to an art show in a garden for one of my mom's favorite local artists. I use the word "local" in the broad sense - we had to drive up to Camano Island to visit! Rannen did great on the car ride, and we had a lovely walk through the gardens
and enjoyed viewing lots of paintings/prints. There was also an associate of the artist's there with a metal sculpture exhibit. I guess the two artists collaborate on showings to share expenses. Not a bad idea!
I also enjoyed several lunches out with my daughter and my grandson, Griffin. He is 9 months old now, and loves to EAT!
Whenever anyone else is eating, he wants to eat too - regardless of how recently he's eaten. He loves to try new things, like Mexi-fries at Taco Time. He likes avacadoes, tomatoes, potatoes, bananas, tortillas, and all sorts of things. Even a bit of a Bugle the other day (much to mommy's chagrin...) - grandma needs to remember he can't have everything he wants :) But he's become such a joy in the past few months - not the grumpy little fellow he was at first.
They came for a visit yesterday, and he crawled across the lawn and straight into the kiddie pool... clothes and all! The little tank had no problem crawling right over the pool wall and into the water. We had to strip him down after he soaked all of his clothes... Later, he crawled out too, and we had to ride herd on him to keep him out of the bark beds! Why is it always so fascinating to try and go somewhere we're not allowed? I hope it's a long time before he learns WHY we don't want him crawling into the bark, especially when he comes fresh from the pool, buck-naked! I can't wait for THOSE pictures :) He has also taken his first few steps - for grandma, of course! Now he will do it for mommy too, and we are all so proud! He crawls at light speed... can't wait until he starts running too!
Aeries has beena constant joy, and even having a baby (and her parent) living with us again is no problem. (Her parents are another issue...) She also like to eat everything whenever we are eating, and tomatoes are her favorite! I cut some up the other day and showed her how to stab them with a fork and feed herself - and she did it! She'll be one year old next week, so this is another landmark for her
. She actually ate about a dozen pieces with the fork before reverting back to the fingers. It was so much fun to watch, and she was so proud of herself! she learns new things every day - and even knows the sign for "tomato," along with "more" "please" and "ball." she's starting to verbalize more, and we can almost tell the difference between "mama" and "grandma," which sounds kinda like "mamaw." Soon, she will start walking on her own too!
Being a grandma has got to be the best thing ever!
What a lovely time we had celebrating the marriage of Erick & Liz! We met at the Cedar Grill in Maple Valley, and had a delicious buffet of Mexican favorites, complemented by a few bottles of wine. The toast was with Sparkling Cider, 
much to the surprise of the non-drinkers in the room :) Erick looked dashing in his lavendar & silver tie with rakish fedora, and Liz was simply charming in her silk scarf dress and curly updo! We had a nice small crowd with representation from both the bride's and the groom's families, plus friends of both as well! Look for more photos at our Shutterfly site (use the link to the right.
