Saturday, May 16, 2009

A visit from Papa and Grandma--(beware! picture overload!)

Jim's parents (known to the kids as Papa and Grandma) arrived for a visit on May 6. We did so much fun stuff with them; it was like a little vacation even though we didn't go too far from home! This post will be mostly pictures, so bear with me . . . :)

On Thursday, we went bowling. Candlepin bowling, to be exact. ( I think it's a New England thing. And yes, we do have normal bowling too--you can see those lanes over to the right in this photo--but candlepin balls are a lot easier for the kids to handle.) Sam and Julia loved bowling, and thanks to the bumpers, they both did very well! :) I love that I was able to capture Sam in motion in the next couple pictures!

On Friday, we spent time outlet shopping. On Saturday, we climbed a mountain that's not far from here, which overlooks Squam Lake. The view is incredible and the hike is fairly short and easy. The black flies were out in full force, which was the only unpleasant thing . . . but we all survived, and got some nice pictures from the top. That's where my new header picture was taken, also.
Sam and Julia pretty much ran all the way down the mountain ahead of us. Although these photos turned out blurry, I thought it was fun to record their carefree "charge" down the mountain. :) Thankfully it's not too steep, and there were no accidents!

On Sunday, we headed to North Conway after church, and took a ride on the Conway Scenic RR. Moms rode for free! And Julia and Josiah were free, as well. We had tons of fun, especially Sam and Papa--the ones who enjoy trains the most!



Monday was Jim's birthday, and also a day of rest for us. :) We had a low-key day at home, finishing up with a supper of grilled hamburgers and homemade fries, carrot cake and Butterfinger ice cream. Yummy! On Tuesday, we decided to drive up the Mt. Washington Auto Road. It's only open to treeline so far, but the views are excellent even from that point. It was a little chilly up there (there's still a good bit of snow at the top!), but we all had a wonderful time. And a highlight of the day was seeing a mama bear and her two tiny cubs on the way back down!

By the end of our busy week, we all felt like this:

But it was well worth the tiredness, for all the fun times shared and memories made! Thanks, Papa and Grandma, for coming to visit us!!! :)

5 comments:

Mrs.T said...

Every one of the pictures is great. What a wonderful time you had! I especially love the ones of Sam and Julia running down the mountain.

Mary Ann said...

It sounds like you had a wonderful time! I am a little envious of the mountains that you have nearby to hike & run around on. Sounds like so much fun & the scenery is beautiful!

Anonymous said...

The pictures are so cute!! I always love watching little ones walking ahead on the trail. Last Sat. I found a picture of me on that same train, it was 15 years ago on our honeymoon. The little bowling shoes are adorable!

Writer Dad said...

Picture overload yes, but each a thousand words of a life well lived. Thank you for sharing.

Anonymous said...

I love that last picture.

-Zan