May in North Carolina, 2015

We were able to celebrate two birthdays in NC this year. Since it had been nearly a full year since I had seen our Cowboy, who was turning 12, it was quite wonderful to see how close he is to being a man. You can see that part of him emerging. There is more maturity (although a LONG way to go) and of course he was quite a bit taller than last summer. But still not taller than me yet. 

The pictures I took are still to come . . . will be added later! 

Some of the highlights
Taking care of JR for a while.
Seeing D again so soon after his recent trip to see us at Easter.
Visiting the horse barn and seeing Lulu ride.
Watching the kids at the pool. 
Partying with KN who threw quite the bash in the front yard.
Seeing some old friends from Norway who conveniently live nearby.

Spending time with the kids and grand kids is a joy in and of itself. Nothing has to be done, no where has to be gone to, just being with them is enough. I love those little people. 

One thing I learned is Apple is pretty protective of their photos and makes it nearly impossible to rotate. I did research and found this to be widespread. Ridiculous. I took these selfies and after many steps, are still upside down, but I remember being right side up. 

My mom will have to lock her screen and flip her iPad to see them right side up. Go mom, you can do it. 

Sometimes I find my well behaved, well parented grands are  . . . NORMAL. 

Who doesn't remember horsing around and squishing the little bro? 

D's visit - TUESDAY

D,s mission on Tuesday was to get to that candy store he visited when he was three. THAT he remembered from the trip. So, to the mall we headed.  Unfortunately the candy store was no longer there, but we did eventually find some candy to buy. Meanwhile, we did have a little fun at the mall.

This made me laugh. My oldest is a new mom, hope she takes note! HA!

One of MY favorite things to do at the mall.

Thankfully D was also excited to ride the PIG, specifically. 

At this point we went to a park in near "downtown" that had a very simple maze. We enjoyed a walk through that, but D was focused on what was coming next. 

CANDY!!

Grandfather decided he could pick 5 different types. 

I never quite understand the workings of his thinking. 

FIVE?

REALLY???

But D was all for it. 

D chose, weighed, printed out the ticket and took care of all the details.

The kid knows his way around a store.

Great learning experience for D. 

Then we taught him how to gamble.

On our way to the second park of the day 

we decided to stop to see where Grandfather spends his day.

Park number 1

D climbs and hangs . . . again!

This was a bit trickier than some of the others. 

Moving parts. 

And of course, D handled it like a pro! 

Gobsmacked!!

One more round. 

This one was a three parter. 

There.

Back again. 

Then he kept going.

I believe it was 35 rungs without stopping.

REALLY gobsmacked!

D's dad had a slide like this at his elementary school. 

D was quite fascinated with the different feel of coming down this slide.

Spiderman!

Non-stoppable.

Over and over again.

Well, yes, once in a while you DO need to stop and eat.

We stopped at one of Grandfather's favorite lunch places. 

Cookie Bliss! 

We let D choose whether to go to a third park for the day.

He decided to spend his last couple hours back at the house. 

We played school some more and just enjoyed a few more minutes together. 

And then something magical happened . . . . .

We wore D out!

Heading to the airport. 

I 

love

D

Come back ANY time!!!!

D's visit -MONDAY

I am so happy I heard about a place near us, 7 Acre Wood. That was the destination and start to Monday. The perfect place for a little guy to explore, play and let loose.

A fun day with Grandfather

D had a boat in his backyard, but this one is bigger! 

Climbing and hanging, two things D does excel at.

Giant games!

Being silly with dad. 

In jail in the Old Western Town.

Some sort of spinning bar that D mastered. 

More climbing. 

Feeding the goats. 

Meeting the baby goats. SO much cuter when they are little. 

Tether ball with Grandfather.

Zip lining, kid size. 

Pogo sticking.

Basketballing.

Putt putting. 

Climbing again.

Grandfather as a girl! 

It was a fun place.

We then headed back to our neighborhood. I had been telling D about a trick our community tried to play on people. They got me with it when I first saw it, but D was not quite as gullible. He noticed right away it wasn't real. 

Watching the fish in the little river. 

Walking to the ice cream store. 

Gummy bears take a LONG time to chew when they are in ice cream. So cold, so chewy. 

D found out we had a 99 cent store in our area. 

He loves to shop there, so we ran by. 

He got pom poms. He is really interested in Cheerleading and will make a great one!

Some bike riding with Grandfather. 

Another park. 

More hanging. 

D discovered a bunny in the woods near the park. 

Another park, #3 for the day. 

A 4th park! 

D discovered a Bottle Brush Tree, he was fascinated. 

We fixed D's favorite dinner, chicken and sweet potato. 

Then out back for another marshmallow roast. 

Such a special day with Grandfather. 

I think D could do this day over and over.

I love D.

I am exhausted!