Sunday, June 30, 2013

We had a "fairy" good time (inside joke, right Miles?)

It's the last day of June, the month of rain, rain, and more rain. The weather today was outstanding, though, with blue skies, the temp hovering around 80, light breezes, and low humidity. Unfortunately for the NC branch, gully-washing rain was the order of the day, forcing Elisabeth and Evan to act as temporary street department employees. Elisabeth wrote that rain was pouring down the driveway into their carport, so they scrambled up to the street to clear debris from drains so the water would go where it was supposed to go. Yikes!

We went on a drive to Faribault to meet the Otown clan for dinner at Boston's. We had good food, good service, and a good time. I am sorry to say there wasn't much picture-taking, although Annie got a couple of good shots of Westy being fed a lemon slice by Gpappy. Why, you ask? Well, Mr. Westy ate everything in sight this evening; spaghetti, meatball, chicken nuggets, french fries, chocolate milk, a significant portion of one of Gpappy's sliders, and...a lemon slice. Oh, and a mini DQ Blizzard for dessert. Where does that little guy put it all?


His big brother enjoyed his dinner, too, and had a few jokes to tell while we were eating. I know you can't see it this picture, but Miles had some stylin' toenail polish to show us tonight. He and Westy were too busy playing in the grass by the DQ for me to capture the vibrant color. This is the only picture I got of Miles, and his toes are hidden in the grass. Maybe his mommy will post a picture on her blog.


Thanks for meeting us this evening, A, T, M, and G!

Friday, June 28, 2013

Nothing new, just some cute pictures

Windy day today! We have the windows open for the first time in a week.The heat and humidity are gone for a few days, thank goodness.

E and O were here for a short time this morning before going to the Children's Theater to see Angie's Uncle Dean, who is the mouse in "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie." I'm sure it will be a fun show to see!

I love this wistful shot of Ethan. He was listening to Gpappy read a story to him and Owen.




After the story, we were headed outside, but the boys took a detour to the basement, where Owen found his daddy's old skateboard. He was ready to do some kick-flips and heel-flips, but then he asked me if he needed to wear a helmet. Yes, Owen, you do. And long pants and a long-sleeved shirt and steel-toed boots and metal armor!


These two little twerps weren't at our house today, but they are so dang cute I decided they need some blog time, too!

Monday, June 17, 2013

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary #8 to Charlie and Angie! 
  

We love you!

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Father's Day, Technolgy, and Adios: Cousins, Part 6

Father's Day
Let's pause Cousin-o-rama for a moment to send a Father's Day message to the dads in the Potts-Dellon-Potts-Grimmius family. We love Daddy Evan, Daddy Charlie, and Daddy Tanner. Thank you for being loving and caring parents to your kiddos. And we love Dad/Larry/Grandpappy, too. He loves and is proud of the six "big kids", and he turns to mush whenever we talk about the six little guys. Happy Father's Day to each of you!





 


Technology and Adios:  Cousins, Part 6
The cousins love to show off their proficiency with technology when they are together. Here, Uncle/Daddy Charlie is demonstrating how to watch YouTube. Specifically the K-Mart "Ship My Pants" and "Big Gas Savings" commercials. Oh dear. Thanks, CP!


Miles and Hannah got a lesson in "Self-Portraiture with an iPhone" taught by Auntie Beesie/Mommy.


Hannah and Miles are trying out fun apps with an iPhone and a Kindle Fire while everyone else is napping. Shhhh...! 


In the blog entries for this visit, I've touched on most of the activities enjoyed by Hannah, Miles, Ethan, Owen, Vivian, and Weston when they were together. Miles and Westy said their good-byes and returned to Otown on Monday afternoon. Uncle Charlie brought Ethan and Owen over for one last playtime, which turned out to be a trip to Italy. Hannah, the pilot, helped passengers Vivian and Ethan settle in their seats, while "conductor" Owen guarded the airplane door. Notice how serious he is about his job.



Soon it was good bye for one last time until the cousins reunite in the fall. Grandpappy and Grandma Jill love you all, and we thank you for coming to visit. 
Hasta la vista!

 

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Basketball Camp: Cousins, Part 5

After the mammoth photo shoot of cousins in various configurations, we moved on to pop in on Mommy/Auntie Angie who was working at Gustie basketball camp. It was exciting to walk into the arena and see maybe a hundred kids learning basketball skills.


We got Angie's attention after a few minutes of watching, and she hurried over to exchange hugs and kisses with the kiddos.


Angie promptly benched the bunch, where they met some of the campers and then focused on observing the finer points of the game. 


 Here's what they're watching--Angie, giving instructions to her team.


Let's get in a little closer...


...and closer still. Cute little legs!

 
And now a front view of the kids keeping their eyes on the game. Sort of!


We didn't want to wear out our welcome, and there was still one more family member to track down before we left campus. Daddy/Uncle Charlie met us outside by the three flags.


More hugs and kisses!


Charlie soon headed back to work and everyone else went home to have some lunch and to play. A good Gustie adventure!

Friday, June 14, 2013

Adirondack Style: Cousins, Part 4

If you've been following this blog for a while, you know that sun room couch photos are a required component each time all six cousins are together in St. Peter.  We diverted from the tradition this visit, taking pictures at Gustavus instead. 

It was quite a transportation feat to get everyone delivered to the same place for a photo shoot. Six little kids means six carseats. Fortunately, Annie and Tanner had both of their cars in St. Peter, so that took care of four. I picked up Ethan and Owen at their daycare, Larry strapped Evan in our other car, and we all eventually made it to campus. Some people had to keep themselves entertained until we all arrived.

Hannah and Miles kept themselves busy map reading with Grandpa.


Tanner and Westy imitated Mick Jagger,

and Miles and Hannah gave it a shot, too.

 
Then H and M played spy with Vivi and Westy,


and jumped off the steps.


Eventually they got tired of waiting for the rest of us.

 

And I DO mean TIRED!


But soon they caught sight of Ethan and Owen, 
and the cousins were reunited.


 At last it was time for pictures.
Here are some of the results. Pretty dang cute, if you ask me!




Yesterday while all the other kids were napping Miles, Hannah, and I talked about potential kid arrangements for pictures. We talked about tallest to shortest, oldest to youngest, and pairing up with siblings. Here's how that turned out.

Tallest to shortest
Owen was wearing his tall shoes, which makes it difficult to see that Hannah is still a smidgeon taller than he is. We'll see who takes that spot next time the kiddos are all together!


Oldest to youngest
There is no disputing birth order. As Owen reminds Ethan, "You're older but I'm taller." If you want to know how old each cousin is, check out their fingers.


Sibling to sibling
Having fun being goofy!


Giving a shout-out to anyone who will listen.



Of course the cousins all love to shake their booties.


Next it was time for a surfin' safari. Vivi decided 
to sit this one out, but Westy was rockin' it.



A few quick hugs, and then we all moved on to find Auntie Angie/Mommy in the gym. More about that tomorrow.



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These were side-bar pics on the blog...added in when I replaced them with others. I love these little faces!