Off to Grandpa's farm

Next on our itinerary was a visit with Grandpa and Grandma Lee at the farm. Again, we were incredibly lucky with the weather. The heat wave that gave us such perfect beach weather for two weeks broke the day we drove inland and we enjoyed temps in the 70's until we left for home. We heard the temperatures were in the triple digits just a couple of days later. Whew!


We took our traditional ride around the fields on Grandpa's farm cart.

We were a little early for the raspberries this year. It was slim pickins' but we did find a few just ripe enough to eat.

Apparently Kieran thought we were having a broccoli eating contest.

Kieran's driving improved over last year but he still needs to work on his steering.

The view from the house over the fields. The silhouette against the evening sky has hardly changed since I was a kid.

We had a short but fun and relaxed visit with our farm family...thank you Grandpa and Grandma Lee! We miss you!

We have been talking about a visit with our former Fairbanks friends Sarah and JR for the last few years and we finally made it happen this time. It was great to see them again and to finally meet their little cutie, Bobby.
They have a bit of a farm too. Kieran thought the hen house was pretty awesome.
"May we help you?"

Kieran is always happy to feed a new animal. "How about a nice juicy pebble for you, chicken?"
Chicken feet feel funny!

We took a break from the chickens to play a little ball in the driveway. Nothin' but net, baby!

It was great to see you guys! And it's good to see that you've managed to adjust to life "outside". Same time next year?

First stop on our summer vacation

It's almost Labor Day so we might as well post a few summer pictures before the snow starts flying up here. Way back in June Kieran and I left Max at home and started our summer trip east early. We spent the better part of a week hanging out at a pool with good friends April, Jeb, Marit and Torin. We had a great time away from the pool too watching fireflies, peeking in on blue bird babies, eating peas out of the garden and catching up on what's happened since our time in Kiawah last year.



Every time we left the house (or returned) Kieran would take the shopping cart for a stroll. I'm not sure if the novelty was the cart or the sidewalks. Torin liked the new tradition too.

The zoo was a big hit with everyone. Kieran got his first look at a real giraffe. Very exciting!

Miss. Marit and Torin were looking for the alligators, both hiding out toward the back of the tank. Kieran was adamant about not wanting to see the alligators.
Baby Sampson and his mama.

Poop was the theme of the day. The first poop was left behind by this giant tortoise to the great delight of all of us.

This guy gave us the second poop of the day when he turned his back to the observation window and we all watched as he pooped in his hand! Kieran STILL mentions this at least once a day.

Marit showed Kieran how to feed a giraffe a sprig of leaves. Then Kieran got a turn. How cool!

The boys drove the Tunda Buggy through the Arctic exibit. The interior of the buggy is plastered with information about the history of Arcic tourism and other Arctic facts. One panel featured Dan Cox, one of the photographers from my cruise last October, and his years as a polar bear photographer in Churchill, Manitoba. It's a small world.

Some not-so snowy owls.

And a very hot and sleepy polar bear. It was about 90F that day. Argh. The bear should have been in the tundra buggy where it was air conditioned!

We left with some hot, tired, happy kiddos.

Nothing like a little local soft serve to cool you down in the dog days of summer!

Auntie April thinks so too!

We had a great visit and a fun time taking advantage of some of the kid-friendly offerings that we miss out on living in Fairbanks. We miss you guys! See you next summer!!