Yesterday my dad left for home. We spent the morning at the park before he had to leave. We went for a short walk and played for quite awhile.
the troll under the bridge....
my dad having a splendid time, I'm sure, chasing Cate and Joel around the playset...
making sure he still fits down the slide...
Joel tempting the hungry troll with a few tasty toes...

Learning from the master...

Cate and Joel have really enjoyed the extra grandpa time while my dad has been here. He's very patient with them- one of the things that I tend to fail miserably at as a parent. Grandpa brought along a violin and a mandelin, so the kids really had fun playing around and learning a few of the very basics.
Joel's arms weren't long enough to hold the violin correctly, but he still really enjoyed his "lesson".

Today was a leisurely kind of day. My dad has been visiting and today we went to a nearby town to do some singing at a care center. After the first performance we went to a local ice cream shoppe for two sundaes, a banana split, and some fried ice cream.
We licked our plates clean, did a little sight seeing and then on to another care center performance. It was a fun learning experience for Cate and Joel and some positive socialization to boot!.....I can count this as school....right? :)

Happy Autumn!

Thumbs up: Changing leaves, sweater weather, using the fireplace, hot cocoa, the crisp air during a morning walk, sharing in the harvest with gifts of cucumbers, tomatoes, squash and pumpkins, a tasty treat of candy corn mixed with peanuts, and another reminder that God is in control.

Thumbs down: Spiders that migrate indoors at the first sign of cooler weather...actually that's the only thing there is!

Joel taking over some of the "manly" jobs while Daddy is gone.

The sheer pride expressed in the first, "I DID IT!" is so worth the frustration of watching as clumsy, little fingers try to tie shoes.