Look-a-likes and Tractor-Tykes

We have had a busy weekend of fun: Friday we visited Great Opa and i let him watch the kids talk and play in his room for a while. He is very tired lately i guess, so we didn't talk too much. There are so many stories inside of him that i'd love to hear though.... i love history. maybe next time.
After our visit, the kids and i took off to buy art supplies (what a great investment) and now we have paint again! and really nice erasable colored pencils and tracing paper and a sketch book. yippeee!!! Julia has spent most of the last three days at the table because of the new and improved tools for creating. :)


Then Saturday arrived and Oma invited us to join her and Opa in a journey to the local fall fair. We went right after breaky and walked with them to the main street of their small town to watch the parade - which gets a little shorter each year i think, but regardless of that, the kids all had fun. Tractors are a highlight of course. :) After a delicious Oma soup-lunch we returned to the fairgrounds to explore the buildings and the kid-attractions. This year they had a great little show called "The Funky Mama's" which we missed almost entirely, but it looked fantastically cute and groovy!! :) heehee!





The kids love having a cat. Julia is very responsible five year old, and she cares for the feeding and watering of our little beast. Sam is affectionate to a fault - and ends up harassing the poor thing with hugs and tugs and such. Mercy is fascinated.

These pics of Mercy show how much she is turning into a little Julia - with all her black hair turning blond. Now... we plod through another day of dave working... and tomorrow he will be home with us again! yippeeee!! :) We try to keep busy on the days dave is gone, so that when he 's home we can relax and have family time... aw. lovely.

Thanks to a wonderful babysitter, dave and i have been getting out to ride as often as possible lately as well... last night we zoomed around town and came home via the riverside as the sun set. aaaaah. did i mention we have a great baby sitter? She is so sweet, last night she refused pay (as she has a lot lately when we are gone for and hour or so). Sometimes i get to pay her with a fresh baked pie... i like the barter system! :) hahaha.