The Family (Funny) Farm

Nana and Papa live out in the country, and we always look forward to going for a visit. We hop on an eight lane freeway with tolls to get out of the city. Traffic is everywhere. Thirty minutes north of our house we are driving by these...

...and stopping to take pictures because the babies are so cute. They did not seem at all bothered by me or my camera, but Mr. and Mrs. Longhorn snorted and snuffed, so I kept a pleasing distance.

Papa has a big barn where he likes to tinker. He is an engineer who can rebuild, refurbish, repair, and remodel just about anything. And, because he has the patience of a saint, he never seems to mind an audience of young boys. Papa has an old car and truck and tractor that he is "working on". The old John Deere is Hayden's favorite, because he loves everything John Deere. There are never a shortage of projects in Papa's barn, and when you go inside you can find tools, tidbits, parts and pieces. It is a little piece of Boy Heaven out in the country.



Nana putters in her garden. She can grow anything. Even in our rocky, dry, nutrient deprived soil, she has somehow managed to coax and nurture a little Eden. Her Holly Hocks are in full bloom and they are almost as tall as I am. The butterfly bush boasted vivid purple blooms today, and the perky Coriopsas stretched their yellow heads toward the sunny, summer sky.

Temperatures climbed into the 90's today, so the kids slid into the pool for the first splash of summer. Hannah soaked up some sun with Nana, then took Papa for a spin in the golfcart, knicknamed "Ladybug".

Okay, so who's ready to head back to the city? What? No hand raising??