Moving On In

Friday night we went to Papa John and Aunt Sarah's new house for the first time. They invited us over for a cook out and swimming. Right before we arrived, there was a heavy rain shower, so everything smelled green and fresh and rainy. I love the smell of rain. Almost as much as I love John and Sarah's new house. It is lovely.

The backyard is an oasis. I wish I would have taken a picture from down at pool level of the patio above where we enjoyed supper. It stretches across the back of their house and with big, comfy chairs, and a buffet of great food, and ceiling fans whirling overhead, it feels like a spa. I could get used to Friday night cook outs at John and Sarah's spa. :)

The best part is that behind their house there is a maze of trails and this spectacular spillway. Don't the boys look like they are standing in front of a backdrop?? If I hadn't taken it myself I would swear these kids were photoshopped in!

It's the perfect spot for toad catching with cousins.

My nephews are twins, only eight weeks older than Max, and I think they look more alike all the time. They will turn 13 on Halloween. Official teenagers. It boggles me how thirteen years can pass so quickly; as brisk as rainwater over the falls.

Watching boys become men, and sharing the experience with dear family friends. It makes my heart truly swell with joy.

I already boldly asked if Hannah and I could make reservations at "the spa" to come and do her senior portraits by the falls. I'm anxious to see if these trees succumb to color in the coming weeks. Won't that make this the perfect setting?

Sarah taught kindergarten for thirty years, and when I saw this room upstairs, I could hardly dive for my camera fast enough. It's a preschooler mother's dream come true. Each box contains a toddler's treasure....manipulatives and toys and puzzles and games. There are musical instruments and a keyboard in one corner, and an entire bucket of balls in the other! (This is one of TWO rooms upstairs completely stocked with toys!) Of course, Sarah let us raid the stash, and Emma and I had a ball lacing beads, and setting up a dollhouse, and making stories with felt board ornaments. It was worth leaving the "spa" to come here to play! :)

We celebrated Aunt Sarah's birthday, and she had TWO special helpers when it came time for candles. I somehow missed including her precious grandson, Jasper, in these shots.

It has been said that you can judge a man by the quality of those who call him friend. John and Sarah have been Nana and Papa's best buddies for decades, and Buzzard and I and our kiddos enjoy the generational blessings that have poured from that relationship. Raindrops and swimming pools and hamburgers and birthday candles and new countertops in a new kitchen and a mouse toy that Emma named "Cheese"......it's all in the name of family fun!!