Grandma Grace

Today we had a wonderful day with friends out on a lake. We all laughed and played and enjoyed life. On the way home I got the call from my mom that my Grandma Grace died this afternoon. She passed away in her sleep at home--something for which we are very grateful. Grandma enjoyed life too and she brought so much joy to everyone who loved her. On a recent visit there was a moment when my brother was being silly and had worked both Grandma and Scotty into hysterics to the point of tears. The two of them were feeding off each other--it was really hilarious. Grandma knew how to laugh that's for sure.

Grandma had four children, twelve grandchildren, and twelve great grandchildren. (This is a picture of her with her 4 kids--my mom is first on her left.) She was very involved in all of our lives. She knew and loved every last one of her great grandchildren, even the youngest of all, my little 12 month old nephew. She loved and was loved by many children and grandchildren-in-law as well. We will all miss her so much.

She was witty and opinionated to the very end of her life of 95 years. Now none of us can play a game of "May I" and even dream of cheating because we know she's watching us!

If there is a heaven I hope there's a casino there. Have a good time, Grandma. We love you.

So long summer.......

Tonight is the last night of summer but consistent with the bizarre weather pattern this year we have actually already had frost! About 5 days ago the pumpkins took a hit and tonight it's downright COLD as we go to bed. We are a good 15 to 20 degrees below average during the day and overnight. Chris' dad says he has never seen it freeze this early in the 25 years he's lived here.



Tonight on Mom M's recommendation I went out and harvested all but two of the basil plants. Looks like there is some pesto in our future!

The last of the corn

The kids and I went out into what remained of the corn field to gather whatever seed we could find. Then we turned the animals onto it. The cows were so funny--they looked so guilty out there! Every time they saw us they gave us that guilty cow look.

Here is a diagram of Scotty's engine

Scotty's latest creation

I'm trying to upload a video this time because a still photo just doesn't do it justice. Today Scotty wanted to make a single cylinder steam engine with an oiler box that automatically pumps oil to the engine--out of K'NEX. Our usual routine is that he has the design in his head but physically has trouble manipulating the pieces so I am in charge of executing his design. It can lead to some frustration on my part because I do not have the mind for engineering that he does so when he says "just put an eccentric in there" I have real trouble figuring out what he means. In every case, he has always been right on in terms of how the finished product will work. Today was no exception. And I doubted him! Sure enough, the main crank that he turns runs the main engine--that's the horizontal grey stick going through the "cylinder", which is made of yellow sticks. There is an eccentric that goes from the crank shaft to the piston. The oiler works by attaching another eccentric to the first one, but this one doesn't go all the way around, it just rocks back and forth, causing the vertical red stick to move just a bit up and down inside the vertical cylinder. I swear, this entire thing was designed in his head before we ever started. I am totally blown away.

A different perspective

I just love what happens when you give a kid a camera. Now that there is digital technology there's nothing stopping us from letting the kids take as many photos as they like with our new digital camera. Scotty took several this evening, and as usual I marvel at the unique perspective he offers. His shorter stature gives him a view of the world that is totally different than mine. It's also so cool to see what interests him. Here are some of his photos from this evening.

Saturday Morning Pancakes

One of the sweetest pleasures in my world is sleeping in on a Saturday morning while listening to my darling husband and children making breakfast in the kitchen. This morning I just had to drag myself out of bed to snap this photo of my guys.

Ah, bliss......