Our Boys and Girls of Late Summer

In case you haven't noticed, it's waning.

Summer, that is.  Our grandkids have been back in 

school since the first week of August, but that hasn't

dampened enthusiasm in our weekly get-togethers.

Bri and Hunter love to play a board game called 

Pound Puppies.  I devised an outdoor version that we

really enjoy now.  One player is the dogcatcher, the

other attempts to rescue the pets.

This game has already evolved in the two weeks

we've been playing it, and next week it will have

a different layout.  Plus, because of annoying ants,

I've placed a tarp underneath the 25 stones.

Hot Wheels racing is a great indoor event for hot 

weather.  All four of the kids have tried their hand

at race track design, daring loops and leaps, and

general mayhem on four wheels.

The longer the track, the better.

At the old house we used this piece of vinyl siding as

a "side-by-side" racetrack.  They really zoom on this

sturdy dragstrip.

It is our accepted practice to leave each car exactly

where it comes to a halt.  More collisions that way.

Grandma makes sure the kids replenish their energy

with a snack that is heavy on fruit and light on other sweets.

You'll hear no complaints from these eager eaters.

Grandma Judy likes to tease that they're going

through growth spurts, but it's a fact!

Hunter is now a reader and wanted to share this book

with me because of my name.

Here is Hunter reading the last couple of pages.

Judy asked him how he figured out the word "odd"

and we got a detailed explanation.

Claire and Bri arrange our mini-pets to be the 

on-lookers for more Hot Wheels races.

Then the girls add to the drama by forming a human

bridge for the cars to race under.

If these cars only had motors!

But Evan demonstrates what pure gravity can do.

I'll be posting one last Hot Wheels video on

 Facebook for you enthusiasts out there. 

 As much as anything, it shows Hunter's 

legendary perseverance, as he follows a track 

 he constructed that traverses three rooms.

Of course, there's always endless variety in our

activities.  Hunter and Grandma try out a new

Bible version of Old Maid.

The "Old Man" is Methuselah, Noah's grandfather.

It's usually Claire and Evan who pull out the horses

and build farms, but this time it was Bri and Hunter

Heigh-o, Silver!

Happily, there's still a little of summer remaining, even

if school has begun.  And even more happily, if there's 

anything we like better than summer fun, it's FALL FUN!