Gramma and William visit

Gramma Maggy came for a visit and brought William, our nine-year-old (almost ten!) nephew along, too. What a treat for us! Wednesday could not have been a nicer day. So, we made plan to be outside. Off to Five Rivers for a trail walk around Beaver Pond. What a day. We saw fish, frogs, ducks, Canadian geese, a turtle (in the middle of the trail), a red-winged black bird . . . This was one of Samantha's first times in the back pack. She held on tight but seemed to enjoy it. We had a picnic lunch afterwards and great naps when we got home! Uh-oh! Lucy dropped her pink bear in the pond from the bridge! It was not moving, so we told her bear was "swimming" and set out to finish the trail, not expecting to bring bear home. She was so brave. When we finished the loop, William and Gramma made one more effort to save bear. Yea! Success - a long (already down) tree limb, some rock throwing from William, stretching on Gramma's part, and a wet retrieval by William. Bear was safe and sound, though desperately in need of a long soak in the tub!

There is bear, faithfully along at the start.

Parcheesi is a daily event in our household (thanks, Auntie Hannah!); it is Anna Kate's current favorite game. William and Anna Kate played quite a few games together.
Gramma picked up all the fixings for Ice Cream Sundaes on Friday night because Mommy and Daddy had to go out to a meeting.
Of course, we had to visit the New York State Museum - one of our favorite places! Here we are, before heading home and then off to take Gramma and William to the airport. (Anna Kate was actually sick - poor thing! But quite a trooper, too. It seems like we all have a sinus infection/cold.)

We were able to ride the Carousel twice! And we discovered that the round cup is quite the ride! It actually spins fast (especially for a carousel built between 1912-1916)! Isn't it funny, though? The kids jumped right in to the phone booths on our way from the Carousel to the museum exhibits! Ah, the novelty of a pay phone!