I love fall.

Cutie pie

Here's our little grandson Tobias Henry. He has his hand out trying to tell you something, I think!

Listening to the grown-ups talk.

Going for a stroller ride with great grandma, who loves pushing babies in strollers, fancy carriages, etc. She grew up in Brooklyn where mommies took great pride in their baby carriages and pretty babies!

We had a nice time sitting on the patio while Tobias napped, enjoying the surprisingly warm September afternoon.

And then a little fun chat with grandpa! Can you see Tobias' little dimple? (click on the picture to enlarge it.) Tobias is very talkative and makes lots of noises back to you in an effort, it seems, to tell you something!

Mildred's secret to longevity....

Okay, so my mom is almost 91. Few pills. No vitamins. Skip the fruit and as for green salad... no thank you, ma'am. She offered me chocolate the other morning.. I said "I don't eat chocolate this early in the morning" to which she replied "I have it while I fry my egg!" ha ha. And then she said "and I have some ice cream while I'm making my supper!" Oh, that gal! Here are the items she has introduced into our food coffers. Can you see a pattern here?

(I think the gold fish is her version of healthy.) ha ha .

Signs of fall

The fall flag is out...

The trees are showing their colors...

The apples are ripe...

and the oak leaves are getting ready to fall as well. And acorns, well, indian lore says that it will be a hard winter when there are lots of acorns.

Expect a hard winter, folks. We've been sweeping acorns galore! They bombard the house with noise as well.

Sunday Sweet Rolls at Grammy's

Brooklyn helped me make some sweet rolls today. First she spread the melted butter. (Daniel and family came over to watch the Vikings football game. (they lost, boo hoo))
Then she applied the cinnamon and brown sugar...


Ready to be rolled up...

Ready now to be cut and placed in the pan to raise..

Wow, they look great! Now we will let them raise a little bit before we bake them.

All baked and cooling a little before we ice them...

Just like Cinnabon!! YUM YUM

Brooklyn enjoys the rewards of her labor.

So does Preston.

Hey, what about me, says Sean Patrick!

Hurry up, there are a few left....

Taking it easy ...

Just like keeping the kids happy in the car with a good DVD... we have settled mom on her bed with a movie. She thinks this little DVD player is great!

Cute, huh?

Saturday evening fun

Tonight my mom is teaching me a new card game. Has anyone played "trash?" (Maybe you have a different name for it). No, not "52 pick-up" - a real game. So far, she's beating me.

Relaxing in the River Room

My mom is relaxing. I don't think she is used to all this relaxation! She wants to help me clean but I told her I don't clean all that much! She said all she is doing here is "eat, sleep and read" - and frankly, I think she is enjoying it! I am.

Project fresh air....

It's not every day you can open the windows like this!

Here the view looking INTO the family room & kitchen from outside!

Just what are these two fella's up to? Those grins seem a bit too suspicious...

Ah ha! A new big triple slider!

Getting in place..

Phew, now I don't have to worry about any of those birds flying into the house. I did remove the bird feeders so they wouldn't be tempted to eat and fly off into our family room.

Another job accomplished.

Great Grandma meets more Great grandchildren

GG MM (Great Grandma Mildred Martha) meets 3 more sweeties.

Brooklyn was in her pink curious george jammies.

Preston was willing to pose for a four generation photo.

Sean Patrick shows off his big blues eyes and Irish sparkle.

Tobias talking

Here's a cute clip of Tobias making those precious baby sounds. I just could play this over and over.

Great grandma arrives!!

Just in time for a party! We celebrated Josiah's first birthday and also the arrival of Great Grandma Crater from New Jersey! She flew all by herself and is staying for as long as we can keep her. This was the first time for her to meet Hannah, Josiah and Tobias - and she will soon meet Preston and Sean Patrick. Great Grandma has 12 great grandchildren (and 11 grandchildren.)

Here is the birthday boy enjoying all the balloons! That was the theme for his party today.

Is it time to come in and have the cake yet?

Tobias and his daddy enjoyed some time on the deck in the fresh air.

Then it was time for birthday hats!

The birthday boy sure thought this day was great.

Out for a little ride...

Sister got all dressed up for the party too. Doesn't she look darling?

We enjoyed sitting out front for a while and watched the kids play.

Tobias arrived and cousin Josiah was pretty interested in him. Just wait, Josiah, until next year! You'll have lots of fun together then.