31 Days of Flashbacks: A Visit from Mom and Dad

This summer, with Glenn's RMED schedule, we weren't really able to head out of town much. Instead we had family come and visit us which was so much fun. Grandma and Grandpa Reynolds, Uncle Bernie, and our last visitors before we started school again - Glenn's parents!

We had been pestering Glenn's parents about when they were going to come and visit us and telling them all the things we loved about Lowville. We were just picking on them really, not expecting them to be able to make the trip but they decided to come up and see us. Things were up in the air as to whether they were going to be able to come or not due to various things so we didn't tell the kids that they were coming. When it was confirmed that they were definitely coming we still didn't let the kids know because we wanted to surprise them.

Steve and Debbie were flying into Rochester in the middle of the night so we decided to go down and spend the night at my grandparents so that the airport was only an hour away instead of 3. We put the kids to bed, went to the airport to pick them up, came back and all fell asleep. In the morning we waited until all the kids were up to give the signal to Mom and Dad to come out. The kids were so surprised!!

Caleb kind of knew that they were coming because he had overheard something but he didn't know that it was going to be that day!

Reality of seeing them took a a little bit for the kids to process

Posing with Grandma, Great Grandma, and Grandpa (in their swim suits of course - we're at Grandma Nelson's house - you have to go swimming as soon as you wake up!)

After the kids had a swim four generations enjoyed a breakfast of baked oatmeal and cinnamon rolls we'd brought from home out by the pool.

Had to get a picture of the giant sunflowers in Grandpa's Garden of Ed-en

Pretty excited to see a Grandma!

While Grandma and Grandpa were visiting us the kids and I took them to the end of summer reading program event at the library where Lydia's penny got flattened by a magician.

We went to Old Forge so they could get a glimpse of the Adirondacks.

We had a tailgate picnic near a school playground.

We caught this man running and wondered where he was running to...

The Covered Bridge we didn't get to take Grandma Reynolds to.

 We took them to Croghan to go to the Community Potluck and Good Ole Wishy's (somehow we didn't take a picture that night of Mom and her "small" Wishilishious cone which I am pretty convinced was one of the main reasons that she came to visit us while we lived in Lowville. She loves peanut butter and Oreos! Silly us.)

We took them around the block...

and tried on cheese hats at the Cheese Shop

and squeezed into a phone booth.

 We also took them to Fort Stanwix to learn some early American history at the reconstructed fort in Rome.

No Maas visit is complete without Hawaiian Haystacks so we got to have them too.

All too soon the week was over and we had to return them to the airport in Rochester. On the way there they stopped with us to pick up a Craigslist deal that we'd been wanting to get for a while but it had never worked out.

Sticking my new to me Metro shelving into the van.

We also stopped by the new Lego Store in Rochester. It was not as impressive as the one in Chicago. As we were walking through the mall to the store we realized that it was just about a year to the day that we had dragged them through downtown Chicago to our first Lego Store. Now I guess it is a tradition. Grandma and Grandpa have to come with us for our first time at a Lego Store every August. I wonder which Lego store we'll go to with them next year. It will have to be August 19 though just to keep with tradition, a year and a day later. I guess the location kind of depends on where we end up for residency....

a cute Lego creation

at the airport

So long, Grandma and Grandpa! Thanks for visiting! We love you!