Granddad visits

This past week, Grandad came all the way from Florida to have a wonderful visit with our family! 

Even though we only see Granddad two or three times a year, the kids immediately showed their love for him and enjoyed playing with him. They're so sweet.

His first full day here, we decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and head out to wine country.

 

We focused on wineries that were fun and appropriate for kids, including Duck Pond, where they love feeding the fish.

Here's my effort at taking a photo of Ronan looking pensively into the distance...

Brielle had brought her own (toy, but real) camera to take some photos. It was exciting for me to see her taking an interest in photography. Ronan preferred to use my camera. Amazingly, he did a great job, even though you have to press the button half-way down to focus before taking a shot. Here's a photo he took of us.

Did you notice the matching shirts worn by Ronan and Granddad?

 

For lunch, we stopped at Stoller Winery where we could enjoy a picnic on the field outside. (Sometimes my photos are too dark because I accidentally turn the dials on top when I put the camera in my bag...)

At our third and final stop (Winter's Hill), we enjoyed sipping wine outside while the kids played. Ronan drew an elaborate set of train tracks, but he got shy and hid behind his artistic creation when I tried to take a photo.

Our little photographer...

We finished off the day with a trip to one of the kids' favorite restaurants. They call it "Sushi Train" because it has a conveyor belt carrying sushi next to the tables.

The next day we headed out to the zoo.

Usually, when asked, I'd say that my favorite animals were the monkeys because they're so interactive and entertaining. Unexpectedly, the most interesting animal this visit was the beaver. This little guy swam up to the kids and looked at them for long periods of time. It was so cute!

For some reason there was a carousel at the zoo. Gotta ride it...

We didn't take the "zoo train" during this trip due to time constraints, but Ronan noticed the tracks, of course.

However, we did take the MAX train to and from the zoo, which was really exciting for the kids.

On Granddad's final day here, we played for a while at home, then went to the river's edge in downtown Portland to explore for a while before having a great dinner at Mandarin Cove. The kids enjoyed throwing rocks into the water.

Granddad read the kids a bedtime story picked out by Sujata.

During times when the kids were playing with each other and we had a chance, Granddad and I continued our tradition of having a Cribbage tournament. I've been the reigning champ the past two visits, but this time Granddad beat me so bad it was unbelievable. (If you know Cribbage, he "skunked" me.) Brielle was cheering for Granddad the whole time, so she was excited. I had to hand over my crown, but, as always, it was a lot of fun. 

Thank you for an amazing visit, Granddad!