"When the Cats are away...the Mice will play!!"

                                           
                                       "When the Cats are away....the Mice will Play!!!!"



This weekend was a great weekend for my husband and I.  We had Jill's girls for the whole weekend by ourselves. Whoo hooo!
Jill and Jerry were away overnight for their 18th anniversary. Having time by themselves that they really needed. So we got to spend the time with Hayley and Kathleen by ourselves. Therefore the saying "When the Cats are away.... the Mice will play!!!"

                                                                   
On Saturday we were all together for Neve's 8th birthday celebration. The theme was Hawaiian.

The girls each had their own grass skirt to wear and a beautiful flower for their hair.

And a Lei ( a necklace made of flowers.) We all wore one, even Pop Pop. Neve got his favorite color of yellow. We had such a good time. The girls enjoyed themselves so much with all the fun things Neve had planned for them. Even some water play !! They had gone to a Miniature golf place first and than came back to the house for the party.
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On Sunday morning, Jill and Jerry took off for their trip.  I packed up a cooler full of sandwiches, fruit, and vegetables and water bottles.  We also took chocolate bars, marshmallows and graham crackers for Somemores. And loaded Hayley and Kathleen  in the van for our day out together. We headed to a State Park, Caledonia, Pa. 

                                                
                    
We asked the girls to find a table that they would like to sit at.  It was early and not many people there yet. But it would fill up as this was the Memorial Day weekend. Thank goodness they found one under some shade, as the day was getting hotter by the minute.

Kathleen found the marshmallow bag and asked ( as she had already had one up to her mouth,) if she could have one. I asked her to wait  until we ate lunch.  Well, knowing our little redhead, I knew she would not wait.

Was I right, or was I right????  lol

They finished up on their lunch and drank plenty of water. With the heat they needed to stay hydrated.  And were ready to explore the area.  I stayed back with the things at the table ,while Blaine took them beyond to see what was there.

Hayley wanted to wear Blaine's hat to keep off the sun. they walked along the stream. Which was running pretty good, because of a rain the night before.  Kathleen stopped to check out the stones.
                                                                

                                                                  
This area is in the mountains, so the stream was nice and clear from the mountain springs running into it.
                                                          

People were wading in the stream, having a wonderful time and cooling off. We used to do this when we were younger.  We would just drive around and find a nice stream and wade in it. Miss those days.

The girls stopped at the playground and met some boys there. They played tag and played on the gym sets. Kathleen had two little boys following her around constantly.

Oh, to be young again!  And enjoy life to the fullest. Having fun and not a care in the world.!!

Kathleen was armed with her sunscreen and seemed to find every opportunity she could to put some on.

After playing hard they decided to head back to the tables. As more people were coming in and it was getting somewhat crowded. I think they were wearing down from all the playing.

Kathleen decided she wanted to wear Pop Pop's hat on the way back. So they shared the time with the hat!!  And yes, Pop Pop had another hat to wear. He always carries a supply of hats and caps with him.  Getting a little thin on top and having had pre-cancerous growths on the top of his head, makes the hat wearing a must now days.

After some cool down time we decided to head back.

Love this picture of Kathleen, going across the path back to the van. Armed with a plastic trash bag, Pop Pop's hat and a day of fun!! They no longer have trash cans around the picnic area. So you have to take your trash with you or put it in the large dumpster.  Seems to work better for the park.

                                                          

                                                
We passed this waterfalls as we were leaving the Park; on our way to visit a couple of Nature centers . One of the centers was a Touch and Feel center.Where they had different things from the park that the children could touch. They also talked about "Smokey the Bear" and gave the girls each a nice pin with Smokey's picture on it.

                                                              
We stopped at a store on the way home. (yes, the day was a long one, we made a lot of stops after the park)  This is a store where the owner had collected elephants of all types through the years. He traveled all over the world to get them. He had a room where they were displayed.  A fire last year destoryed alot of the building and some of his treasures. They have since rebuilt, but cannot replace the ones he lost.  He now sells statues of elephants, and all types of the old fashion candy.  They have bins and bins of the candy. So we let the girls pick out some and than we divided it when we got home.  Sure moms and dads appreciated this! But they were with Nana and Pop Pop and we have the rights as grandparents to spoil. And they know it has to be supervised what they eat and when. They each picked out a stuffed toy and picked up one for Neve, who would be coming later that night to have a sleep over with them.

                                                             

A garden next to the shop that you could walk through and enjoy some of the objects that were elephant related.

Our last stop was at Pizza Hut for supper.  Than they anxiously waited for Neve to come over to spend the night with them. She was at a ball park that afternoon.  You would think they would all be tired after such a long day.  But hey , these are 6-11 year olds. They never get tired!!

Now Nana and Pop Pop that is another story!!

The next morning they were up bright and early and ready for another fun filled day. We were going to take them to another State Park today, but the temperatures were going to be in the high 90's. I had already packed the cooler again with another lunch.  But we decided to stay at our home, and let them enjoy playing in the yard.  They came into the air-conditioning when it got too hot. And packed lunches taste good anywheres.

Jill and Jerry got back later Monday evening to get ready to head home. But not before we had a birthday cake and ice cream for Hayley. As today is her 11th birthday.  Both Hayley and Neve have had a couple of birthday celebrations. but hey who is counting!

As children grow, and they do it so fast, we try to get the time together as much as we can. Childhood is so special and watching them grow and nurture through the years is our greatest joy as grandparents. Soon they will be teenagers and than adults right before our eyes.  We are ~Taking the the Time~ to hold onto these wonderful years as long as we can.

Have a great day and a new week.!

hugs