Another place, another grandkid (again!)

Thayne, Natalie, and Tyson joined us at Sam and Rachel's. We took the boys over to a park on Sunday evening. Even the big boys got in on the action!

Jett tours like his mother used to! (Only
she was a teenager when she'd go to sleep
while we went into museums!)

George Washington was quite the
innovator; he built "The Necessary"
(an outhouse) at his Mt. Vernon estate.
Here's Jett depositing his donation.

Ady and "mama" looking at the turtle on shore at the Place of Refuge.















Kasey helped Ady put on some lip gloss. Then Ady helped herself put on some mascara (boy! do you have to be fast to keep up with this one!)













We took a ride in a small airplane over the volcanoes and Hilo area.







While the volcano is still actively flowing, there is no safe viewing of the lava coming out. But we flew over Pu'u O'o and saw the steam close up.












You can kind of see the explosion that is made by the lava and the sea water when they meet; black sand is made instantly.











We thought this sign at the front desk of our hotel was quite funny.

Another city, another grandkid

While in Buffalo we went to Niagara Falls a couple of times. This year we went over to the Canadian side; it really is more impressive over there. In addition to catching rainbows over the mist, we also got to go down below and behind the falls. WOW! Talk about awesome!







One of the last things we did while in the Buffalo area was attend the Hill Cumorah pageant in Palmyra. Out of all of the thousands of people there, we were pleasantly surprised to run into Ben (our nephew) and his cute family.






Our favorite part, though, was getting to play with Tyson. He is such an adorable, fun little guy. He is really happy, and just loves playing outside. Gramma and Grampa both especially liked getting him up in the morning and just having him to ourselves for a little bit.

We left Natalie and Thayne's and went on to Rachel and Sam's (they're living in Landover, MD this summer). Washington, D. C., is such an absolutely amazing place! We've been to Ford's Theater, the Old Post Office (even clear up to the top of the tower to view the city from above), the National Archives, the Capitol, the Library of Congress, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Arlington Cemetery, and some of the Smithsonian museums. We are learning how to use the Metro system to get around; it's quite the system! Tomorrow we are going up to the top of the Washington Monument.

And, of course, the best part -- Jett! He still has lots of hair, but it is lighter underneath the dark tips. He's been a real trooper as we've hauled him around.