The Fun Stuff We Did Today

Saturday morning with the Rauch's began with the
TEXAS CHAINSAW dad trimming the bushes out front ...
it's difficult to see the chainsaw, but that is exactly what
Andrew used to trim the bushes that he said hadn't been
trimmed in three years! Hey! Don't knock it until you've tried it!
The finished result was a definite improvement!

This sign that hangs above Karis's crib was purchased
on Galveston Island back in March, the last time we were
deep in the heart of Texas ...
And Karis Danielle is indeed a Cutie Pattootie ...
as you will see in the next two pictures
where we had a mini-fashion show with the little princess!
She looks very beautiful in almost any hat --
however, she doesn't keep them on long enough to actually snap
a good picture ...
so I am only posting two pictures of our little model ...
Here is the paparazzi ... watch out Karis!
For lunch, we had sandwiches and fruit.
Andrew instructed Olivia in the use of a very sharp knife
to cut up the fresh pineapple ...
Meanwhile, grandpa read the Digger book to Jackson ...
After lunch, we had a visit from the friendly neighborhood cat.
The Rauch kids have named "her" Zoe
(pronounced Zoh-ee)
but other times they call "him" Inca
(you know, the South American kind of indian)
Why is it that all of the cats I have met lately
have sexual orientation issues?
Inca/Zoe hangs around the back deck
and seems to favor Olivia over the younger kids
(the younger kids tend to be a bit too unpredictable and rough)


They have just the right sized back yard and playscape
for the kids. It's hard to see, but Jackson is in the fort
looking through the binoculars (in the corner) ...

Soon, it was nap time for Jackson and Karis.
While they were sleeping, Sabrina and I made out the menu
for the next few days and wrote out our grocery list
for our evening shopping trip later ...

After naps, we put some huge potatoes in the oven
(for a stuffed baked potato dinner)
got the kids ready for pool time
and headed down to the community pool --
what a great place to play and cool off!

The water was just right, and even grandpa got in!We had fun playing monkey-in-the-middle with a cool
ball for awhile ...
and the little kids had fun playing
in the Splash Pad area
where there are all kinds of water toys,
fountains, squirt guns, showers, etc. Jackson especially enjoyed squirting us with his power shooter!
And Karis liked crawling through this "water tunnel"
over and over again ....
Look at her adorable beach outfit!
Karis really liked being in the pool with her daddy ...
And I enjoyed being in the pool with Mr. Jones
and all of the Rauch grandkids ...

We enjoyed our stuffed baked potato dinner,
did our grocery shopping (without the little kids because
Andrew kindly put them to bed for us)
and came home and made a nice dessert (with the help of Olivia)
for tomorrow!
I'd say we had a very fun and relaxing day!
This grandparent/retirement life is just the thing for me! :)