Swimming, tractor rides and riding on toys

What a fun first day at Grandma and Paka's!! The kids didn't waste any time making use of the pool. Aunt Jes brought out cousins Rachel, Alex, Zack and Matthew to swim, play and ride on the tractor. The kids all got to see Aunt Jamie too. She brought her cute little doggies with her (Roo is my absolute favorite!) as well as her pregnant belly! We hadn't seen her since the wedding last October. Her due date was August 15th.

{Rachel and Ashley enjoying the pool}

{this is our nephew and godson, Zack}

{Aunt Jes rescues Paige from going too close to the road - lil cousin Matthew was pushing
her and she was afraid to put her feet down to stop him because the rocks were painful}

{and here's how that scenario started}

{Paka takes the grandkids out for a ride on the tractor - Koda, Uncle Dave and Aunt Jes' dog, enjoys the tractor rides in a different way}

{Paka let's Ashley wear the headphones while 'driving' the tractor - note assorted children stuffed in the trailer, lol}

{all the kids pose for a shot}

{one last shot before heading inside}

You'll notice in the posts to come that this house is not your typical house. It (and I'm particularly bragging because of the amazingly cool August weather) is a very relaxing home. I think for Neil and me it was the perfect vacation. What's better than a resort-style home with home-cooked meals, a comfortable environment, loving people to chat with, loads of things for the kids to do (see pics below) and after the kids {and adults!} had their ice cream, put their jammies on, said their prayers and were hugged and kissed, we still had the option of sitting down to a game of Euchre or watching the Olympics. Neil even enjoyed playing (uh hem, winning) Scrabble with his mom. I believe the final score was 6-2. I, no doubt, believe this will be an ongoing competition to be continued when they come visit us again.

{the vegetable garden from which we enjoyed fresh squash and tomatoes -
in the background is the point where a momma deer and her fawns come to eat apples
from the orchard - those pics to come in a later post}

{to the left of the garden is this little foot bridge that takes you over to the trampoline}

{Paige paused for a quick blinkie pic in front of the trampoline}

{the rest of the play area for the grandkids, complete with swings and slide,
jungle gym and teeter totter - even the big kids like the teeter totter!!}