Minnesota, land of my nativity (except it isn't)*

*The title of this post reflects the erroneous, but longheld belief of mine that I was a native of Minnesota. Not until fully grown did I realize that I could not be a native of Minnesota because I had been born elsewhere.

The boys and I recently returned from visiting Grandpa Tom and Grandma Sue in Rochester. We stayed for 2 marvelous weeks and were the recipients of my parents' generosity!

The boys did fun things every day, including seeing a juggler at the public library, picking raspberries, visiting an organic dairy farm and riding in a tractor, playing at the Silver Lake wading pool, going to the waterslide at Soldier's Field pool, visiting Oxbow Park and feeding the goat, reading Calvin and Hobbes with Grandpa, feeding the geese at Silver Lake, catching fireflies, hiking up Chimney Rock at Whitewater, and going to the playground every day. Ethan learned to ride a bike without training wheels (thanks, Grandpa!) and Scott zoomed around on a Bigwheel. Both boys loved watching The Little Engine That Could and Peter and the Wolf. Scott's character repertoire has now expanded to include Tilly (the little engine that could), The Intruder (an airplane), Garfield, BYU, Mitt Romney, Lightning McQueen, Buzz Aldrin (2nd man on the moon), John Beck (a former BYU quarterback)and Bob the Builder.

Candice and her adorable Eden were also visiting and there was some definite cousin bonding. Despite the age gap of over 4 years, Ethan and Eden were pals and could often be found giggling together.

Ben and Christy made the long drive all the way from Illinois to see us before they head to the Big Apple. On Saturday afternoon we had Dad upstairs on his desktop, Erin on Dad's laptop in the bedroom, Ben on his laptop in the dining room, all engaged in a furious online Scrabble game, with Hugh patched in from Utah to boot. Good times. Technology allows us to have this special interaction, which is one step away from our typical extended-family reunions, with everyone sitting in the same room and reading a book.

Kudos to Grandma Sue for all the extra time she spent grocery shopping for yogurt, berries, ice cream, and other children's delicacies, not to mention the delicious meals we had everyday. Even sandwiches taste better at Grandma Sue's. It must be those Minnesota pickles. Sing along if you know the song: Gedney, it's a Minnesota pickle... Where else but Grandma's house can you throw 3 kids in the tub for some good clean fun? Where else but Grandma's house can 3 moms stay up to the wee hours of the morning watching Anne of Green Gables or BBC greats like Cranford?

This afternoon at our swimming pool, Scott informed me, "Mom, I'm going to invite Grandma Sue to our house tomorrow." We are looking forward to welcoming Grandma and Grandpa to our house for Thanksgiving and showing them a great time in our town!