Oliver's Firsts in DC

Oliver and his pink bunny want to share with you his day of "firsts" in Washington, DC on his visit with Aunt Kim.

His first metro ride.

His first museum.

His first museum food (Native American).

His first sign of museum overload.

His first botanical garden. Is mom really a flower?

His first look at the capitol.

His first walk down the mall.

His first sculpture garden.

His first visit to the Washington Temple.

Is it on fire?

A nice long day of firsts.

Visit at Joe's

Here's Oliver with cousins Spencer and Tatum exploring Fort Pulaski.

Of course, the main attraction was firing cannons and learning how to shoot a musket.

Debbie and Oliver are here!

Deb and Oliver arrived.

Does she look like she is ready to celebrate finishing her master's degree?

Friendly neighborhood

We thought you'd like to meet the friendly neighbors.

Looks like it is party time!!

Homeless no more!

As of today, we now have a place to stay for the next 6 months while our house is being built--a beach place!!
We've got extra beds. Plan a visit.

Cracker Days

Our life will soon be different. Here they are harvesting cabbages near our new place.

The pace is a bit slower. How about this customer we spotted at a strip mall?

Of course this sign caught our eye.

Grandma loved the parking posse...

and the BBQ.

The main events at the rodeo were team steer saddling (you have to stay on for 5 seconds)...

and timed team ribbon grabbing (your team ropes the calf, steals the ribbon off its tail, and someone runs to the finish).

The biggest individual event was timed steer wrestling. You have to wrestle the steer to the ground on its left side. As you can see, the steers were not particularly cooperative!

The grandkids entered the boot race (you have to find your boot in the boot pile, put it on and race home. Conner won. Corbie came back with two left boots!)...

the pig chase...

and the chicken chase.

We had lots of winners in the family. Conner got $5 for winning the chicken chase.

The last event was the sack race. It is like hydrosliding behind a speed boat. Your partner rides up, ties the rope to the saddle horn then races back to the finish with you holding on to the sack for dear life.

The afternoon closed with the drill team.

Does grandma look like she will enjoy our new lifestyle?

Last Hurrah!

Since we'll be moving out in a couple of weeks, the grandkids close by (15 of them), came to do their favorite Gainesville things, such as hike a Florida mountain (the Devil's Millhopper sink hole)...

and ride horses and donkeys.

They researched birds ...

and practiced being kiwis.

Some just practiced being cute.

Of course, how do you sleep 15 grandkids for several nights? Slumberparty style, how else?

We didn't get pictures of shark tooth hunting in the creeks or seeing their favorite caves or fossils in the museum, but everyone had a great time and is now ready for new grandparent adventures.

Staked out!

Well, the house sold in four days--with a bidding war. Now we will to be homeless in a month. You can see here how we staked out the new place. Can you imagine the new bedroom? the kitchen? The view is great even without the windows in!
The shed is about full. We have to empty the rest of the house next week. Do you think the piano will fit in?