4th of July With The Russells

The Russells arrived on the 4th of July.... They started out the day before (late in the evening) and drove through the night.... By the time they reached our place, they were a tad road weary and although Klaus & Olivia may have felt exhausted, the boys and the dogs wanted to burn off a lot of pent up energy after being coped up in the truck for several hours.... So off they went to the back yard to do just that....

The dogs greeting Grampa Bruce when he returned home from his work day .... They were excited to see him, and he them (right, Bruce)......

Finally calming down a bit and taking time to relax a bit.....

Klaus showing off his new truck to Bruce (the car expert in the family), so of course wanted to show him all the neat assecories he has.....

After a bit, Klaus and Olivia had to run off to set things up with some friends regarding their camping plans for the week ahead... Jasonn & Kyle stayed with Grampa Bruce and Nana.... And Nana decided it would be a grand idea if we took a trip to the Ice Cream Shop...... And all were more than happy to participate......

Jasonn indicating he has a 3 scooper here......

Mmmmmm..... mmmmmmmm good!!!

Kyle got a death by chocolate .... dipped in chocolate.... He's definitely my grandson!!!!

Mmmmmmm..... mmmmmmmm good!!!! And what a mess he made too.... I had to get extra (damp) towels to help him clean up.....

Even Grampa Bruce and I got into the act.... I had my usual medium soft vanilla in a cone (sorry, no picture as everyone was too busy eating their ice cream to get a picture of Nana)... But I got a quick one of Bruce as he was putting his away.....(He gets an ice cream sundee).....

Full...... mellow and ready for a nap.....

Nana and her boys.....

Once back to the house, Klaus returned and while Olivia was out shopping for camping groceries, he stayed busy on the phone checking in with his New York friends, letting them know they were in town for the week and inviting them to join up with them at the camp grounds....

Once Olivia returned, Klaus and I got busy making up some super duper Klaus/Mom "special" hamburgers and got the grill going.... We kept things simple, but also had a nice little cook out meal and sat around a bit and just chilled for awhile on the back deck....

I got Jasonn to water my flowers for me.....

When bedtime finally rolled around (8 p.m. ... thank you very much), the boys wanted to sleep on an air mattress out on the back deck, so in spite of Bruce's protests that it would get too cold for them, sleep out there they did.... At least for a few hours, but around midnight I heard them come in and this is where I found them the next morning... Of course, unfortunately for them, the Nana couldn't resist taking a picture of her sleeping fellas..... (Remember.... I'm your Nana... you got to love me)

The next morning things were in quite the rush for everyone.... The Russells had to get ready to head off camping and the Lehmans had to finish packing and get ready to fly out that very afternoon to Oregon for our 3rd Annual Air Force Reunion..... So lots of hustle and bustle going on.... Klaus took a little time to play with his dogs awhile before they all hit the road to go camping... and Bruce and I were right behind them in the opposite direction headed towards the airport....

Although we only got a short visit in, it was one we enjoyed very much... It was so nice to have that time together with the grandsons and with Klaus & Olivia.... (Yes, Olivia, and with Oreo and Chloe too) Who knows when we'll get together again... Everyone lives such busy lives and so far apart, we have to grab the time when we can.... Not my idea everyone lives so far away, but I also understand the reasons for it.... I'm happy that all is going so well for them in South Carolina ... It was a good move on their part.... And for that I'm happy!!! I know we'll have more get togethers in the future.... As they say, "WHERE THERE'S A WILL.... THERE'S A WAY"!!!! Love you guys and thank you so much for heading out early for New York so you could fit that time in with us before we left....