Those Halcyon Days of Summer

Mom perfectly described our summer with those words.  We spent a magical six weeks with family back in the mother country.  Mr. Mike was already in the U.S. on business and met us when we landed in Boise.  Kelsey and co. had arrived the evening before, so we all had a happy reunion on the farm.

Bear and Grandpa

Honestly, we were a little worried about how we would manage staying in pretty close quarters for weeks at a time, but the kids got along fabulously.  Here they are playing prairie dogs in the dirt pile.

Red-neck boat ride

Mother May I?

Playing Risk with G&G

Exploring the sugar beet field...

...and showing off their muddy feet!

It took Sammy two weeks to even let me look him in the eye, but he was snuggling right up to Mike after a couple of days!  So jealous!

No shortage of opportunities to get dirty on the farm.

Beaver looked like an ad for UNICEF after playing in the powder-fine dirt outside the old corral.

More fun on the farm.

Feeding the fire-breathing dragon.

B&B&E joined the party after a couple of weeks.  The more the merrier!

Reading with Aunt Brooke

Visiting these little kitties was a definite highlight of the trip.

Have you ever seen anything cuter than Sammy snuggling a kitten?

Family reunion in Albion!

Ancestor treasure hunt.

Uncle Ben doing his ancestor impersonation.

Bear joined in the volleyball game.  He was pretty good!  I didn't even know he could play volleyball!