This has been a summer of fun and grandkids.  This was taken at a big cook-out for Benjy’s and Melody’s birthdays.  Liam was learning to fish, which would have made my mother so proud.  She would have thrown us kids back if we hadn’t learned to fish!

Liam’s Big Catch

Here the grandkids are having breakfast on the porch.

Simon, Mia and Liam on the porch

We celebrated our 50th by visiting some historical sites in Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, and France.  We love history and documentaries, so this was right down our alley!  

It really does lean!

Wow!  Who thought it was a good idea to build a heavy marble building on sand and mud between two rivers and 5 miles from the sea? I kept wanting to break into a chorus of the old Sunday School song, “The foolish man built his house upon the sand….”

Bill took this trying to learn how to take pictures with my i-phone, so he could take pictures of the leaning tower from a different angle.
 

Bill can’t resist an arena, even in Pompeii!  Think he can draw a crowd?

When we got home the grandkids took turns coming for a visit:  Simon was here a week and we did Legos!  He is amazing at putting complicated projects together while having serious discussions about the cosmos, nature, and the universe.  

Here is a video of his latest Lego creation!

Liam and Mia were here a week with Benjy and Melody; they moved to Nashville in April, so we were so glad to have them back to swim, take rides on the golf cart and fish.  We did puzzles and swam.  Jesse and Will will be here in August before they leave for college.  We savor every moment we have with them all.  Precious days!

Mia and Liam in the hammock

Yum!  Is there anything better than Indiana corn?

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And here is Bill with his pets.