Mia, Cai and Liam, oh my!
Rex and Kelly, my brother and his wife, flew their children out from Houston to attend Grandma Camp this Summer. In case you don't know, Grandma Camp is at my parents house in Coos Bay, Oregon where they retired. This is also where they were high school sweethearts but that's a story for a different day. Grandma Camp is for sailing and crabbing, swimming and gardening, berry picking and canning. Grandma Camp is for the Grandparents! But first, a visit to The Farmstead was in order!
They flew in to Portland and made the 2 hour drive North for a quick overnight stay. Unfortunately our tiny house isn't done yet so they had to sleep in a hotel but the kiddos got to spend their day on the farm.
Mia is a big animal lover so she immediately gravitated towards all things furry and feathered. I was so pleased that Turkish listened to her when she said, "No." Of course I was in the background repeatedly saying "Leave it" which may have also helped :) Cleo on the other hand was just the right size to play with Mia. (pssst: see Mia's sweater above? Mom knitted it!) I loved watching Mia talk to the animals, not only because she tells wonderful stories but because it reinforced to me that's it's perfectly normal to have a conversation with a sheep.
Cai had a blast with all the machinery and tools, the tractor, the wheelbarrow, the hammer, the loppers (I was supervising! I promise!). It's so fun to watch his wheels turn as he "figures" things out. He remembered the next morning where the eggs come from and needed to go check to see if there were more for him. There were! And because I'm such a fun Auntie I let him throw it on the ground for the dogs to lick up...hopefully he doesn't do that at home the next time he gets a raw egg in his hands.
Our sweet Godson Liam was an absolute delight, taking it all in and plotting his own adventures for the next time he comes back I'm sure.
There were some tears when Bjorn "pushted" Mia and she fell down and a chicken mistook Mia's adorable little finger for a wiggly worm but, all in all these Texas city kids held their own at The Farmstead. Mia took a nap in our big bed and was immediately swarmed by cats which kind of made my little heart melt. And then when she woke up and they were all screaming at her, which made her smile, I officially turned to mush.
I like to think they'll talk about Uncle Nick and Auntie Rachael's farm...and beg to come back immediately! So until next time Mia, Cai and Liam...we love you!