Puhppa's visit

So last week, Mike went to Seattle. Natalie and I had originally planned to join him, but after all the travel this summer and just getting Natalie adjusted to preschool, it seemed like too much.

So off Daddy went. But all was not totally lost, as Grandma Pat (Puhppa) came in for a visit (we actually discovered that now Natalie can say "grandma", but she still prefers "Puhppa").

(Note that's neither her car nor her sippy cup.)

I was grateful for her company and her help - clearly we had our hands full!

Natalie also had her hands full, clearly.

Puhppa was kind enough to take Natalie to school on Wednesday, and to pick her up on Friday. Since Puhppa was in town for a Friday, she also got to go to shabbat at Natalie's school; neither Mike nor I have been yet, but, by all reports, it's quite the scene.

We were lucky enough to get a bit of cool spell here recently. We've even had the windows open a bit (first time since April, I kid you not!). Of course, the state seems to have traded cooler temperatures for savage fires, so it hardly seems like luck at all. However, the fires are actually quite far from us - the worst ones (the Bastrop complex) is close to Austin, which is 3 hours from here; the one closer to us (the Possum Kingdom fire) seems to be contained. I know the news is bad (all bad) out of Texas, but I just want to share with you a picture of our local walking trail, nary a forest fire or a nutty governor in sight.

So, taking advantage of the cooler temps (and a very early wake-up time in our house, thanks to one particular short family member), we were actually able to hit the park with Puhppa.

After the park, we went to Starbuck's for breakfast. Pumpkin bread was a big hit.

We spent a lot of the rest of the weekend playing inside. Attempting to help Natalie get over her oh-so-screamy baths, Puhppa suggested that she and Natalie give the doll a bath.

Natalie also cooked for us in her new kitchen. In fact, "play kitchen" is often the first thing she asks to do in the morning!

(In the picture above on the right, I think she was making "ice tea". She and I had a comedic moment earlier this week when I tried to tell her that "hot ice tea" was actually just called . . . "tea". I promised her that this fact would "blow her mind". Instead, she just wandered around the living room announcing "Nani blow mind, Nani blow mind . . . hot ice tea."). 

(Iced tea is, as you might have guessed, kind of a big concept in our house these days. But the second most-cooked item in the kitchen? Dried cherries. I kid you not.)

Here are few more inside shots, mugging for the camera, and then with her own camera ("Nani take a picture, Nani take a picture.").

And, yeah, Daddy was missed. Quite a lot.