Strawberries and Hot Rocks

So our no visitor slump is officially OVER.  We have fast forwarded full speed ahead into loads and loads of FUN!!  The Riley's arrived last Thursday  and surprised the boys.  We had been telling them they would be there when they woke up but due to terrible weather they had to stop Wednesday night and come on the rest of the way Thursday morning.  I didn't tell the boys when we went to Gymboree Thursday morning that they were coming so when they walked in to open play they were totally surprised!  They squealed, screamed, jumped up and down, and took off running to see Poppy and Gamma.  Tag they were it, and in they went for some fun!

They followed us home and all the way Eli kept saying "poppa behind us?" He looked for them as soon as we pulled in the driveway. Poppa stopped for coffee so he was a little delayed and I kept telling them "he's coming, he drives slow".  They would not come inside. They stood on the corner watching for his truck.

Earlier in the week Eli helped me make Poppa and Gamma's bed.  He was a huge help and he ran to his room and got Poppa something.  He came back with a his favorite pillow for Poppa and put it on the bed. He was so proud!  He helped carry in Poppa's bags and showed him where his bed would be.

One of the fun things we did was taking the boys to a pick your own strawberry patch at the local farm we have been visiting to buy our vegetables.  Several home schooling groups had been there before us so the pick wasn't that great, but we had loads of fun anyway!

What was Beckett's favorite part? Eating them of course! He started by pulling them off and eating them and then quickly moved to just leaning down and eating them straight off the plant!  All with the sweetest little mmm's you have ever heard.

And Eli's favorite? Helping Poppa.  Wherever he went, Eli was sure to follow.

After some picking we headed back to the farm shop to get our veggies.  But first, we had to check out the tractor!

I think the boys had just as much causing chaos in the veggie market :-)

And what more perfect way to end the hot day of working in the fields?  By stopping and picking up a 1/2 gallon of Blue Bell homemade ice cream and heading home to enjoy the "fruits" or our labors.. LOVE LOVE LOVE in a bowl.

While they were here for a few days, Justin and I snuck away for a much needed date!  We redeemed a voucher for Marriott and due to a mixup about the hotel were upgraded to an amazing property here in town.  We had a great dinner and a wonderful time away!  Here are a few shots from our night out.

Cooking our dinner on the rocks

on the rooftop pool of our hotel

And Gamma got a great new toy!  She is going to love it I know and the boys will love getting to facetime them now too.  We all enjoyed playing with it while she was here.

As always, Sunday came way too soon.  The boys are finally at the age of realizing what is happening and understanding when they leave.  Tears all around.   The boys were very sad but I knew that it wouldn't be long until they were excited again as the turn around for visitors was going to be fast!  We had a great visit with lots of fun, relaxing, laughing, and loving.  Can't wait for them to come again!

Love, The Riley's