Last hurrah part 2

We had another hurrah day with our grands.  Charlie, Ceci and Michael came to visit (with mom and dad)  and we packed a lot of activity into a day.  It was the first time Charlie had seen our new house and the first time our son and DIL saw it after its reformation. 

 First stop: feed the ducks down by the river. 

 They were all excited the swan came over for a taste.  Mike called the swan the momma and the two other white farm ducks the babies.  He was very jump up and down excited to see the swan so close.

Ceci could NOT resist the Showboat stage. 

 Talk about not resisting...Charlie was just itching to get into the woods in back of the house. We decided the creek needed to be explored and being almost 10 he didn't choose the path of least resistance.  But this fungus stopped him!  "Grandma! Look at the size of this fungus!"

 Crossing the stream on a slippery mossy log was something they did but I know my limitations.

They were building dams.  Ceci chose to use sticks and had Grandma gathering them from the top and tossing them down to her to glue together with clay.  I told her she was building a dam like a beaver does and she was very proud of her creation.  It didn't hold much water back but it did a little...you can see it pooling at her feet.

 Charlie chose to use rocks.  At one point he saw a very large rock upstream and went to get it by rolling it over and over downstream to his dam.  Ceci, ever the problem solving woman she is, decided her dam needed some rocks and while Charlie was struggling with rolling his big rock down, took his smaller rocks one by one and added them to her dam so when Charlie finally got his big rock to his spot, there wasn't anything left!  At that point Charlie admitted defeat and tried to build a bridge across with fallen branches. Such a gentleman.

 Adelaide and Elizabeth came to play and have supper.  When these two put their heads together there isn't much they don't think up.

 And while the older two played a card game with SIL...

Chef  Mikey helped with supper.  He counted the corn on the cob and put the breadsticks on the sheetpan  and then did the dishes.

 Charlie and Elizabeth started to build a shelter on the hill and before the kids left the next morning, Charlie wanted to go back up there to work on it so in his pajamas he's up the hill weaving sticks. 
When they left he said this was the best house ever and to never, ever leave this one.  Phew! We pass muster!

 All said and done, PH settled into the newspaper with the woodpeckers in the trees right in front of him keeping him company.

 So, if you've come this far in the weekend, here's what I'm almost finished with.  Two of these runners for Christmas for the two families. On Thanksgiving I give each family some decorative Christmas quilty thing so they will have it for the Christmas season.  Sometimes ornaments, sometimes something else.  It's a wool project but I'm working it in fabric.

It needs some embroidery finishes but the time commitment was in the applique.  It was so nice to get back into it.