Fun with Family in Autumn

♫ Autumn Leaves ♫

Spending time with family is one of the greatest joys of life.  Our daughter, Noel, came from New Hampshire to visit Samuel and us for the long weekend.  I know she really misses her grown son, Samuel, who lives with us while he is attending college.  It was a beautiful weekend spent being together.

Wreath on our mantle

On Friday, she treated us to dinner at a local restaurant to celebrate her Daddy's birthday.  Then on Saturday we went to our son's home in Richmond for a visit.  While we were there we cleaned out the inside of pumpkins and Alex and Miles and Samuel carved their pumpkins.

Samuel, Alex and Miles

The children certainly enjoyed themselves as well as Boo and Bear.  We had pizza for lunch, which is always a hit with the children.

The next day we went to Mount Vernon.  We are very lucky to have many historical sites to visit nearby.  We are history nuts and enjoy any excuse to go to one of these sites.  It was a rainy morning but then cleared off to make for an enjoyable day.  Of course, Mount Vernon, was the home of our first President, George Washington.  This beautiful property is on the Potomac.

Rear View of Mount Vernon

Front of Mount Vernon

I didn't realize photos were not allowed in the mansion.  So I was snapping away.  Oops-- But I must show you one photo that always gives me chills.

Bastille Key

The Marquis de Lafayette gave George Washington the key to the main prison at Bastille.  The key was given to Lafayette after the Bastille was stormed in July 14, 1789.  This speaks to the respect that Lafayette felt for Washington.

After touring the inside of Mount Vernon we explored the grounds and the dependencies.  I always enjoy seeing kitchens from long ago.

Mount Vernon is a special place to enjoy and to learn more about George Washington.  Inside the museum we are amazed at the similarity of our grandson, Samuel, and George Washington at about the same age.

The model of Washington was made from a computer generated likeness of him at the age of nineteen.  Samuel is twenty years old.

  Autumn in Virginia is a great time to explore the historical sites nearby.

Funny Paper Conversations

♫ Music ♫

Having our college student grandson living with us is a joy!  We are happy to have him in our home and enjoy the interface with him on a daily basis.  It's not our job to raise this young man. His parents did a fine job with that!  Of course, we want to influence him as any grandparent wants.  There are dozens of ways to begin talks about numerous topics.

Samuel enjoys the theatre and had parts in many high school plays.  We travelled to New England to see his performances when he was in high school.  I say all of this to point out that he is quite entertaining to be around.  Every day he reads the comics to us!  Can we read?  Of course--but his readings are quite entertaining to us.

The comics always lead to conversations about many things.  We discuss workplace drama after he reads Dilbert for instance.  After reading Pickles he often jokes that is this like Boo (Me) or like Bear (Grayden)--If you read Pickles it is about an elderly couple and their interface with each other and family members.  Today's story arc led to interesting thoughts.





Earl, the old man in the comic, apparently was being admonished by his wife Opal.  Their daughter, Sylvia told her mother that her father had never said he loves her.  This led to quite an interesting conversation about that.  In our family we tell each other we love them quite frequently.  It's a natural way to end calls or bedtime goodnights.

I understand that many folks don't do this.  Of course, words can mean nothing if not backed by true feelings.  Do you tell your loved ones that you love them?

If you love someone tell them...because hearts are often broken by words left unspoken.