Some Wonderful Visitors

Through a lovely series of events my siblings, Elias and Betsy, are visiting in all their 8/9 year old glory!  Just today, we have had a dead turtle, a live turtle, a frog, a dead fish & about 100 snail shells respectively smelled, poked, inspected, dissected & gathered.  I am also washing 4 pairs of jeans and two pairs of shoes.  It's wonderfully refreshing to see their passion and interest in life.  Nothing like seeing the world through the eyes of a kid!  

Charissa is absolutely loving this.  You should have seen them playing a board game.  She sat playing with the pieces and Elias would "trade" a card ("I'll give you a sheep for a sheep!") and let her roll.  Betsy helped Charissa collect shells, encouraging and exclaiming all the way.  They are great kids!

Here are some pics from our day:

   Elias with the father of all turtles.  That thing was massive!

 

Mr. Turtle held a captive audience on our front porch.

Them: "Hello, Mr. Turtle!"  Mr. Turtle: "Hissssss!"

Me: "Elias, please watch your finger..."

"Elias...oh never mind."

"Is it a boy or girl? We should take him home!"

 

 

 Mr. Turtle was placed in a cardboard box with a bunch of wilted cilantro.  

He munched for a while then decided this was not the life he was meant to live.

"Get me OUT!"

 He was released to make his merry way back to the pond from which he had been so rudely extracted.

 Elias' shoe pulled from "the sucking mud".  

I found my pair of rubber boots for him to wear.  

Why hadn't I thought of that before?!?

 

We took a small break while I scrubbed the shoes.

Brandt and Charissa can't get enough of their cool aunt and uncle!

After naps, we returned to the mud pit pond to continue our adventures.  

Charissa was loving the mud!

I didn't get to close since I had tennis shoes, 

but the stick Betsy is wielding is retrieving a dead fish.  

 Charissa impressed Uncle Elias with her fishing skills 

(although nothing was caught).

 Playing with the bamboo growing by the pond. 

 

It's loooooong!

Betsy shows off her collection of shells.  

Charissa found a ton more.  

They are now cooking on the stove in her outside kitchen for "dinnah". 

So much fun!  

I am blessed to call these neat people my brother and sister!