Fun @ Grandma & Grandpa's!

Ok, so being thousands of miles from our ONLY grandchildren was not the most intelligent move of our lives,  but we do LOVE living in Cache Valley.  So, of course, when they come to visit we are delighted to show them a fun time!! They arrived late Wednesday night (about 10:00 pm) and Grandma was sitting on the tailgate of Grandpa's truck, anxious to see their arrival.... We gathered up their things and escorted them into the house, all talking at once.  We were sooo glad to see them, safe and sound!  It's SUCH a long drive. About 18 hours, depending on side trips and stops to let little ones expend some energy.  We showed them the accomodations, got them settled, and put them to bed.
    The next morning we started out about 9:30 am for a shortened version of our standard Outlet Tour of Cache Valley (no, it not commercial, we just do it alot...).  We headed up almost to Idaho for the first stop at the outlet of the Pepperidge Farms Bakery.  Smells sooo good there.  They have 2nds of whatever they happened to be making the night before for $2/ lb in bags that hold about 3 lbs.  They just happened to be making Mint Milanos the night before, and some special Christmas Candy Cane Mint Milanos.  We got so many bags, I was afraid the other shoppers might start a riot!!!!  We had to get some for our sons in Layton, some to eat, and some for Grant, Carrie, and kiddos to take home. And, of course, some for Grandpa to hoard!  lol   We next stopped at Lower Foods, an upscale Deli and specialty meat preparer.  End cuts of Turkey were $1.49/lb.  We got Turkey and Ham and Pastrami end cuts.  We also got some awesome pulled BBQ pork that was a terrific buy.  Grant and Carrie took a case home, and we got some to eat while they were here.
     Next we stopped at the pajama outlet, then the sock factory, then home with tired little girls and boys... ok, ok -- maybe the adults were ready for naps, too!!
      After lunch we packed up and headed for the tulles (sp?) -- really, the huge lake in the bottom of the valley that is surrounded by cattails, tulles, and generally looks pretty swampy.  We unloaded the kayaks and got Grant and Carrie out on the water.  We had made outriggers to help stabilize the kayak for Grandpa, Uncle Geoff, Grandma, and whoever else might need additional stability.  Grant started out with the outriggers, but came right back and asked to have them removed. So he and Carrie tooled around out on the lake while Cammy, Grandpa, and Grandma inflated the other boat.  Soon we were ready, and Grant and Carrie came back to shore.  We decided Grandma and Carrie would take the little girls out on the inflatable boat, while Grant and Cammy skimmed over the lake on the kayaks.  Grandma being significantly heavier  (OK, ok  it would take 3 of Carrie to equal Grandma...) than Carrie, the boat was low in the back and high in the front, making it difficult to row and steer.  Carrie's Physics education came in handy, tho, and after shifting a little, we were better able to maneuver.  Cammy and Grant had gone about twice as far as we got, and by the time we were nearing the dock, Superdad Grant came skimming up and used his kayak to help push us to the dock and ashore!  What a fun ride!  Sadly, not one of us thought to pack a camera, so we are without proof of this wonderful activity.  We were just starting to prepare lunch when Grandma realized she hadn't packed the pot to cook the BBQ pork in, so we decided to head home for lunch.  While we were packing up, Grant and Grandpa went to the bulletin board to look at the map of the lake.  They were surprised and unhappy to learn of a wasps' nest near the map, and Grant ran faster than Grandpa, so was able to avoid the two wasp stings that Grandpa suffered.... We got home, ate lunch, and bagged the evening plans -- we were all just too tired! We put the little ones to bed and the grownups played a couple of games of Pandemic, driving poor Grant to distraction...

    In the morning, Carrie played Pandemic with Grant so that he could finally win the game. It's a group effort, no one winner, but often the game defeats the players...  After a leisurely breakfast, we left for another part of the outlet tour -- the cheese factory and the honey shop.  The cheese factory has "Squeaky Cheese" (ie. cheese curds) and lots of varieties of cheeses and shelf-stable boxed milk in about 15 flavors.  They also sell shelf stable whipping cream and half and half, great for cooking.  And you can keep it on hand, not always have to run out for it special.  LOVE mashed potatoes made with whipping cream.... mmmmmmm.
YUM.   The honey factory stores it's honey in huge vats in the roof area of their quonset-hut type outbuilding.  If you bring your own containers, they simply open a tap, and blurp! out flows the honey.  We had them fill two small bottles for Carrie.  We took a quick tour of their gift shop inside the main store, saw the bees in the glass hive, and took off for home.  Made lunch of cheese, crackers, and fresh fruits and veggies. Grant and Carrie took off for a date, and Grandma and Cammy took the kids to see the animals at a nearby farm.  They got to pet chickens, ducks, and goats, and run thru the corn rows, see the raspberry patch, and jump on a trampoline.

 Then we drove by the llama and the donkeys, and drove over to the next little town to see the buffalo.  The kids were pretty worn out, so back home we went.
    When we got home, Grant and Carrie were back, and showed us their purchases (school books) and then we went out to see Grandpa and Grandma's garden.  We have grapes growing up in the pine trees, some of them 30 feet up.  Carrie volunteered to pick them, if we had a ladder.  Superdad Grant held the ladder firm while Carrie the Agile climbed the tree!!

                                               A kiss for the holder of the ladder!
 She picked lots of grapes, and the girls and grandma picked tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant and apples. The grapes are tiny, with large seeds.  But that didn't stop Gauge or the girls!! They just ate them seeds and all!  If they start growing grape leaves out their ears, don't blame Grandma!!! lol  We checked out the raspberries and rhubarb, but they weren't ready to pick.
That evening we had movie night and watched Epic.  It was great, and we all had a good rest!!
                             to be continued.....