A visit from the folks

Hubby called me out last night when he whined from his laptop "No new posts?!?"  This coming from the same guy who conceals his amusement with a smirky little smile every time I mention the blog.  So, this post is not for you buddy!  It's for my parents.  Because I have pictures to share from their visit last month.

Nana and Papa brought Easter eggs!

 A trip to the park.

Where I realized why traditions are meant to be passed on.  It's why grandmother no longer bakes the pies at Christmas time.  You know, because her arthritis is bothering her and she'd rather just sit and watch her children's children do the baking...adding the ingredients by heart because they spent years helping her in the kitchen.  And Grandmother would be amazed that this thing called tradition began with her and would continue long after she is gone.  Ah, the beauty of the whole "passing the torch" thing.  Something my dad is not quite ready to embrace.  At least not when it comes to his underdog.
I don't know if he actually invented "the underdog," but when I was a little girl I was pretty much convinced that no dad was as cool as mine and could send their kid flying on a swing the way he could.  I must have done a good job convincing my dad of this, because it seems he still believes it! 
Which would probably explain why, after stumbling on his first attempt, he turned down my offer to execute the underdog (which, fyi, I do so perfectly) and try again.  This was the last picture I took of attempt #2 because after this, my dad was on the ground and C was headed that way.  Amazingly, my father sustained no injuries and was given a chance to redeem himself because C wanted him to try again.  I gave him an out, but he wanted his Papa. 

Maybe next time my dad will decide to leave it to the youngsters and take up a place on the park bench.  Whenever that time comes, rest assured Dad, you taught me well.  I got this. ;)

Speaking of traditions, I just can't plant flowers by myself.  I have fond memories of sitting on the front steps of my childhood home planting flowers with my dad.  (And when I say "with my dad" I mean that I sat next to my dad and always managed to keep my hands clean while performing the task of deciding which flower should go where.)

Hmm, it would seem that not much has changed.  Especially now that my dad has a helper who actually enjoys getting dirt under his nails.

 Yes, those are dining utensils.  That's how we roll.

 My little springtime patio.

 Taking the bike out for a spin.

C had been asking for awhile if when Nana and Papa came to see us we could take them to the place with the knights.

 Off to Medieval Times we went!

 Nana was not only talked into buying one of those cheap light up swords for C, but she also got duped into purchasing our "royal photo." :)

 Waiting for the train...headed to D.C.

 We rode around on one of those open-top tour buses.  It. was. awesome.  I mean, other than the fact that I wasn't able to walk two hundred miles and get really up close and personal with Abe Lincoln, and I really, really missed being able to read everything..because you know I'm a total history buff.  Other than all that, it was awesome. :)  C really enjoyed it too.  He wants to go back and do it again and get off at the space museum and the museum where "Mom they have dinosaurs and diamonds!"
 We took the route that went out to Arlington Cemetery so we actually drove on the highway. 

 It was a tad breezy.

 All tuckered out after a long day in the big city.

C and I both really enjoyed having my folks in town!