Visit from Grandpa Paul

Last week, life carried on in the usual way.

Then Grandpa Paul came to visit!  On a beautiful Saturday, we went to Evelyn's for seafood.

The whole bellies, lobster rolls, and chowder and clam cakes were delicious as always.

The meal knocked the kids out.

But later, Oliver revived enough to help me grill.

On Sunday, we mostly stuck around home and played.

Madeline and I found a grasshopper in the yard and caught it.  We observed it with a magnifying glass and then let it go again.

Madeline sorted her rocks.

Then we did something exciting ...

... we made our first excursion to Olneyville N.Y. System for hot wieners and coffee milk!

N.Y. System is a Rhode Island institution that's just a short walk from our house, but somehow we'd never been.  Perhaps surprisingly, it's a well-respected institution too -- it just won a James Beard Foundation America's Classics award.

We decided that its honors were deserved.

For his part, though, Oliver mostly enjoyed the decor.

Later, Madeline donned her space suit.

Then Grandpa Paul had to fly back to Oregon, and another week began.