August family visit (2 of 2)

Also between visits, we headed down to Colt State Park in Bristol for a picnic lunch.  Madeline fed Oliver blueberries.

And she danced in the fields.

We roamed.

The kiddos admired a kite flying nearby.

Oliver pretended a rock was a phone.

While Madeline used lots of rocks ...

... to build ...

... a fairy house.

Afterward, the kiddos were tired.

I decided it was time to begin initiating Madeline into a favorite Lockart family pasttime: cards.  We played Go Fish, and Madeline was hooked.

Then more visitors arrived!: Uncle David, Sally, cousin Nathan, Brenna, and little Victor.

Madeline and Victor in particular got along very well.

Oliver was happy enough doing his own thing (which, right now, is sitting in chairs).

On Monday, the gang (minus me) headed to the Roger Williams Park playground.

Then they returned home, where Madeline whiled away the hours with her new favorite past time: drawing people.  I believe this is a self portrait.

When I got home from work, all the kiddos were busy playing together.

But before too long, Nathan, Brenna, and Victor had to take off.

The next morning, Grandma Mandy and Grandpa Paul had to fly back to Oregon, so we squeezed in some evening goodbyes.

While Grandma Mandy and Grandpa Paul were here, Grandpa Paul installed some new smoke detectors. Tuesday evening, my cooking set one off.  Oliver was captivated.

That evening, Madeline stayed up late with us (until 8pm!) watching a gubernatorial debate.

At the end, she declared that she wanted the girl (Gina Raimondo) to win -- quite the endorsement for Raimondo.

[Note: I'm still over a week behind.  This will be remedied.  The past week includes the momentous event of Madeline's switch to a new school -- stay tuned!]