Ramona’s birthday caught us a little off guard this year, with all our international travel and then returning to a flooded apartment. It’s been a bit crazy. The kids baked Ramona some cookies and I was able to take her out for a dinner at a local Greek restaurant.

Kids with cookies for their mom.

Ramona at the Greek restaurant.

This trip back home we had the wonderful opportunity to visit my Grandpa who is over 90. He is still sharp as a tack and he loves to play cards. We only had time to visit for a few days, but it was a fun filled couple of days. I think we might have broken a few rules of the assisted living home and probably disturbed a few of its residents, but they were gracious and let us enjoy our grandpa.

Grandpa in a heated game of cards. Notice the poker face (even though we only play 500)

Grandpa and the girls.

Grandpa and all the boys.

One of the highlights of our trip was a visit to the train museum in St. Paul, MN. They had lots of interesting carriages, engines, and we even got to ride on a real train. The kids had a blast and of course there were Thomas the train sets there and so much of the time Timothy was at the table playing with a model train set. The whole family enjoyed our trip.

Ramona and Abby on an old engine.

Timothy testing the seating of a passenger car.

Mural inside the train museum.