Visiting the Villa Loretto

Great Grandma Pauly lives in the assisted living at Villa Rosa (an extension off of the nursing home, Villa Loretto, where Grandma Pauly works as an RN). The facility is run by nuns and one of them, Sister Steven, has a passion for animals. So she created a working ranch that has expanded greatly over the years. So whenever we go to visit Great Grandma, we usually have to see the animals too!

Search for fish

On the bridge

Great Grandma Pauly with Grandpa Pauly

Caleb with the pig

Goats

A very pregnant donkey

Grandma Pauly and Sonya

Llamas

Family

Grandpa Pauly and Caleb

Sheep

Walking with Sonya

Switching hands

Ever seen a "naked" llama? They sheared this one

Donkey

Llama coming to say "hello"

He's very photogenic

Emu

Llamas again

Getting a ride from Grandpa

Shadows

Walking along the fence

Did I mention that Caleb has an obsession with cars yet? Well, that along with garages. He loves being able to ride in other people's vehicles. This time, he got to go in Grandma and Grandpa's van. He was THRILLED!

Caleb was excited to ride in Grandpa's van

Once we got back to the Pauly house, we played Uncle Wiggly and Chutes and Ladders while Grandpa grilled some hamburgers, peppers, and zucchini. It was delicious! So was the cherry/raspberry cheese torte that we had for dessert. After lunch, we played Wii bowling and took a few photos with Great Grandma. These were the ones that turned out the best:

Three generations photo

The kids sitting with Great Grandma Pauly

Sonya: A doctor in the making?

Sonya loves to carry the medical kit bag around the house. She even knows how to put the stethoscope on... well, kind of. It's pretty funny how she carries the bag like it's a purse sometimes and says, "Buh-bye" to all of us like she's leaving to go somewhere. I love my little doctor. 

Enjoying the HOT, summer weather

There have been quite a few hot days this summer so when Tim got a tree saw to trim the branches off the roof, he thought it'd be fun for the kids to be able to cool off with a sprinkler. Best investment yet!

Setting up the sprinkler

Sonya got a little wet

Getting ready to run through!

Meanwhile, daddy is trimming the tree

Drying off for a bit

Back to the sprinkler!

Catching the water

Now Daddy is here!

Since everyone was wet anyway, it was a good time to wash the cars. Caleb was a big helper while Sonya and I were good spectators. :-)

Washing the car!

Almost clean!

Watching the boys wash the car

Making sure they don't miss a spot!

Birthday in July

My baby turned 5 this year! Since we didn't have plans on the 4th of July and Caleb's birthday was the next day, we just decided to have a little Independence Day party. The Pauly side of the family came over to celebrate. We had sloppy joes, watermelon, strawberries, veggies, and who can have a party without cake?

Caleb's birthday Dirt Cake!! 

Blowing out the candles

Enjoying his cake!! -- Yum!

The whole gang

Cleaning off the spoon -- Big mouth! haha

Opening gifts

From Aunt Jenny - a Toy Story 3 car

and some squirt guns

Who is this one from?

It's got a car! I love cars :-)

Opening his package from Grandma Nikolai -- it was a bulldozer!

Sonya is enjoying Caleb's new slinky

After eating and opening gifts, we enjoyed hanging out in our backyard. The squirt guns were filled up and the cool water was refreshing in the heat while watermelon juice dribbled down our chins. My mom, the kids, and I watched as the rest of them played horseshoes (pruning some leaves and branches off our red maple in the process).  This is what summer is all about!

Later that night, we had some friends over to have ice cream and watch a movie. We looked out the window and saw Caleb cruising along in his dump truck. He was using it kind of like a scooter/skateboard. I had to take a photo.

Riding in the dump truck

Caleb had been promised that we'd go see the fireworks, but we weren't sure if the kids would make it until then. Plus, we didn't want to get bit by mosquitoes or deal with the crowds. Once it got dark, we could hear the fireworks from our house and could just see the tops of them as they were launched up over the lake. So I put Caleb in the stroller and we ran down the road until we could get a better glimpse of them. The rest of the gang joined us a few minutes later and we just sat there without the bustle of the crowd enjoying the view.

Since Tim had to work on Caleb's actual birthday, he left a message for him: 

A message in Fruit Loops :-)

It tasted GOOD!