Gramma, Auntie, and lots of real German food

This week, Steve's mother and sister Beth visited us for three days.  They live in Minnesota, and we don't see each other as often as we'd like.  With three grown children of her own, Beth seemed to relish Eva's little kid energy and the boys' preteen vibes.  Grandma, of course, lives for her grandkids.

We had a wonderful time and spent a lot of time cooking and enjoying made-from-scratch meals, some of them original German fare (kaesspaetzle, sauerkraut with ham, apple pie).

The kids relished the visit, of course.  Getting that much one-on-one attention all day long is rare with us boring parents, so having Grandma and Auntie Beth to play with was a treat, especially for little Eva.  Steve took Eva to pick them up at the airport, and upon seeing Beth for the first time in years, Eva remarked, "Wow! Auntie Beth looks like a teenager girl!" I bet this statement helped cement the immediate love between the two.

Grandma and Beth spent hours playing games with the kids.  Bless their hearts and their patience with Eva, who kept proclaiming how smart she is, since she beat everyone at "Memory" almost every time.  Nope, my daughter doesn't lack in self confidence (but could use some humility.  Ahem).

One excursion involved ice cream and the pumpkin patch at Cascadian Farm.  Although I grew plenty of pie pumpkins in my garden, the boys insisted on picking a huge one at the pumpkin patch.  Who am I to stop them?

After hauling giant orange vegetables on our shoulders, we went fishing by the river, where poor Grandma had to sit in the grass on the bank, while the kids fished and, in Eva's case, baked mud pies with her best friend.

See poor Gramma sitting over there on the other bank, merrily knitting away?

On the way back from the river, we ran into some friendly cows who licked our hands with their grey (yes: grey!), slimy, sandpaper-y tongues.

On the last day of their visit, we visited the "East side" (a two hour drive over the North Cascades), stuffing our faces at the Cinnamon Twisp Bakery, fishing at Pearrygin State Park, playing in the fall leaves, and visiting Sun Mountain Lodge with its stunning views and tame deer.

My sweetie and I

This beautiful spot is a mere one hour drive from our house and is called Washington Pass

I will leave you with images that touched my heart this week:

The morning sky after milking the goats...

...fall leaves...

... and more fall leaves...