We MADE it!!!

After a long flight and many hours in the airport(s) and a little run-in with "homeland security" in Houston due to mistaken identity, we finally arrived in Mpls Sunday mid-afternoon. Sierra was so excited to see her grandparents. She was also very excited about indulging in many American foods she has missed over the past 11.5 months. As a result, she was not feeling well Sunday night, but I think she is now realizing the danger of eating 2 apple pies from MacDonalds, 1 s'more, 1 campfire cooked hotdog and part of a dish of strawberry shortcake all in the same evening.
She has leveled off and is being smarter now. We have been relaxing, catching up on sleep, and visiting missed friends and family since our arrival. Not to mention, enjoying the wildlife surrounding mom and dad's house.






Here is a picture of the box turtle that travelled around the backyard earlier this week. Sierra enjoyed taking a few pictures as it crawled from pond to woods, perhaps looking for somewhere to bury its eggs. This morning we watched a family of Canadian geese walk the back part of the yard toward the pond in what looked like one of the first swims for the gosslings. It is so quiet and peaceful out here. Feels good to have some respite from busy city life.

This morning, Sierra was looking for the step stool in the hall closet when she came across her bin of toys and books. It was so quiet in the house when I walked in to find her silently sitting in the hallway surrounded by things familiar.





My dad has several projects he is looking forward to working on with Joe while we are here. Here they are cutting wood and making a door for the smokehouse. There are plans for a "playhouse/observation deck" to go up on the treeline next to the field while we are here--all the material is all ready purchased. Grandpa is saying it will make a good playhouse for the grandkids, but we all know he's looking forward to hours sitting there watching deer.

Monday afternoon we went to visit with the Marins. Sierra is one of the family in this house of 7 and she fell right back into place while we were there. Becca made the comment, "When Sierra is here, everybody gets along." Sierra used to spend many days with the Marins, especially during the summers when I would teacher summer school. This was her "summer house" of sorts. Here are the girls having a tea party on the deck. It is such a blessing to see these kids playing together as if no time has passed.