If It's Thursday....

 

...it must be time for a "What The Grandkids Are Up To" post.

We have prepared for winter,

 finding and buying the perfect hats and gloves.

 Alas, winter is nowhere in sight.  You can imagine how upset I am about that.

 So we did the next best thing: got out the organic, omega-3, 1% chocolate milk and drank a bunch while,

 viewing Hailey's favorite leaf and bug collection.

Heads up: ladybugs are fine when inside Hailey's ziploc bag. If they escape, as they are apt to do, Hailey will turn into a shrieking, hysterical, bug-fearing mess. THAT is much more entertaining than a ladybug.

 We decided to head to Lake Elmo to free ladybug.

The great thing about having grandkids is discovering all of the new and improved playgrounds that have sprung up around town since I had little kids,

 and the skill with which Makayla manages to color-coordinate with the playground of the day without even knowing where we are going.

 Makayla and Hailey especially like the communication pipe,

the kind where you talk in one end and the person on the other end can hear you.

 Especially when you're yelling loud enough that the whole USA can hear you.

Lake Elmo is beautiful in the Fall-and we are having a warm, lovely Autumn.

No trip to Lake Elmo is complete without some poking around in the water,

and some strolling on the "beach". This little boy in yellow thought we were having so much fun, he decided to join us.

We collected some special, extra gray, Lake Elmo rocks,

 and some lovely weeds wildflowers,

which joined the leaves and duck feathers in my camera case to take home.

 This little guy following us around found a dead fish which he carried for awhile before tossing it back into the lake. People! Your children will pick disgusting things and no one will stop them if you let them follow strange grandmas around!

We drew some pictures in the sand.

Makayla said this big, round thing is me. Obviously, it's time to cut back on the ice cream.  
Again.
 
Okay, still.

 Despite our perfect weather, winter's coming-it's already beginning to get dark around 5.

Makayla answering the age-old question "What's in there?" with "Nuffing!"

We got home just in time to eat some nutritious hot dogs (are there any other kind?) and greet Grandpa and receive a Met Life promotional toy before he ran out the door to a meeting.

Life is good!