Samming

Sam Spendlove, Jonny and Jenny's one-year-old, stayed with Dave and me over Memorial Day weekend, May 22-25, 2015.  Actually, we had Sam from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m., and Jenny's parents, Dave and Shelly Leatham, had him from 7 p.m. till 7 a.m.  We were meticulous about picking Sam up and dropping him off as promised!  Sam adores Jenny's mom, his "Nana," and Jonny and Jenny decided she would be the best one to get him to sleep each night.   

 Dave and I took turns showing Sam the town.  Dave took Sam to the zoo twice.

Dave and I took Sam to the cemetery together to decorate graves, and we watched with amazement as he read the letters off gravestones.  Sam's Great-grandma Rose would have been impressed.

 Sam loved grocery shopping in his special car.

 Despite our best efforts, and Sam's remarkable one-year-old courage, Sam occasionally got teary.

 I took Sam and Camille's little kids--Sophia, Ezra, and Mia--toThanksgiving Point.  We visited the Baby Animal Birthday party, with pony rides and baby chicks.

We stopped at the Café for ice cream cones and sundaes.  Sam was fascinated with the maraschino cherry.  Mia, Ezra, and Sophia preferred the ice cream!

On Memorial Day, Camille came with us to Thanksgiving Point again.  I bought an annual Grandparents' pass, so we could visit as often as we like.  We spent an hour or more letting the children play in the Museum of Natural Curiosity.

 Ezra and Mia tried the hurricane room, where wind velocities exceeded 80 mph.

 Sam and his cousins dug in colored sand.

While Camille and her children tried the ropes course, Dave and I stayed with Sam in the baby and toddler enclosure.  Sam was protective of his red ball and didn't like the idea of a baby crawling after it!

Sam was a brave guy on the slide.  He insisted on being lifted to the top slide over and over, and he slid down without a whimper.

 We stopped at Zupa's for lunch.

 We drove over a mountain pass to Cascade Springs, and we loved the hazy views.

Sam snoozed in the car with David as Camille and I took Ezra and Mia on the boardwalk around the springs.

Ezra made a reed whistle from the grasses around the springs.

We then drove to Kanab for shakes at a funky general store/café.