And then got to do one of his most favorite things with his big cousin. He loves it! Well, so does Brady for that matter.
Jason decided to get in on the action and the race began. Brady was cracking me up wearing his helmet with the riding lawn mower. 
Neck and neck.
And then the chase continued.
Yes, that is yours truly riding with my 8 year old nephew. He kept saying "hang on, Aunt Nen!" 
Meanwhile Leti was taking it all in on the other side of the pond. 
There was a lot of this . . .
and this . . .
for a good part of the afternoon. It was such a beautiful day!
Grandma Rhonda got a pedal boat ride.
The little boys love the lily pond . . . there are a lot of frogs there.
Lots of playing.
For dinner we celebrated Sydney's 4th birthday and Brady's 8th birthday. Their birthdays were at the beginning of August during the time the E's were moving. Since all the fam was in town, we had their birthday party Saturday night. The Witts came for the party.
The birthday girl who had and OWL birthday party.
Complete with owl popcorn balls!
Auntie Kim (Dietz) got to meet Aunt Leti.
Time for p-pops.
Near bed-time silliness.
Said good-bye to Grandma Rhonda and Grandpa Doyle.
Tia Leti got to put the little monkey to bed.
With the music box of course.
The little boys love the lily pond . . . there are a lot of frogs there.Lots of playing.For dinner we celebrated Sydney's 4th birthday and Brady's 8th birthday. Their birthdays were at the beginning of August during the time the E's were moving. Since all the fam was in town, we had their birthday party Saturday night. The Witts came for the party.The birthday girl who had and OWL birthday party.Complete with owl popcorn balls!Auntie Kim (Dietz) got to meet Aunt Leti. Time for p-pops.Near bed-time silliness.Said good-bye to Grandma Rhonda and Grandpa Doyle.Tia Leti got to put the little monkey to bed.
With the music box of course.
This is what the boys did while the girls were in the kitchen.
I learned a great trick with avocados . . . if they are a little harder than you would like them, run a sharp knife through them to soften them up. 
Here is the beginning of chile, or salsa, as we Iowans call it.
The three of us had so much fun in the kitchen all morning.
Leti even made homemade tortilla chips with her special seasoning. YUM.
I think it was near this point that Leti said, "There aren't enough Mexicans in Iowa!!" She wasn't able to find the right flour for tortillas to make them the way she likes to. She said she is bringing her own mesa (flour) next time!
Here was the first course (sorry for the blurry picture). Lucky for us, we're still enjoying the salsa this week (she made at least a gallon!).
The guac, however, didn't last. This was hands-down the best guacamole I've EVER had. My brother, who has never tried/liked guacamole, became a big fan.
Here is the rest of the spread . . . homemade beef gravy (I'm sure it has an official Mexican name), rice, beans and all the toppings. Oh, and homemade tortillas! It was all SO GOOD!
She fed probably 25 people or so! She finally got to sit down with the fam to eat herself.
Of course Abram had to introduce his Tia Leti to his best friends, Reece and Jaida.
I couldn't resist this picture!
It didn't take him long at all to warm up to her.
Not long after we got in the car, Abram was cuddling with Leti in the back seat.
Abram having a serious talk with his monkey! (We gave Jessie Wheeler, in the background, a ride home from college in Kansas City.)
Kate's kids had the entry decorated with welcome signs and a Happy Birthday sign when we arrived. It was Leti's birthday on September 1st. Kate said Sydney kept asking when "Aunt Leti" was going to get there. 
After dinner, my dad and brother took some of the kids for a paddle boat ride.
We hung out in the yard. I couldn't believe we were wearing jackets! It was very cool.
