Pickle juice and sausage

I brought my Beans back with me on Thanksgiving Day.
 They were here until Sunday. Then, the Prospector (Papa) drove them half-way home and met their daddy at Flag City, so no one would have to drive the whole, almost three hour, trip.
We had a wonderful visit with moments of chaos and silliness...

Leaving Cutter and Carl wondering what was going on.

Leaving Carl with pillows and little stuffed animals... and socks to chew on.

 You sly dog, Carl. I know you've got your eye on that little, stuffed animal. I know you're not asleep.

We made bird feeders out of empty toilet paper rolls, peanut butter and birdseed. I didn't take any pictures. I had peanut butter on the fingers.
We drove them to the river...

 for a few hours of panning for gold.

They love "going for the gold", and learning how hard it is to retrieve this valuable resource.

Papa shows them how to find the "good spots" and how to have patience.

They always have a smile for Noni's camera.

We went to the Thanksgiving Weekend Christmas Delights in downtown Jackson on Friday night.
Santa arrived on a fire truck...

 The Christmas tree was lit...

All the Main Street businesses were open.

 Santa gave out candy.

One Bean learned to play pool.

Little Bean finally crashed in a comfy recliner waiting for his brother.

All the decorations were delightful.

The weather was nice. We went with a neighbor and her grandson. He was visiting too.
The next day I took them all to a movie. Now I know that movie reviews aren't always accurate. They said that Big Hero 6 was pretty benign, but the ending was very intense and the boys came out of there very quiet. My youngest grandson said that his heart hurt at the end. Mine did too.  I will just say that some of these animated movies are more like "sheep's clothing" for adults.

I love having the Beans here. It's kind of like a small whirlwind for a few days but we love it.
Saying goodnight and tucking them into bed with their pillows...

 ...takes me back to a time when my boys were little and life was about children, noise, toys, learning to be good parents and having patience.

They are good together and I would offer this photo as proof.

Of course, you know it wasn't like this the whole time, because they are filled with what I heard them say one night, from the bedroom door.
They were  hysterical... they were laughing and being really silly.
Then I heard one say, "Pickle juice" and the other answered "Sausage!". Then, they went to sleep.
Yep, that's the kind of weekend it was...