Family Visit & Fun

Supplies & equipment

Our week-long stay in RI was a reunion of family members living in several states. We had not seen some family in almost 2 years.  

While this was a reunion, it was a couple of other things too. Grenville and son-in-law spent 4 days rewiring daughter No. 1's home. Their tools and equipment were assembled in the living room and this shows some of the assembled materials. 

Before the electrical work started, daughter and grandson had spent the past several weeks stripping the home's interior down to the lathe work. The goal is to add insulation and new drywall to the 1920s home before colder winter months arrive in New England.

Gutted interior of Shannon's RI home

The above collage shows some of the house interior. Since the house was off limits to children and adults, except for those working there, outside activities and indoor activities elsewhere were necessary to keep youngsters busy.

Family members enjoyed a day outing to Roger William Park Zoo

It was all happening at the Roger Williams Park Zoo, one of Rhode Island’s most popular attractions, where family members spent Sunday afternoon. Founded in 1872, this is the third oldest zoo in the U.S. In 1986, it became the first zoo in New England to earn accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

The 40-acre zoo is home to African elephants, Masai giraffes, zebras, red pandas, snow leopards, moon bears, a Komodo dragon and more in naturalistic settings. As of 2018, it also has a rainforest building, the only building where visitors were required to wear face masks. 

Granddaughters Ellie & Lilliana also went to Our Big Backyard

Located not far from the zoo is Our Big Backyard, an interactive live play space for children and families. This area is funded by toy company Hasbro and pharmaceutical company CVS Health and promotes outdoor, free-ended play. It also an indoor carousal and a train ride.

Grands enjoyed the interactive Providence Children's Museum

Another afternoon was spent at the Providence Children's Museum, a hands-on creative learning environment. This is Rhode Island’s only hands-on museum especially for children and their families and presents interactive exhibits and hands-on programs that explore the arts, culture, history and science. Visits were prescheduled with masks required of all visitors.

At home activities for granddaughters included a variety of outdoor fun while grandson was helping with project cleanup. 

Keeping cool on a hot summer afternoon

All three grands enjoyed a backyard slip 'n slide. The weather was sunny and humid so getting wet was a fun way to cool-off.

Grenville celebrated a mid-July birthday

As did oldest granddaughter

It was also birthday time for two family members: Both grandpa and granddaughter's birthdays were celebrated early.

A CT day trip to visit  and a favorite local beach

Before everyone left to return home, there was a day trip to CT to visit another family member, Uncle Russ. His wife, Anita, the family matriarch, passed away last spring (not COVID related). This overdue visit was a happy occasion for all. It ended with a visit to her favorite beach.

Grandson is a handsome young man

His sister is a young beauty

The youngest granddaughter is another beauty

That John Deere tractor was originally bought as a Christmas gift for grandson and has been ridden by all three youngsters. It's since been passed along to another family member.

The grands and Grandpa

Before final goodbyes were said, Grandpa posed with all three grands. Grandson is not only taller, but his hair is longer now than Grandpa's "summer cut." The next time we hope to see everyone is sometime before the end of this year during holiday season. 

Thanks for your visits and comments to blogger friends, Mildred and Rita, mentioned in a couple of previous posts. Bloggers are the best folks — give yourselves a collective hug ❤️