As Promised … More from Panama

While Stephen and Jen were gone, as mentioned our (and their) friends, Heidi and Edgardo and Raleigh's best friend Eliot spent a few days with us. One afternoon we went to a Smithsonian Institute Research Park at the end of the Causeway that goes out into the Pacific at the end of the canal.  It was built with spoil from the construction of the canal. There are numerous exhibits of saline and jungle wildlife at the site and we got a good tour as Heidi and Edgardo certainly are knowledgeable about this stuff.  

And for once one of the telescopes actually worked and we were fortunate that a large cargo ship just emerged from the canal that we were able to observe especially close up.

Raleigh and kitten playing in castle/fort made from washing machine cardboard box.

These next two photos show a bit of the different personalities of the two boys. Raleigh is a bit more quiet and inquisitive and Clinton is a bit more loud and wide open and rambunctious.

I think I mentioned that I liked Clinton's smile, well here is one of them.

Patt has good ideas. Here is one of them. As we are not going to be in Panama for Christmas this year, she decided to take our Christmas gifts early and even wanted to take a Christmas tree to complete the festivities. Raleigh unfortunately no longer calls it a "Crissman tree" (oh-well, I am no longer called Grannanny either).

Raleigh laughed quietly and almost continuously in a most happy way the entire time Patt and he were straightening out the limbs and as I was putting on the lights. When it came time to put on decorations, serious work began. This is serious stuff now. Certain places for certain decorations.

Patt found somewhere (AC Moore?) a bunch of small little decorations and such a good time we had putting them on. Towards the end of the pile, Raleigh slowed down considerably like he did not want it to end.

And this is where meal taking was taken ever since the tree went up. Note the cars from Cars around the tree. I found the set at Target if you need a good gift idea for someone.

Two boys who are slow on the waking up side of the morning.

Clinton found a random piece of wire sticking out of the ground in the playground. Note how the light catches the few hairs on his head. He continues a long line of bald headed Crissman babies. We seem to possess hair only a few short years.

Raleigh likes it when I bring him home from school. We stop for interesting sights.

Clinton found the kitten once again and is bring him to Grandmama.

Clinton likes to share the kitten too, and kitten even puts up with that.

got yogurt and fruit?