Wild Weekend of Girls

Toby woke me up with a kiss this morning. Do you know what that means? It means that I slept through him getting up to shower, all the noise he makes while getting ready for work, and his rattling around in the dishes to pour coffee. I slept right up until he put his whiskers on my lips. I must have been one tired puppy. Well, we did keep the GGs this weekend, and it was wild times at the Lazy B.

We sent Bo and Sara off for a weekend at the Gaylord in Grapevine, while we kept the girls. It was our Christmas present to them and a reward for Bo passing all parts of the CPA exam. He has really had his nose to the grindstone the last few years with taking accounting classes and studying for his CPA license - not to mention working and caring for two rambunctious girls. We felt like he and Sara deserved some time alone and to be pampered before tax season got busy.

I should mention that after art last Thursday, I went to WF. My sister was doing a presentation at one of the schools there – she sells textbooks for Pearson/Scott Foresman. I helped her set up her books in a tiered auditorium (nine levels) and pass out books to about 80 teachers. It was fun to see her in her work environment rather than as my baby sister. I thought she did an awesome job. Of course, she worked my bum off carrying books up and down the tiered classroom. We then spent the night with mom, who had beer, chips and salsa, and other snacks waiting on us. Friday I did some grocery shopping and getting ready for my GGs.

Saturday morning the GGs arrived, and we fixed a big breakfast for the girls and their parents. We did some painting and wock washing here at the house. After lunch Tia Jesse took over. She and I took the girls to swim at the Simmons Center – better known by the girls as the "Swimmons Center." It was fun with the girls at the pool, but it was more fun just watching Jesse play with the girls.

Reason # 25 that Jesse will make someone a great wife:

The "Swimmons Center" was all Jesse’s idea. She played with those girls in both the big pool and in the baby pool. Although there were other adults watching their kids, Jesse was the only "grown-up’ out there splashing in the baby pool and then over to the big pool at the GGs whim, teaching them to paddle and kick their feet, hold their nose, etc. Much to their delight, she even dove off the board a couple of times (it makes a really loud noise). After swimming, she dried their hair and let them play in the indoor playground for a little while. To get them to leave the Swimmons Center, she had a really "dood idea" – "Let's go get pizza and ice cream!" At the store, she let GBN2 pick out sprinkles to put on the ice cream. Of course GBN2 fell asleep on the way home and was a bit grumpy when she woke up. She took two bites of her pizza, remembered that there was better stuff, and demanded the ice cream. Jes just laughed when GBN2 slammed her little hand down on the table and made her demands. Jesse had saved some funky birthday candles from a party at work, and she placed those candles on the ice cream along with the chocolate icing and sprinkles. The GGs were thrilled when she let them sing "Happy Birthday" although it was no one’s birthday. It was all fun and excitement. Jesse really made their day.

Sunday morning when the GGs got up early and went into Jesse’s room to wake her up, they came back out a few minutes later without Aunt Jes. When I asked them what Aunt Jes had said, they replied, "Go away!" It didn’t bother them at all. After Aunt Jes had her coffee, she did their hair and helped get them ready for church. She gave each one of them a scarf or a "carf" as GBN2 says. They wrapped those "carfs" around pretty much everything at church (thanks Aunt Jes). After church, lunch, and quiet time/naps, Jes took them outside, since the sun finally came out. She took some photos of the girls that maybe she will post later. GBN1 managed to get pretty muddy on their outing. I rode the girls around on the four-wheeler. We fed the horses. We were just about to go inside and make cookies when the parents showed up. The GGs did not want to go home, but we were all bushed. All in all it was a fun weekend. Jesse, Toby, and I made a good tag team keeping the girls entertained and watching over them. Jesse did get after GBN2 pretty good at one point when GBN2 did something dangerous that she had been told not to do. It broke both their hearts, but it was deserved, and they will get over it. The only thing that would have made the weekend better would be some Grand Boys…