Last weekend my husband took our oldest and youngest daughters to Myrtle Beach for a gymnastics competition and I took Miss N. to Ohio to visit my friend Susan, her husband Steve and their little boy Mr. P. Mr. P. and Miss N. are both all of 8 years old and they hit it off, although not immediately.
At first Mr. P was not too sure if he liked Miss N. When his mom asked what he thought he gave an unenthusiastic response of "she's OK". Miss N. is not a girly girl though. After chasing the dog, wrestling, competing against one another on the x-box and running from the goblins in the basement together, he thought she was A-OK. We watched Mr. P. play soccer on Saturday morning and Susan thought he was running extra hard to impress Miss. N. He also played his guitar for her - his own version of "Smoke on the Water" - Oh my~ he was pulling out all the stops to impress!. Miss N. followed him around in turn. And of course MoJo, their new Pugle, was right in the mix of things. They were pretty much the pair (and Pugle) the entire weekend. When the house would get quiet we would joke about what they were up to. When we left Mr. P, gave Miss N. a stuffed red snake with hearts all over it, a bag of candy and some sweets. Now how sweet is that?
A few other fun things from Ohio. I got to see Susan's mom, dad, sister and nephew, our other college friend Carrie, my aunt and uncle and my little cousin Julie Ann.
We had a blast with our friend Carrie on Saturday. Carrie is a Dr. but cannot figure out how to use a computer. I set her up with a personal email account and facebook. After that it was all I could do to keep her OFF of Facebook - the minute I would step out of my seat, I would find that Carrie had occupied it, looking over Facebook and figuring out how to navigate it. We took and uploaded photos, looked over profiles of old classmates and had a great time reminiscing. Hey, facebooking isn't just for kids anymore! Although the kids use it as their primary mode of communication (texting aside), I think the adults actually have more fun using it.
Sunday Susan actually talked me into going to church. I am embarassed to admit when the last time I went to church was but we all went and really enjoyed it. iu am thinking of trying to find a similar church here in Raleigh. Carrie left to travel home after church and Miss N., Susan and I headed to see my aunt and uncle. It has been several years since I lived there so I actually got lost on the way to see them. We finally made it and settled in quickly. My aunt made a wonderful lunch, followed by chocolate chip cookies, biscotti and coffee. Miss N. left with a few goodies and Susan left with a fabulous care package of food and flowers made by my aunt.
After we visited with them at their house we headed over to see my little cousin Julie Ann. Julie is in her 20's and not so little anymore but it was wonderful seeing her. She has a darling apartment filled with her artwork, fun books and wonderful, funky decor, It is also in a great section of town. When Susan and I shared an apartment it was a dump. We kept saying "why didn't WE have this apartment. Miss N. was SO impressed that there was actually and elevator IN Julie's apartment and went on a small excursion up and down a flight with my Aunt Donna. Miss N. says that Julie Ann is her COOLEST cousin. My uncle took pictures and we just had a great time. We got home, rested a bit and then took the kiddos to see Coraline in 3-D. It was typical Tim Burton - grotesque, frightening and fun.
Miss N. was a darling, sweet child the entire weekend. Susan kept saying "she is so sweet!". And she was. I could not believe how well behaved Miss N. was the entire weekend - not one incident of whining, yelling, fighting, etc. (Of course it helped that her sisters were not there). Like clockwork, after being dropped off at the airport on Monday, the good behavior abruptly ended. She started whining and acting up IMMEDIATELY as Susan and Mr. P. pulled away. I think she misses Mr. P. and realized it would be a while before she say him. I'll just pretend that she is that well behaved always.....
I ordered groceries in OH (love Internet shopping) but was not paying attention and did not order from our normal grocery store. My husband picked me up from the airport at 4:15 pm yesterday. On the way back from the airport we had stopped to pick the groceries up and when they did not have our order I realized I ordered from the wrong store. We had to go to the house, check my email and figure out where to pick them up - we also unloaded the car and went through the mail At this point it was around 5:30 pm. I found the right store, my husband mapped it out on his GPS . I packed the two little ones into the car to go pick up the food so we would have something to eat in the house and he got ready for work. After I picked up the groceries I stopped to get gas. After that I stopped to pick up Miss. C for gymnastics. When we finally got home (around 7:00pm) I had to unpack the groceries, unload the dishwasher, start the laundry (we had at least 4 loads), sweep, mop, vacuum and make dinner. By the time I was finished it was close to 10:00pm. I know - exciting, right?
I keep waiting for life to go back to "normal", whatever that is. As the girls get older our lives seem to get busier. I love watching the girls as they get bigger but wonder where the time goes. I am hoping to see Susan, Steve and Parker when they visit DC in a couple of months. We also have plans for a few more gymnastics competitions, Vegas, the Finger Lakes and Seattle so we will see...
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