It's a Wrap

All good things come to an end - even a special week with a grandson. We really did enjoy Robert's visit, and when he told me, on the last day, "I want to stay here," I figured that was his way of saying that he'd had a good time, too.

On Saturday Chris, Kelsey and Clara arrived. Robert was happy to see his family. Chris came prepared to tow a trailer home, since we were passing on some furniture that we no longer needed. Kelsey, on the other hand, came in their other vehicle, ready to take Clara and Robert to Pecos to visit their other grandparents. It was Father's Day weekend, so Robert gave Chris the present he made a few days ago. 

Chris headed home, towing the trailer, on Sunday afternoon, but Kelsey and the kids spent one more night with us before they hit the road. When we heard the tinkly "Turkey in the Straw" music coming down the street from the ice cream truck, the kids went crazy. Grandpa happily opened his wallet and treated the kids to their favorites. It was a perfect evening. The temperature was beginning to moderate, so Kelsey, Dan and I sat out on the back patio, visiting, while the kids ate their frozen treats and played. 

The next morning, after breakfast, Kelsey, Clara and Robert got their things packed up in the car and said their good-byes. About an hour later I went to do some laundry and found a dryer full of Robert's clothes! Poor Robert was going to have slim pickin's when it came to clothes in Pecos! I dashed off to the Post Office as soon as I could and priority mailed them to his Pecos Grandma. Here's hoping that he has them by now!

And once again, it is very quiet at our house.

Wednesday and Thursday

We continue to keep busy around here! I don't know if Robert is getting tired, but I know that both Grandma and Grandpa are sleeping VERY soundly when night comes.

Yesterday we went to see the Angry Birds movie. It was not nearly as irritating as I thought it might be. The story was pretty cute, and they did NOT play that Angry Birds music continuously, as I feared they might.  (I was not happy, however, with the language used by the Mime bird.)

Some of the other things that have kept us busy were . . . 

Building with Legos . . .

Ring toss . . .

And, today, Robert went with me to my art class. Our instructor, Barbara (pictured below), sat beside him, and they worked on a project together. He responded enthusiastically  to her loving attention. After they finished their project, he pulled out his paints and made me a sunset picture.

This evening we went to the neighborhood park to play with some water rockets. Both Dan and I remember playing with these as kids, and we remember them going w-a-a-a-a-y up in the air. But these were just duds :-(  We couldn't get ANY height out of them at all. We thought maybe a little time on the playground equipment would make up for the disappointing rocket launches, but we cut that short, too, when Robert reported that the slides were covered in bird poop. You win some; you lose some. Chalk this one up as a loss.

Robert has been so anxious for today to arrive. He's been sharpening his picture-taking skills ever since he got here, in anticipation of the photo-scavenger-hunt we had planned for this morning. Three youngsters from church - Jolie, Jayme and Jase - met us at the mall. We divided into two teams. My friend, Janet, who is also Grandma to those three "J"s, chaperoned the girls' team; and I went with the two boys. I had prepared a two-sided list of things for them to find and photograph.

The girls found and photographed every single one of the items, and the boys found all except the "kids' book" (there wasn't a book store in the mall). They all had a barrel of fun. Jase and Robert hit it off so well, and worked together perfectly as a team. We ended our time together with a trip to McDonald's for lunch.

Jolie, Jayme, Jase and Robert, at the end of the scavenger hunt

This afternoon was pretty busy, as well. Robert and I completed a craft (pictures to be shown AFTER Father's Day). After dinner Robert took Dan and me on (and BEAT us) in another game of UNO. 

We ended the day watching a Netflix movie before Robert's bedtime. There's quite a lengthy story, of which I will spare you, about the frustrations we've been through getting our brand new TV, but it was finally in place, hooked up, and operational TODAY! Since Robert is here, we chose Charlotte's Web for our inaugural feature showing.

P.S. In case you are wondering, Robert finally got to eat his donut today! 

Robert's Monday

We started the day out with a shopping trip to the grocery store, where Robert got to select a few of his favorite foods, all quite nutritious except for one sweet treat for being such a good shopper. For his treat he chose a donut. I told him he should save the donut until after lunch.

He had an hour or so to play with his cars before it was lunch time. From the time he was really small, about all Robert wanted to play with were cars. And that passion has continued and even grown. This morning he was staging drag races. He asked for pen and paper in order to keep score, based on his rather complex formula.

For lunch he ate a Lunchables, which came with a small treat, so he put off eating the donut until after dinner.

It was off to the library this afternoon. This boy loves to read! He brought along his summer reading challenge pages, and we are trying to check off as many activities as possible this week, making a trip to the library an absolute necessity. We brought home 15 books, and I wouldn't be surprised if we have to go back for more in two or three days. Today he checked off "Read a book to someone older than you" (that would be Grandma), "Follow a recipe with an adult's help (more about that coming up), "Turn off the TV and read instead," and "Read a non-fiction book" (he read about the survivors of the Titanic).

Dan grilled dinner outside this evening, and Robert was especially excited about the corn on the cob. After I cleaned up the dinner dishes, he joined me in the kitchen to bake lemon muffins. He read all of the ingredients to me, so we could measure them out ahead of time, and then read the directions for combining them. They came out looking great. He went to take a bath while they cooled a bit, with the promise that he could have one muffin once he was in his PJs. 

So, after his bath, the three of us each enjoyed a warm muffin. Yum, they really were tasty!

About three minutes after he climbed in bed, he crept back out with a worried look on his face . . . "Grandma. We forgot my donut!" Sure enough. In all the hustle-bustle, we had forgotten it. Despite my tendency to indulge this little fellow's wishes, I had to explain that a donut on top of a muffin was just too much for one little tummy. Maybe tomorrow. 

A Very Special House-Guest

Yesterday I drove to Somerville, half-way between our kids' home and ours, where Kelsey handed Robert over to me. The plan is for him to spend the week with us.

Most of yesterday afternoon and evening he was totally engrossed in taking pictures. I gave him a little camera that I no longer use, and he caught on to how to operate it very quickly. After taking pictures of EVERYTHING in the house, we went for an evening walk around the neighborhood so he could have some new subject matter.

Today, being Sunday, we went to Starbuck's for breakfast, and then to church. He remembered clearly that last time he was here we did the same thing, and he couldn't wait to get a slice of Starbuck's lemon pound cake . . . his favorite!

After lunch today, at the Chinese restaurant, the three of us -- Robert, Grandpa and I -- played a rip-roaring game of UNO. He's a good player, and delights in playing "Draw Four" cards on me!

I can't wait to see what all this week will hold for us. There's never a dull moment!

He's just getting over some sort of virus. I guess that's why his nose was so red this morning!

After his morning dose of medicine, though, he was feeling much better! :-)