Kelsey contacted us awhile back to ask if we were up for house guests the week of June 7. I assured her that we were, especially if those guests were some or all of the Houston Judds! As it turned out, they were having new flooring installed in their house - something they've dreamed about for a long, long time - and Kelsey and the kids were needing to get out of the house so the work could be accomplished. Chris would be staying there to keep an eye on everything, and to continue with his work from home.
So on Monday our normally (too) quiet home turned into a hubbub of activity. Robert immediately opened up his Hot Wheels track set and built a loop-de-loop race track. He asked for paper and pencil so he could keep track of the win/loss stats for his various cars.
Clara has grown into a teenager - needing some alone-time and not all that interested in some of the family activities that still keep Robert entertained. Like most teens, she focuses on her phone and communicating with her friends for much of the day. She was also troubled with allergies for some of her visit.
On Tuesday Kelsey, the kids and I did a little shopping for some extra Hot Wheels track, and then took a snack break. Clara loves Boba Tea (which she prefers to call Bubble Tea), and wanted to introduce me to it. Yum! I really enjoyed it ... very refreshing, and the big tapioca pearls were fun and interesting. Robert chose to go to the shop next door, where he got some Nitrogen Ice Cream. That was a new one for all of us, and it got a thumbs-up from Robert.
Wednesday we got a little arcade time in, and then, in the evening we went to Shakers Backyard, an outdoor park near out house, where Clara wanted to go on the ropes course, while Robert had his sights set on, both, the ropes and the go-karts. It turned out to be a fun evening, which ended in us picking up some pizza to take home for a late dinner.
Before they arrived, Dan ordered a chess set from Amazon, to send home with the kids, and to use while they were here. Clara already knew how to play chess, so Dan was excited to challenge her in a few games. Robert didn't know how to play, but was eager to learn, and learned VERY fast. He was pretty proud of beating Grandpa on their third or fourth game together.
On Thursday I took Clara to lunch (at Freddie's) - just the two of us - and our time together was delightful. I love having one-on-one time with the grands. I wanted to spend some time with Clara, getting her started on researching her mother's side of the family through Ancestry.com. She seemed to enjoy it a bit, and easily picked up on how to do the research, but I'm not sure she was really enchanted with it.
On Thursday evening we met up with Kay and Andy at Corona de Oro for a Mexican dinner. It was such fun! Everyone was engaged in conversation, and even the kids seemed to love the evening. After we ate, we walked down to Nolan Creek (just outside the restaurant) and the kids waded in the water a bit.
Robert talked pretty much non-stop all the while he was here. His favorite topic was Pokemon, and he tried relentlessly to bring his grandma up to speed on the 800+ Pokemon types and their weaknesses, strengths and personalities. Sadly, I was a very slow learner! On Friday, though, when it was his turn to go to lunch with me (Freebirds), he good-naturedly humored me by carrying on an engaging, Pokemon-free conversation!
We watched some TV while they were here - of COURSE Pokemon was one of Robert's favorite programs. We also laughed through several episodes of the British series, Task Master.
About 3:00 this afternoon they packed up their bags, loaded the car, and headed back home. Chris had been sending photos each day, showing the progress of the floor-installation, and it looked hopeful that the installers could finish by end of day today. Even if there was a bit more to complete, Kelsey felt like it was far enough along for them to safely spend the night back in the house.
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