52 in 2013 - #34 Theme of the Week: Young

Dan took off Friday morning for a weekend at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) with Chris. One of the things he finds most rewarding, when it comes to our move to Texas, is that he gets to spend father/son time with Chris at fun events like this.

With Dan gone, I decided that it was a good opportunity for me to go see Kelsey and the kids. I drove over Friday morning and came home this afternoon. It was a fun-packed couple of days with my favorite YOUNGsters. 

On Wednesday Clara had a date with the dentist, who removed four of her baby teeth in preparation for some oral surgery that she will be needing. X-rays show that she has an extra permanent tooth trying to move its way down, in front. One of those teeth will need to be surgically removed. The extracted baby teeth left her with a stunningly awesome smile. (You should go read about her experience at the dentist's, on Kelsey's blog - here. Sounds like an amazing dentist.)

This first picture was the smile that greeted me when we picked Clara up from school on Friday.

Before heading home, Kelsey stopped by the park so the kids could burn off a little energy.

And then we made a quick stop at their favorite used bookstore, where they each got to pick out some reading material. Here Big Sister Clara is helping Robert read a book. They usually get along well together, and at one point yesterday afternoon I heard Robert tell Clara, "You are the best big sister ever!" Awww.

I brought a bracelet-making kit for Clara. It took the efforts of Kelsey, Clara, me and the Internet to figure out how to turn these little rubber bands into colorful bracelets. The instructions that came with the kit were totally useless. But, after Kelsey found a video that made it clear, Clara mastered it in no time and was making bracelets off all colors.

Robert enjoys riding on this tow-along-bicycle. He and Kelsey went for a little trip around the block to show it off for Grandma.

Finally, today at noon, we went to a unique restaurant called Clay's for lunch. It has both indoor and outdoor seating - we sat outdoors. There is a huge sandbox area for the kids to play in, as well as some outbuildings for animals. Today there were only pigs, a horse, and a peacock. Clara really enjoyed visiting with and petting the horse, but Robert didn't want to get close enough for a photo.