Saturday Family Time

First thing this morning, Kaitlyn disappeared into the garage. Nathan called out to her, "Whatcha doing, Kate?"
"Workin' out!"

After her workout, Kate and I walked around the block with Max in the stroller. Then Max and I walked around the neighborhood while Ali rode her bike along side.

Mid morning the whole family headed over to the bowling alley. Kaitlyn and Ali are amazing bowlers! Nathan and Megan tag teamed bowling and chasing Max around the game arcade. Nathan came in first, Megan second; Ali beat me, and I beat Kaitlyn :).

We hurried home from bowling to get ready for the baptism of Ali's friend, Susan May. Kaitlyn was thrilled because Megan let her wear one of her new preschool dresses. Megan stayed home while Max took a nap and she typed up a fabulous detailed schedule and contact list for me to refer to while they're gone.



I'm beginning to realize that one of my biggest challenges when Nathan and Megan are gone will be saying "No" to these charmers. Case in point: Max is perfecting his persuasion skills with "Hi Gapa. Paco!" (Translation: Hi Grandma. Popsicle!) Who could resist this face?! Max hasn't quite grasped "Please," but he knows all about "Thank you," and says it often.



Nathan took the kids to Independence Park while I fixed dinner and Megan ran errands. We enjoyed a rousing game of Boggle while waiting for Megan to return. Ali and I beat Nathan and Kaitlyn on the final round. For the record, I couldn't have done it without Ali--her score was one point higher than mine! I was amazed that Kaitlyn found several two letter words as well. Objectively speaking, all our grandchildren are genuises.


This evening we watched the BYU game with Nathan's and Megan's backdoor neighbors, Amy and Todd Moore. Ali and Kaitlyn were allowed to stay up until the end of the first half. This was my first experience with DVR and I loved that we could fast forward through all the commercials...until 15 seconds before the winning touchdown, that is, when the recording timer ran out and Nathan had to scramble to get back to the game...just after the touchdown. So we had to wait until the highlights after the game to see it. But it was a great game and fun to watch with Nathan and Megan who are so thoroughly into it at the top of their lungs. Go Cougars!

Lunch at school and a field trip

This morning I had breakfast with Kaitlyn and Max, who decided to be ultra proper and eat his doughnut with a fork. (Nathan's traditional homecoming treat last night was a dozen Krispy Kremes.) Ali had already gone off to school.

Max did have a little spill, but much more contained than yesterday. And for the rest of the day, he did really well.


After breakfast it was time for the beating of a lifetime and silly kisses.





Later Max pretended to give Kaitlyn a ride in the truck.


We surprised Ali by joining her for lunch at school.








Max and Kaitlyn suited up for some heavy duty work.



While Ali was at school and Max was sleeping, Megan, Kaitlyn and I went on a field trip to the zoo. Kate enjoyed the dolphin show and the playground the most. My favorite was the East African Gaboon viper.





Ali did a great job sweeping up after dinner. Then she and Kaitlyn tackled their enormous closet while Max took his baby for a walk in Ali's tap shoes. Kate is showing off her new clothes for preschool.





We finished off the day with Prayer Scripture Prayer. Because it was so late, we each recited an Article of Faith instead, then Nathan told the girls the story of Noah. Kaitlyn repeated the 4th and Ali the 9th Article of Faith. "Impressive!" as Kaitlyn loves to say.

The adventure begins...

This has been a fun first day with Megan and the children. This morning Ali and Kaitlyn web cammed with Nathan before Ali left for school, then we all had prayer together, Nathan included. Max said it, with Kaitlyn's assistance. After a couple of words, he was done: "Amen!"

Ali and Kaitlyn drove over to the bus stop in their Power Wheels. Yes, they literally drove over in a child-size, convertible electric truck that runs on a rechargable battery, complete with seatbelts, a "stick shift" that you can set to slow, fast (relatively) and reverse. (Apparently there is no brake, but when you take your foot off the pedal, it stops immediately.) They have had the truck for about two weeks and already they are both great drivers! Here are some pictures of Ali and Max in the truck after Ali returned from school:




After Ali got on the bus, Megan, Kaitlyn, Max and I went for a walk with their backdoor neighbor, Amy and her son, Gavin. (Their older son, Jacob, went to school on the bus with Ali.) We walked at a good clip for about 45 minutes, then came home in time for Megan's sister Jessica to drop off Gabby and Garrison while she went to the school to volunteer in Gavin's class. (Megan volunteers on Wednesdays while Jessica watches her two, then they switch on Thursdays.)

Jessica picked up her kids at about 11:30, and we set about getting lunch ready. Max thought he would help by pushing the pantry door open ALL the way, beyond what the manufacturer had intended. All of a sudden the little door stop on the top of the outside of the door punched a hole in the door with a POP! Max was startled and began to cry. Megan was upstairs and when she came down and saw the damage, she may have felt like crying too, but managed to conceal it. During lunch Max did his best to distract us from our sadness about the door by dumping his applesauce on his head while Megan was fixing the canteloupe and cucumbers. She whisked him away for a quick bath before his nap time.


Kaitlyn and I went for a walk to the neighborhood park while Megan took advantage of some quiet time to pay bills, make phone calls, and maybe even take a nap, though I'm guessing there was still too much to do. The park has a huge, wonderful jungle gym. Kate enjoyed climbing up and sliding down. She even climbed up through a twisting rail and then stepped a big step onto the platform, for the first time all by herself! She looked so pretty framed against the sky with a big grin! (Yep, I should have followed my instincts and taken the camera, but I did better later in the afternoon.)

Megan took Kaitlyn to gymnastics while Max napped and I stayed home to wait for Ali.



Ali got home from school and shortly after that Max woke up from his nap. Ali reconstructed a marshmallow tent she had made that had gotten a bit mashed in her backpack.




For dinner, Megan had made a delicious vegetable beef stew. Recalling how much we had enjoyed his performance at lunch, Max dumped his stew out on the table, then tried to clean it up with his milk and a napkin.


After dinner we rode/walked back to the park where the kids had a great time playing on the jungle gym.








We played at the park until dusk when it was time to go home and get ready for bed.


Ali took a shower in one bathroom, and Kaitlyn took a bath in another, while Megan changed Max and put his PJs on. The next thing we knew, Max had joined Kaitlyn in the tub, fully clothed!



So Megan bathed him for the second time today and Max decided it was even more fun without his clothes.


I had gone to the 99 Cent store before I came and got lots of fun gifts for the kids. Today I gave Disney Princess addition flash cards to Kaitlyn, Max a board book about things that are HOT! and the first High School Musical book to Ali. Last night Megan and I divided up all the gifts into a bag for each day. I also have some gummy candy--Care Bears and High School Musical--that I will dole out judiciously during my stay. (For the record, I also cleared that plan with Megan. She said that while I'm here "Grandmother rules" apply, but they will not be following them upon their return.) Ali finished the evening with a page or two from High School Musical:




It is so fun to be here and to see again first hand what a great mom Megan is! She is so organized and everything moves along smoothly. Last night she talked with Nathan on the phone while she bought the tickets to Tucson for Thanksgiving. Hurray!!! We are so thrilled that everyone is coming.

The best news of the day: Nathan got home tonight!