Just a regular week...

This entry is from a few weeks ago, just after Grandma and Grandpa visited from November 16 through the 20th.  Oops!!  "Better late than never..."

This past week Grandma and Grandpa blessed us with their presence for a four day weekend.  We filled the time by eating out a lot!  We had Thai, Italian, Afghani, Greek, and even a little bit of "American" comfort food.  It was fun, and finally the kids' taste buds are getting a little bit more adventurous.  Steven, Mr. Supreme Picky Eater, even said he liked the Thai food.  Granted, he stuck to the BBQ pork and pineapple fried rice, but still.  This is a big improvement for the boy who will not mix his food and hates sauces...

While Grandma and Grandpa provided the food, we provided the entertainment, as this was a swim meet weekend.  Isabel swam in the morning, and Steven swam in the afternoon, which made for a very full day poolside from about 8:30 am to 5 pm, with a lunch break in the middle.  Kudos to Grandma and Grandpa for sticking it out through the meet and seeing most of the events!

The kids did well, even though Isabel will not admit that SHE swam well.  She dropped a lot of time in the longer-distance events, but didn't drop in her short sprints.  So, she was unhappy with that.  But I think she did great, and I was even on my game enough to be able to take a few pictures of her.  I watched her swim the second day only, as Mac and I switch off on watching the kids on these long swim meet days.

Backstroke, which she likes sometimes, but not always...

Butterfly, which she does like...

Steven swam very well at this meet, and dropped time in several events.  He qualified in a couple of events for the Junior Olympics meet coming up in a few weeks, and he dropped lots of time in the long-distance swims that he hasn't done for several months.  He's getting into better shape, I guess.  I watched Steven on the first day of the meet, and so I didn't get any photos this time.  Next time, Steven.  I did cheer though, so that counts for something...

Full days of swim meets leaves very little time for anything else, so that was pretty much The Event of the weekend.

Grandma and Grandpa were here for our standard Monday and Tuesday of our regular, chaotic, crazy, over-scheduled lives.  Mondays are particularly challenging since that is music lesson day, and so the twins don't even get home until nearly 8 pm.  I took a break from my regular Monday routine to hang out with the parents...  We did some shopping and some eating (of course!), and then rushed to pick up Josie by 2 pm.  They were able to pick her up with me both days, which she loved.  She felt so special showing them her classroom!  Then, they stayed in the house spending time with whichever grandkids came in and out of the scene, as well as the dog.  Since Luke is out of commission for a while with his broken arm, he was able to spend lots of extra time with them!  Lucky Luke!

Tuesday was pretty much a repeat of Monday.  Since we didn't have after dinner activities, we were able to have a big Italian meal together, which was a nice cap to the visit.  The kids had a great time, and they love it when Grandma and Grandpa come.  This is a reflection from Josie:

     Josie:  "I love it when Grandma and Grandpa come to visit!!!"
     Me:  "Why?"
     Josie:  "Grandma brings me presents!!"
     Me:  "Well, that's nice.  But don't you like to be able to just spend time with them?"
     Josie:  thinks about this...  "Yes, because Grandma always has Mentos in her purse!"

Anyway, Josie really does enjoy hanging out with the grandparents.  It's not all about the STUFF...

Grandma and Grandpa left on Wednesday.  As they were heading to the airport, I was chaperoning Josie's class field trip to the firehouse.  The firehouse is very close to the school, so we walked there.  One teacher, 4 chaperones, and 25 kindergartners.  They did well on the walk, thankfully.  At the fire house they stuck with their buddies and learning how to stop, drop, and roll.  (But Josie is convinced she should "Stand, Drop, and Roll" because that's what she sees in the coloring book pictures.)

Josie's class

Besides those exciting events, we've had the normal ho hum.  Luke has been very very busy teaching himself how to draw the numerous characters from the Super Smash Bros video game.  Katie taught Pekoe the dog how to shake hands as part of an assignment for her AP Psych class.  Now Pekoe comes up to you, sits down, and hits you with his left paw expecting a treat...  Thanks Kate!  Steven and Isabel keep on swimming, and Mac keeps on working during the day and writing papers during the night.  I finally went to the doc for my bronchitis, and am now being treated and trust I will be on the mend soon.  So, that's what's been up this week!

And that is it!  I actually felt much improved a few days after starting the medicine, so who knows if the Z-pack was needed but I think it probably was...  Soon after this week, we had Thanksgiving.  I'll update on those festivities soon...