day two of they went to mexico

Yes, they did. This is the van they thoughtfully left here for our use so we didn't have to wrestle car seats.

You think we're going anywhere?

Oh, hell no.

This picture was taken out the bathroom window where last week I happily took a photo of buds.  Yah, they're under there somewhere.

So we had the supper of pizza and bananas.  b.g. howled he hated pizza.

Who hates pizza?

I asked, "What do you plan to eat then? Help me out here."

"Pancakes."

Well, luckily we saved the pancakes from last night and I could pop them in the toaster.   When I asked him about this he said, "I like pancakes at this house."  He ate it, and also some carrots.  Good enough, then.

This was taken after baths, but before picking up toys, everything incentivized along the way.

"Let's take baths!  Then we'll pick up toys in our pajamas!"

Then when the toy clean up commences, "As soon as we're done we'll have popsicles before bed!"

Their special milk cups were filled while they ate the popsicles, so then it was, "Let's hop in bed and drink special milk!"

Boom, they were asleep in an instant.   I put in my CD again of crashing ocean waves.

 Lydia, aka Kari told me she wanted a lizard for her birthday.  There is no problem with that, except we lack information.  We must have a plan to house and keep care for the creature.

She did the research and crafted a plan and Phillip is now here, and he's doing well for a gecko in room full of Justin Bieber posters.

This big-toothed beagle kind of scared me a little.  Julia has been decorating an entire box in collage form.

Well, yes, that's lovely, a great idea.

 This is a weirdly cool box.

Here's their dog, who also came to stay. She's undemanding, but the energy of this house tires her.

 And here they are asleep, resting up for tomorrow.

What a great couple days this has been, all the noise and mess and racket.  There's something so incredibly touching about being part of someone else's happy childhood.

Sigh.   Tomorrow we will take them and their van and their dog over to the other grandparents for the next two nights.  But how lovely it was to have this time together.  The little brother is so attached to the mother he barely talks to me usually.

Well.  He has a lot to say!  And he's very observant and pretty funny, a little comic in his own right.  The big brother is his usual self, but also strangely responsible, big brother-like.  And the little girl?  She loves having her cousins here, but they get in her SPACE, stress her out, make her crabby.

Whee.  Onward to tomorrow, which it will be in five minutes.

Love you all so, MOM aka GRANDMA, aka Val