While we were putting on the finishing touches, the boys along with my cousin, her boyfriend, my niece and nephews played an impromptu game of soccer. It was a little muddy outside, but none of the kids (young and old) seemed to mind. It was so nice to hear the sounds of them playing outside. I was surprised at how well SJ played with the other kids. No crying over not winning and no yelling. All I heard was his laughter. We called them in to eat and we all found a spot somewhere in our house to eat all the yummy food. (Other foods were provided by my mom, my sisters and my sister-in-law.)
After dinner, SJ, my parents, my cousin and my young niece and nephews sat down to play Tripoly. SJ had never played before, but he seemed to quite enjoy it. They played that game for about an hour. The kids then moved on to video games, which left it quiet on the first floor for adult conversation.
On Friday, we met another cousin of mine for bowling at Funfest. Her son is only three and had never been bowling. At first, I decided that we were all going to bowl. That was my husband, Bob, SJ, my cousin, her son and I. SJ was getting very agitated, since he had to wait so long between turns. An additional irritant for him was the fact that he wasn't getting any strikes or spares. Fortunately, he finally got a spare in the 7th frame. When it was time to play the next game, we opted to just have the kids bowl. This made SJ much happier (Bob and Felix too!) After our two games were finished, we went over to the arcade and each boy had 10 tokens. They all enjoyed the arcade!
We went over to McDonalds for lunch. Boy, can that Felix eat! He almost ate more than my boys and he is at least 6 years younger. The boys enjoyed eating lunch with Felix. It was nice to get a chance to spend some time with my cousin too! After McDonalds, we went home for a while. We were expected for dinner at my mom's later that evening. When we got to my mom's house, my aunt from Va. was there with most of her family, my cousin and her son (Isaac), my cousin and her boyfriend (from Ca.), my sister's family and my mom. We spent some time hanging out before dinner and then headed to my other aunt's house for the actual dinner. We all went over there. My other cousin and her husband were there too. The kids ate their dinner in the living room while the adults ate in the dining room. We all had a great time taking pictures and talking.
My sister's boys wanted to spend the night at our house, so my cousin and her boyfriend drove them back to our house. All four boys were able to play for about an hour and then it was time for bed. They all slept in Bob's room, but SJ opted to sleep in our room. He had been sleeping on the couch and he wasn't getting a good night's rest. Bob, the boys, my cousin and her boyfriend and I got up early (7:00 a.m.) to watch Bob play indoor soccer. (I usually don't take SJ since the noise is too much for him inside the arena.) Bob's team won 5-2! Yeah! After soccer, I took my nephews back to my mom's house. My sister's family was leaving around 10 a.m. Bob and I drove home shortly after my sister left.
My husband and I had dinner plans that evening, so the boys had to go back to my mom's house. SJ wanted nothing to do with it. He wasn't going over to Grammy's. I wasn't going to argue with him, so I told him to get in the car. They stayed at my parents for a few hours while we enjoyed an adult dinner out. Shout out to Rivertown Inn in Verona, Pa. Yummy! After dinner, we picked them up and headed home.
On Sunday, I just wanted a day of rest for all of us. My husband decided to do some Christmas shopping, the boys played in the house (and later at a neighbors) while I caught up on some Tivo'd shows. Holidays can be exhausting, but the time with family makes it all worthwhile! (If I repeat that a few times, I will really start to believe it!)
No comments:
Post a Comment