A week late but better late than never!
Day 183, Friday, July 2nd, 2021
Cleaning Out the Deck Box
I have sisters! My stepsister and half sister were raised by my father and we’ve only had a superficial relationship up until now. Pam’s son, Gabe, was attending a summer camp nearby so they planned a visit. Lisa and her family could come too so we decided to have a mini family reunion and all spend time together with our kids.
In preparation for my sisters’ upcoming visit, the kids help me clean up outside. Dominic tackled our old deck box which was full of old pool noodles and yucky toys. He was a brave soul and even disposed of a dead frog. He then power washed out the inside. Thanks, Dominic!
Day 184, Saturday, July 3rd, 2021
Pam is Here!
Oh my gosh, you guys! My sister, Pam, and my nephew, Gabe arrived from New Mexico. They are both a bit camera shy so I didn’t get many photos of them (I did get a fantastic family photo on Saturday, July 10th, for next week’s blog post!).
Meeting Gabe (14) was really easy, he reminds me a lot of Dominic. He’s soft spoken, easy to talk to, maybe a little shy, loves video games, and has a calm energy. All the dogs loved him. I hope to get to spend more time with him soon. He seemed to like hanging out with the grown-ups and the kids equally.
I loved how easily Pam integrated into our family, it felt like she’s always been here. Anna and Pam hit it off right away and so did we. Pam and I have so many little things in common, it was a little spooky and really cool at the same time.
Day 185, Sunday, July 4th, 2021
Meeting Caitlyn
Pam and I drove Gabe out to his summer camp earlier Sunday afternoon. We had a nice quiet evening with Curtis and Anna. Dominic stayed in his room most of the week.
Lisa, my other sister, drove in from Florida on the 4th with her husband, Andy, and their 2 kids… Caitlyn (8) and Isaac (5). They didn’t arrive until after 9 pm and as soon as Lisa arrived, I showed them around and told her to take her time unpacking and nesting. That’s what I like to do when I travel. She does too and was tickled that I understood. She got her kids showered and they came downstairs to hang out a little.
Caitlyn has the sweetest energy, she’s happy, patient, quiet, and loving. She was immediately comfortable with all of us. She even let me snap a picture right away!
Day 185, Sunday, July 4th, 2021
Late Night Snack
Though it was close to midnight, I thought the kids might want a little snack so I offered them some watermelon. They both hopped up on the bar stools and chatted with me while they ate. Anna had quite a bit of anxiety about meeting her cousins. As most of you know, she loves baby dolls but is scared of babies and kids. They are unpredictable and can be loud. She was scared someone would cry or have a meltdown. So it was good that she was already asleep when they arrived. The kids met Anna the next morning; they immediately hit it off and played baby dolls.
Day 186, Monday, July 5th, 2021
Coloring with Lisa and Issac
Monday was a super chill day. The kids swam and later in the afternoon, we pulled out some coloring books and colored at the table. Lisa started a page of sliced fruit on the trip over and I worked on a Joanna Basford’s Christmas page. Isaac really enjoys playing with his sister and seemed happy to do whatever everyone else wanted to do. He has a little more of a high energy vibe but nothing like Dominic was at that age. Isaac strikes me as an old soul, fairly easy-going, also very sweet and loving, like Caitlyn. I like that Lisa encourages him to play baby dolls and also encourages Caitlyn to be a tomboy. They are well rounded kids. We had a spaghetti dinner to celebrate Lisa’s and Andy’s anniversary of their first date. Andy is just as nice and sweet as his kids!!! It was a great first day.
Day 187, Tuesday, July 6th, 2021
Paparazzi Mom
Lisa is almost as much of a shutterbug as I am! She recently upgraded to the iPhone 12 and wow, that phone’s camera is amazing! Lisa has some natural talent with composition. I loved this photo of Isaac playing pool while Lisa filmed him. So cute!
Day 187, Tuesday, July 6th, 2021
Curtis Teaches Issac
Uncle Curtis showed Isaac how to hold the pool cue. Of course, Isaac is only 5 so it was a challenge but Curtis was so patient. He taught me how to shoot pool too! I’m glad he got to spend some quality time with our nephew.
Day 187, Tuesday, July 6th, 2021
Issac Picks His Sushi
We tried to take Pam to A-Tan Sushi on Sunday but they were closed for the 4th of July. No problem, we went back on Tuesday and took everyone with us (except Mom and Gabe). Isaac loves sushi and was studying the menu to go over his meal options. Anna was pretty nervous, she hasn’t wanted to sit down and eat in a restaurant for a long time now. We let her bring her headphones and phone to listen to music and we seated her with her back to the restaurant and on the end of the table. Isaac was very well-behaved (as was Caitlyn) and we had no issues and no meltdowns.
Day 187, Tuesday, July 6th, 2021
That Smile!
Caitlyn saw me taking pictures and posed so nicely for me. Isn’t she a doll? I love her blue eyes and freckles. Even though Lisa and I don’t share any genetics, Caitlyn reminds me of Jenny at that age. Both very personable, with an electric smile that melts your heart.
Day 188, Wednesday, July 7th, 2021
Helpful Big Sister
One thing that really impressed me was how intrinsically kind and helpful Caitlyn was with Issac. I got supplies to make homemade ice cream and asked the kids if they wanted to help. Lisa packed their aprons so here Caitlyn is tying Issac’s apron.
Day 188, Wednesday, July 7th, 2021
Ready to Make Ice Cream
I pretty much let the kids do almost everything in making the ice cream. Caitlyn helped read the recipe and she took turns with Isaac pouring in the ingredients, using the hand mixer, and getting the oreos prepped (we blended 2 cups of oreos with the center filling taken out then hand chopped up a few more to mix in after the ice cream was done). Once the ice cream had frozen, I scooped it out into the container to go into the freezer. That freezer bowl gets so cold, I didn’t want one of them getting burned. The ice cream turned out delicious! We had it after dinner that night.
Day 189, Thursday, July 8th, 2021
Ball
Anna had physical therapy with Dr. Katie and I crept back to snap a couple of pictures. This is one of Anna’s favorite games when they bounce the giant exercise ball back and forth. She took Zachary, her newborn reborn, with her to PT… can you see him laying next to her?
Day 189, Thursday, July 8th, 2021
Bounce
Look at Anna’s face! See her crinkly nose under the mask? She was laughing so hard bouncing the ball back to Dr. Katie. She was bouncing it too hard on purpose to make Dr. Katie chase it all over the place. Anna has only one visit left that insurance will cover so this was her next to the last session.
Day 189, Thursday, July 8th, 2021
Dominic Teaches Issac
When we got back from PT, the kids wanted to swim. Pam told us about making moonshine in an InstaPot, so Curtis ordered one and got supplies. Pam whipped up a batch of lemonade moonshine and it was ready for sipping Thursday afternoon. Dominic got in the pool with Caitlyn and Isaac while the grown-ups sat around and chatted. It was lovely. It was also nice to see Dominic spending some time with his cousins. He’s a natural teacher just like his dad. He taught Isaac how to swim off the back of the float and taught both Isaac and Caitlyn how to cannonball.
Day 189, Thursday, July 8th, 2021
Aunt Holly, Watch Me!
Caitlyn and Isaac loved learning how to cannonball and then used the ledge off the inside of the pool to do it over and over. I heard, “Aunt Holly, watch me!” a dozen times! Lisa and I reminisced about Nanny and Grandpa’s pool at the condo when we were kids, yelling the same thing over and over. Watch me, watch me!
Thanks for looking!
