We crossed paths with mom and dad. They drove here the weekend we went back there for the wedding! They gathered the kids for us since we got back on Sunday afternoon. It was great timing since Ryan headed to Italy for most of the week. It is very, very hard to manage the activities with one person. I'm usually in the car driving around in circles, getting everyone to where they need to be.
Dad thought it would be fun to teach Reggie how to play bridge, so they had a few lessons. Not sure how far they got! He and Ainsley found a fun game to play, but I the video is too big to upload. They sure laughed a lot! The kids got there fill of treats and bread (I think they went through 5 loaves of french bread in 5 days!). The yard got some much needed TLC and dad managed to stay on the ladder, so all was good. The vegetables that mom planted are just starting to come up and we will be enjoying them soon. I think I should have a list next time, so dad stays out of trouble! They did spend a bit of time trying to get him tested for agent orange, which they managed to do and believe it or not, he has no residual from his time in Vietnam.
There happened to be a old time car show in Livermore on Sunday and dad really wanted to go to that, so we did! Lots of fun old cars to look at :). Then we went to an Operation Christmas Child event through Samaritan's Purse and I didn't really know what the event was and not sure I would go again, but it was an experience and we got a better understanding of how the entire process works.
There a really cool, rare car right behind us, but we blocked it!
Later that evening, life got very crazy. We agreed to take a sibling set for 5 days not realizing my parents would be there. It was actually very helpful because they could drive our kids around, but it wasn't so pleasant. These kids were the most challenging we've had on many levels! We've never had 2 and the reason we agreed is because they were in Livermore and the 4 year old is non-verbal and they were wanting to keep her in her speech program. They both were in childcare all day, so that was a huge help, but the nights were crazy! Not sure I would have survived the week if they were with me all day! Between food and bath issues and bedtime, along with being in a new place, the kids were having a hard time. The older one rallied after the first day, but the 1 1/2 year old was never very happy until after his visit with his mom. Then he seemed to calm down a bit, but he was a runner, so we could never sit down. I don't think they were told what the plan was, so these poor kids had no idea why they were staying with us. God bless the family they are with....she has 4 older kids of her own and the 1 1/2 year old is her grandson, so she agreed to take them but they had a trip to Disneyland planned, so the whole thing made perfect sense. It was a really sad situation all the way around and it was the first time I felt that things weren't going to end well for these 2-probably not going to be able to stay together long-term :(. Even Ainsley couldn't wait for them to go and she is usually so into helping and hanging with these kids. Not thinking we'll do a sibling set again!
I almost forgot, in the midst of the chaos, my car got hit in the grocery outlet parking lot. I wanted to just leave, but there was enough damage to my car that it needed to be fixed. So, she admitted fault, called her insurance before I even got around to it, but because we were both backing up, it was considered 50/50, so now I have to pay to get my car fixed and of course, her car was perfectly fine. I'm not thinking that's going to happen anytime soon :(.
We had a little celebration after they left. We BBQ'd and had some apple crisp on Saturday and spent some time around the fire :).
They had to leave to go take care of the cat who needs his medication twice a day. He looks like he could die anytime, but continues to hunt, kill and eat various things, so I'm not sure it will be soon. When he passes away, hopefully, they can stay longer :). Two weeks goes by in the blink of an eye!
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