Grandpa is here

The ants are here too, for some reason. And they are coming into the house. This is quite amazing 1)since we have a pest prevention service and 2) comes a few weeks after a bragging conversation V and I were having with one another about how we hadn't seen a single ant in the house since we'd hired said service. Could it be the low humidity or the dry winds? They seem to like the bathrooms an awful lot. Well, I know I should have called the service up to tell them they have "failed", but instead I dug out my old Grant's ant stakes and put them in the two most conspicuous places. Two days later, those annoying ants have miraculously disappeared again.
Well Dad finally arrived! The kids are ecstatic. They love to hear him read books and tell stories. They keep coercing him into acting out the "Rock-a-bye baby song."....the kicker is on the part where the cradle falls, he drops them onto the sofa. They squeal in delight and fight over who gets the next turn and how many times apiece they have been dropped. Who would have thought a seven year old would still enjoy Rock a bye baby? When I left Dad behind to pick up the kids from school Tuesday I received a terrible scolding from E, "I wanted Grandpa to pick me up!" See if I ever do that again!

Storytime

Dad was able to swing through Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas visiting family on the drive here. The night before he was supposed to arrive, I received a call from him. Apparently his car broke down in El Paso, the (new) battery was dead, not charging properly, and and it was the alternator. After several hours on the side of the road and a night in an El Paso motel, he rigged it up somehow so he was able to make it here. We found the desired part at a local auto parts store and he was able to fix it the day after he arrived.
Sunday we had the privilege of Hannah. Her dad brought her over for a playdate. The girls made bead necklaces and bracelets, dressed up in E's dance costumes, played outside in the sprinkler/baby pool and made flubber. (N built a birdhouse while they were beading). Now I just have to deal with E's Hannah withdrawal symptoms.

Friendship bracelets

A felt left out, so I made one for her

Building a bird house

Splash time

Hannah-cucumbers for teeth

Monday while I was on a frantic trip to Costco to pick up some food for Dad's arrival, V was busy making chocolate chip (Toll house) cookies with the kids. When I got home, I took one look at the dough and knew something was amiss. I started quizzing him...how much butter did you use? Did you use shortening? Did you use baking powder instead of baking soda? What kind of flour did you use? Did you stir it or beat it? How long did you beat it? The dough looked more like mousse than cookie dough. The cookies tasted grainy and oily. After ten minutes of investigation, it turns out he used powdered sugar! (Ok, I'm not going to make any snide remarks here, since I am trying my best to be Christ-like and this could have happened to anyone of us, right?)
Today I took E to gymnastics and was actually able to watch (since Dad was watching A napping at home). After class, her teacher approached me and told me she was recommending her for evaluation for the next level. Well I am clueless as to what this means. I guess I'll find out when I get the phone call from the academy supervisor. E wasn't too excited when I mentioned it to her. She likes her class and her teacher.

Today in the car A informed Dad (aka Gra-pa) and I that she had a 'bigger' in her nose... so I handed her a bigger-wiper (aka kleenex). In addition E would like to inform everyone that she now knows how to sing the whole alphabet song (no thanks to me I guess). When asked how she learned it and did she learn it at school, she told me "she just taught herself". Today N brought home his 99th and 100th Knight ticket. His goal this year has been to reach 100 Knight tickets to display as his 100 day collection. Never mind that the 100th day of school is probably a whole month or more away. And never mind that some of these tickets are as old as his kindergarten days. So after school we celebrated with smoothies from Juice it Up. We also had pizza for dinner and popsicles for dessert today. (Any excuse to celebrate is a welcome one).

Check back soon...this weekend we're in for an eerie camping trip!