Our Stay-cation

My 8 yr. old nephew, Logan, is visiting from Georgia. He's mainly staying with my mom in Granbury but, has been able to stay with us, and his other grandparents also. He's a good kid, and it's been fun to have him around. However, I'm exhausted from all this "fun."

Friday:
- Logan arrives and we go to Chuck E. Cheese. 2 boys blow through 100 tokens before they've finished their first, and only slice of pizza.
- Drive same two boys to Six Flags for an evening of fun. Have discussion in car, "We will not be buying souveniers or junk food...so don't ask." Arrive at six flags, boys complain of heat stroke. Parents complain of heat stroke. Grandparents end up buying boys souveniers anyway. (They just can't resist their grandkids!)
- Boys spend the night at grandparents -- Whew, it's a late night but, a quiet ride on the way home.

Saturday:
- Boys get to play 2 hours of WII, followed by 2 hours of swimming. They get to have lunch at McDonald's and come home exhausted.
- To parents dismay, both boys decline the nap.
- Discuss the necessity of bathroom breaks before car trips with 4 year old. Despite his insistence of "not having to go!!!" he is required to try. Have follow-up conversation on the necessity of flushing the toilet & washing of hands.
- Drive 1 hour, with two boys, to pick up Hadley from the other grandma. Answer numerous math questions. "How much is 12 times 1000? how much is two times eight? how much is three times a hundred?"
- Arrive home, to re-pack the diaper bag and head out for the church roller skating party. Our house begins to feel warm -- this should have been a red flag.
- Have discussion in the car, "we will not be playing video games or buying snacks at the roller rink"
- The red head was on the floor more than he was standing up in skates. Logan zoomed all around like a skating pro. Both boys repeatedly asked for video game money and snacks. We say we didn't bring money for that...one smart child "remembers seeing a dollar in the front seat." Still denied.
- Jared takes the boys to dinner
- Feed a hungry baby while wearing skates that have not been cleaned since 1997.
- Hadley & I are off to Walmart. We buy a week's worth of groceries, including ingredients to make funny face pancakes for the boy's requested Sunday breakfast.
- Get a call from Jared on the way out of Walmart that our air conditioning is not working, and it's over 90 in our house.
- Somehow super-dad still manages to get the boys bathed & in pajamas before I arrive home.
- I throw everything that can melt/sour/spoil in the fridge/freezer.
- Completely fill Jared's trunk with necessities for a one night stay for 5 people which also includes formula, wipes, bottles, extra clothing, diapers, breakfast groceries, along with all our basics. All the while listening to two boys repeated commentary on "wow, it's sure hot in this house."
-Hadley begins screaming, and cannot be properly soothed as we are just trying to get out of the house.
- Realize that there will be an occasion for dr. pepper consumption in my near future. Open the new 12 pack cans, to have one can roll to the floor, bust, and spray a fine dr. pepper mist over the majority of my kitchen floor.
- Remove 4 year old, and the pillow he is dragging through the liquid mess, from kitchen.
- Again, require a bathroom break. For their own safety, the boys complied.
- Drive 1 hour to Granbury, arrive at 10:30 pm. 2 of the 3 children are screaming from exhaustion at this point, while one is quietly chanting, "please don't start crying again, please don't start crying again." Assure kids, "we are almost there." Assure ourselves, "we are almost there."

Sunday:
- We awake, find air conditioning guy that will come out on Sunday. We travel home after lunch and are now in the life of cool luxury again.

We've had fun, the boys have had fun but, I'm exhausted. I have a new appreciation for my parents who have done this all before with me when I was the whiny kid in question. Who knew there was so much prep work to having fun?