A Week at Granny and P-pa Reed's House

Granny, Reed, Cora, Owen, Willa, and P-pa in the Little REED Wagon

What is summer when you are young without spending a little time at Grandma and Grandpa's house?! In the tradition of all that is good and right with the world, that is what we did last week. Reed, Cora, and I hopped in the car Saturday morning, we bid Bob adieu, and we hit the open road heading south. Greenville, ready or not, here we come!

In the least, we had a memorable week. It was crazy at times, unquestionably, but we all survived and I think none of us will forget it anytime soon. My sister's kids were visiting for the week because their daycare was closed, so we had a 6 year old, two 3 year olds, and a 1 year old between the three adults, me and my mom and dad. Piece of cake, right? Who gets the black stool this meal? Where is the purple spoon? He's touching me! P-pa!

What was the most challenging thing? Bedtime. Yes, the three big kids slept in one full size bed together...for 6 nights straight. I would have never believed it to be possible.

The kid bed

Here's a little run down of our week's activities.

SUNDAY, 7/24

• Church
• Chang's Chinese Buffet for lunch
• Willa and Owen came over

• Napping on Granny!
  
• Taking it easy.
  

MONDAY, 7/25

• Slip 'n slide in the backyard

• Stopped by to see my friend Aundi

TUESDAY, 7/26

• Jaycee Park
  
• Lots of refreshments on a HOT day!

• Followed by naps
• Zumba class with Mom

WEDNESDAY, 7/27

• Patriots Park with Aaron Martin's kids
  

Emma, Sophie, Willa, Cora, Owen, and Reed

• Well-needed Naps
• Story time at the Public Library (see video below of Cora dancing)
• Thrift store shopping

THURSDAY, 7/28

• To Great-Grandmother's house we go (Brighton)
  
• Betsey Ann Park (real Caboose car, merry go round, swings, treasure)
  

• Kids got to watch Grandma's trees being trimmed
  

FRIDAY, 7/29

• Met up with my friend Jen and her daughter Hadley
  

Already accessorizing and talking about how they will be Chicagoland neighbors in a few short months.

• Friday evening went to the Martins. It was kid central but Dad, Cora, and I left early to pick up Bob at the Effingham train station. I'll add a picture later if I get one.
• We got caught in a huge downpour that delayed the trip home but we made it eventually.

SATURDAY, 7/30

• Farm Heritage Days at the American Farm Heritage Museum (surprisingly HUGE event)
  

• Uncle Chuck, Aunt Linda, and Vincent stopped over
• Went to Saturday evening church
• Went to church barbecue
• Hung out at home

SUNDAY, 7/31

• Bummed around until lunch at Chang's Chinese Buffet
• Came home, hung out, and packed
  

Cora proudly showed off her boots that she didn't get to wear all week

Reed crashed. The excitement of the week was taking its toll.

• We hit the road and headed home; this time with the whole family.
  

Here are a couple videos from the week. The first is Cora discovering one of the baby kittens outside on the back deck. The second video is Cora dancing at storytime at the library. You can also see Reed NOT participating. He had lost interest by this point.

We had a HOT (about 100+ degrees every day), fun week. There was a lot of whiny and crying but there was also lots of laughter and fun memories made. I think it was a good bonding experience for the cousins whom, unfortunately, see each other only a handful of times a year.

Thanks Granny, P-pa, Owen, and Willa for the great time!