A Welcome Visitor

Last year we welcomed visitors - primarily family - every month and a half or so, but this year our first visitor didn't arrive until March 12th.  Thank goodness Grandma Brenda got here when she did, because we were starting to get lonely down here!  (We're actually not lonely at all, but we miss our families and are always glad when they come to visit.)

It was a perfect week for Grandma to visit - Tom was out of town at a conference and the kids were on spring break.  Extra adult hands are always appreciated whenever Tom is out of town and/or the kids are out of school, and extra adult hands are ESPECIALLY appreciated when those two scenarios overlap.

We went out to eat a few times, did a little shopping, saw The Lorax in the theater, played at the park, and completed a couple of projects around the house (we completely made over the laundry room, painted the half bathroom, and painted a red accent wall - red accent walls are apparently "my thing" when it comes to decorating - in the living room).

Grandma bought a dollhouse (at Cracker Barrel, of all places) for Hallie...

...and a ball/sling shot game (also from Cracker Barrel) for Will.

And then Will slung the balls onto the roof and
Grandma had to go after them.  What a trooper!

One of our projects was painting one wall in our living
room red.  We let Will help.  (Risky, I know, but with
very close supervision he did alright.)

We also celebrated Grandma's birthday with decorations, gifts, party favors, and a made-from-scratch (crust, filling, AND whipped cream) banana cream pie.  I think the sweetest part of Grandma's birthday had nothing to do with the decorations the kids made, the party favors the kids and I made, the gifts we bought, or the pie though; it had to do with my dad (Grandpa).  Every year my dad buys and writes in/signs 10 or so birthday cards for mom and then hides them around the house for her to find throughout the day.  Since he couldn't be with her on her birthday this year, he FedExed the cards to me the day before my mom's birthday and asked me to hide them throughout my house.  During the day she was surprised and happy to find cards from my dad in her suitcase, the bathroom cabinet near her toothbrush, in the freezer, in the cabinet next to the peanut butter, in the Chariot stroller, in the front seat of the car, and underneath her piece of banana cream pie.  Their romance makes me smile.

The kids' homemade birthday banner for Grandma.

Listening to Grandma read aloud her cards from Grandpa.

Helping Grandma open her presents.

Birthday dinner at The Olive Garden - there was
something really interesting off to Will and Hallie's
left that they wouldn't stop looking at.

This is how Grandma got them to look straight ahead.

Grandma and her banana cream pie,
topped with fresh flowers from our yard.

Waiting for the song to be over so she could blow out
her candle, which almost lit the flowers on fire.

Next up on the visitor list is Aunt Sara, Uncle Jeff, and cousin Lily at the end of March/beginning of April, and then a week after they leave Tom's parents will be here for a long weekend.  I expect my parents will be back in May, and then after that we start our crazy summer travels...as of right now we have Nebraska in late May/early June, Illinois in June, Wisconsin in July, and Michigan (and maybe Arkansas) in August on the calendar.  Whew!