Nichole sent an owner's manual of sorts to help me prepare for the week we'd spend together. She left nothing to chance and had each moment of their schedule documented. It is amazing how many activities can fit into a single week for a 6-year-old and a 4-year-old. We started our week at 6:20 am on Monday morning when I had to wake both kids up to start the process of getting ready for school. I wouldn't say that any of us are "morning people", but Evie was definitely the most bright-eyed of the 3 of us. The morning routine includes, dressing, making beds, eating breakfast, brushing hair and teeth, organizing backpacks (including a packed lunch) and getting in the car by 8:05. I think I even amazed myself that we had time to spare on Monday. We got to play for a few minutes before loading into the car. Parker likes to be the first kid in his classroom so he showed me the way to the back door of the school where he can zip into the building at the first bell, load up his cubbie and get into Mrs. Thayer's classroom in less than 1 minute. I was impressed.
Evie and I made our way to her school next, but had a bit of time to waste before it was time to go in. We played in the foyer of the building and slowly her friends started to arrive. At 8:55 am we made our way into the Rainbow Room where Ms. Laura and Ms. Jen were thrilled to see her. I got lots of hugs and kisses before heading out. She needed to be picked up at noon, so I had time to swim at the YMCA before going back to pick her up.
Rather than bore you with a breakdown of each day we spent together, I'll give you the highlights:
We had lunch at Bill's Pizza on Tuesday because that is Parker's half day of school. When we walked in the restaurant we noticed a series of clocks on the wall and one of them was displaying London's time. We spent our lunch talking about the fact that it was already dinner time where Mommy and Daddy were and they'd be asleep by the time were were having dinner in Boston. This was a really fun idea to Parker and Evie.
Both kids had music class at Jammin' With You in Wellesley. I had no idea what this was when I was driving there, but what a fantastic concept. Two guys in a big open room teaching kids about music, playing piano and guitar while making up songs. Evie beat a drum and made up lyrics. Parker had an actual piano lesson, but it was mixed with marching and singing. I have no idea if places like this exist in other cities, but what a C-O-O-L, cool place!
Evie had gymnastics one afternoon and I can't tell you how much I enjoyed watching her work the gym. She had 1 hour of free play where she ran around with a bunch of other kids being crazy. After that she had an organized class where she did stunts on the various equipment. Check her out on the bars:
Evie on the bars at gymnastics
Building upper body strength and working on balance
We did FaceTime with Mommy and Daddy a few times which was great, as the kids were definitely missing them in the evenings. And, to help Parker and Evie understand how soon they'd be back, we created a countdown calendar that they got to take turns marking off day-by-day:
The countdown calendar
We also made a welcome home sign for the front door, but I forgot to snap a photo. Oh well!
Parker made the swim team this year and had practice twice during the week. Evie and I tagged along to watch on Wednesday and it was thrilling to seem him swim so well with older kids. We did the carpool on Wednesday night so I got to meet Riley who is a second grader on the team. I think the backstroke is Parker's best stroke, but he did great in freestyle and breaststroke, too!
Parker approaching the far wall
Parker doing backstroke...
Grandma and Grandpa came to stay through the weekend because I had to leave on Saturday afternoon to get to Hartford for a 40th birthday party and Paul and Nichole weren't going to be back until later that night. We had a big event on Saturday morning - Parker's Pumpkin Mini Meet at UMass Boston. He was competing in 3 individual and 1 team event and while it was a long, long morning at the meet, watching Parker WIN his first event and come in SECOND in the next two was amazing. I couldn't have been more proud.
After getting back to the house I started packing things up. I was really sad to leave, but I knew I would be coming back in less than a week and staying through Halloween so I didn't cry to hard! Parker and Evie smothered me with hugs and kisses and I hit the road for Hartford.
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