Family Weekend Wrap Up

Oh gosh, I love this picture. Click to enlarge. Every once in a while a photo shows up that just sits exactly right with me. This is one. Can't really explain it all (and don't really want to try), I just love everything about it. This was Friday night during supper (chicken & veggie stir-fry with rice; mandarin oranges for dessert). We had a Family Weekend this weekend. Unfortunately this Family Weekend had to include running errands and doing some stuff around the house (we try to avoid that on these weekends), but we made the best of it. Here is our Weekend Wrap-Up.

Friday night I took the boys to see Step Afrika at Lehigh. Braydon stayed home with Little Miss. The show was stellar!!! And the whole entire night was truly a Top Ten night. The performance started at 8pm, which is super late for K & O (who usually are in bed at 6:30). It was very, very, very, very, very special to be going out to something so late. Even driving in the dark is a rare thing for K & O, and thus very exciting. And to be out on the town with just Mama. It was all very special. Step Afrika was an awesome show. The boys were the youngest people (by far) in the place, but nonetheless, as usual, they ended up stealing the show. They tend to do that. When they asked for 'audience participation' Kyle stood up and raised his hand as high as he could. We were in the third row. They spotted him. They called him up. Of course. He brought his brother (two for one). And that was that. I'd be shocked if there was one person in the crowd (a crowd of a 3 or 4 hundred at least) who wasn't in love with my boys by the end of their time on stage. And me, well, I just fell in love with them all over again. They were so So so SO SO so sO So darn adorable, up there, shaking their booties, earnestly trying to learn how to step, two gorgeous little bambinos with enough charisma to light up the entire state of Pennsylvania. Seriously, I know, I know, I'm bragging (I try not to), but this was a Top Ten night people. A Top Ten night. They were SO DARN CUTE. Another highlight was that we got to sit next to Calvin. Kyle was so sweet I thought my heart was going to melt all over the floor --- holding Calvin's hand, leaning on Calvin's shoulder, scooting up onto Calvin's lap, snuggling as close to Calvin as he could get, mimicking everything Calvin did (if Calvin clapped, Kyle clapped; if Calvin yelled 'woot woot!', Kyle yelled 'woot woot!'; if Calvin hooted and hollered, Kyle hooted and hollered). It was really sweet. Anyway, the whole night was just spectacular... it is not very often that my boys behave perfectly... ever... let alone both at the same time. It was like everything just came together brilliantly for this one night and they made me feel like the happiest luckiest mama on the entire planet. On the way home we went through the McDonald's drive through for french fries and chocolate milk. Now that topped off the night for them. They were on Cloud 9 already and that just put them on Cloud 10. We got home at 10:45 and Braydon helped me carry them in and get them into bed... sound asleep with smiles on their faces. If you ever get the chance to see Step Afrika go!

Our family pretty much hates running errands. We try to limit it as much as we can. Except for the grocery store (which is a weekly trip), we try to only go to stores every 6 weeks or so. This weekend we had to do some things so we tried to make the most of it by going out to lunch, etc., etc., etc. Saturday one of the things we had to do was to go to Babies-R-Us for some necessities. Good thing we don't go there often. We came out with this (above). K & O spotted it in the store, knew instantly that it was the "perfect!!!" toy for Meera, insisted we let Meera try it out, and then begged us like they never begged before to buy it for her. We could not resist their incredible sweet big-brotherness. Plus we knew that indeed she would LOVE it. So, there it is. She does love it and has already spent much time in it.

Meera is just as bored with errands as the rest of us. This was at the grocery store.

Playing in the kitchen sink: still one of the boys' absolute favorite activities. Water ends up everywhere and mopping it all up is a serious pain. But it is worth it. They'll do this for over an hour at a stretch. I can't think of any other indoor activity that K & O will do for that long.

These boys are exhausting on even the best of days. They are just so incredibly busy-active-in-motion-going-going-going-rambunctious-precocious (how many other ways can you say "challenging" in a nice way???). They just are that. They push us to our max. And Meera, well, she is just along for the ride, as mellow as can be, thank God. By the end of a Family Weekend like this -- when it is all five of us all the time -- we are truly tired (all 5 of us, actually). But these weekends hold us together unlike anything else (except a family vacation... which, in the dead of winter, we're now fantasizing about daily). Times like these are the glue that holds this family together. And so it goes.