“Sleep-over play date for three sleeps at MorMor and MorFar’s”

Guest Blogger: MorMor

Don and I were so excited when Heather and Braydon agreed to let us have the boys come home with us after Easter weekend for a few days. Don was heading out for a business trip via Philadelphia mid-week so it was all arranged for a three sleep stay.

Kyle and Owen are great car travelers. Give them a video and some snacks and the hours fly by. We stopped by for a few minutes at Halcyon House (the home where my mother lives) and the boys met their great nana. She has Alzheimer’s so she didn’t understand but they met her nonetheless. We were home by 6:30, played a little, had supper and it was time for bed. They both shed a tear or two and expressed they “were missing mommy”. I let them know that was good and that she missed them too but wanted them to have a special visit to MorMor and MorFar’s house. I rubbed their backs and they fell asleep together in the guest room double bed.

At 2:30 am Owen came into our bed because he’d had a bad dream. He was ok just needed to snuggle up. Minutes later we heard Kyle calling out that he’d just thrown up… oh no. (All I could think of immediately was that Meera had had a stomach virus the week before and what if Kyle and Owen both got it while they were with us this week. OMG Please God no.) He did throw up a bit but was soon feeling ok. I headed into bed with him, leaving Owen to sleep with a snoring MorFar. (I could hear MorFar snoring with the door closed when I was in with Kyle so I got up to check on poor Owen but he was fast asleep next to his very, VERY loudly snoring MorFar. That kid sure sleeps deeply!) Kyle ended up going back to sleep without any more stomach problems. Thank you God!

At 6 am on Monday they were up and ready for a fun day. We gathered together in our bed to talk about the day ahead. Of course the boys had to contend with our 9 month old golden retriever, Neptune, for space on the bed! Before we could head out for the day I got the crock pot going with Kyle’s request of lamb stew or “lamb suet” as he sometimes calls it. Our first event of the day was a morning hike up Jackman’s Ridge in Freedom for a beautiful view of Lake Ossipee and then a swim in the lake – YES – a SWIM. This was totally unplanned for sure because the temperature was 42 degrees and the ice went out on the lake 2 days before AND we still have snow piles here and there. They were supposed to be wading in their undies and shirts… well you can guess the rest! We went quickly home for a warm up in the hot tub, had lunch and spent the afternoon playing baseball at a nearby field. Boy can those boys hit and catch. Owen this time hit best and Kyle caught the ball best. Next time it will probably switch! MorFar is always in his glory coaching and playing baseball with his grandsons. After supper we all took Neptune to Dog School. What a riot, active twin 4 ½ year olds and a rambunctious puppy. Oh my! MorFar took the boys out to play on the school playground for the most part so Neptune and I could concentrate on doggie class. Soon it was home to bed, prayers and talk of missing mommy again but also their stories of a great day. (I’m sure they missed you too Braydon just mommy more I guess!)

At 5:45 am the boys were up and in our bed so we could all begin a busy Tuesday. Our main event of the day was going for a hike up to Sabbaday Falls off the Kancamagus Highway. We were not prepared for all the snow and ice still on the ground. It didn’t allow us to get as close as we’d have wished for fear of slipping and falling into the falls but we did get to see the beautiful waterfall just not quite as close as the boys would have liked. Kyle wanted to know which waterfall was “biggest” and so we told him about Niagara Falls in NY. (I hope we’ll be taking them on a trip there sometime in the future!) The car ride to Conway for lunch was occupied mostly with the boys counting backwards from 100. (Is it usual for 4 ½ year olds to count backwards from 100?) Adding and subtracting numbers and singing songs, along with silly antics and loud laughter. What smart, beautiful, adorable boys they are. (I’m not prejudiced really!) After lunch we went swimming at an indoor pool and afterwards played with my friend’s son Jonah for a little bit. We had supper followed by a shower and they were in bed at 6:15. Kyle could hardly keep his eyes open after 5 pm!

Wednesday 5:50 am two adorable, loveable boys jumped into our bed all excited about flying on an airplane “SOUTHWEST” home. The morning left time for one time to watch the video “Tinkerbelle” as Don and I got everything all set for the drive to the airport and flight. We’d planned on me driving them so I could help Don up until they went through Security. Thank goodness that was the plan because we discovered the flight was delayed for 2 hours. Although honestly, Don did just fine and the boys were angels. They are such experienced fliers; they know just what to do and how to behave in an airport. It’s unbelievable how good they are. Don reports they circled Philadelphia for 45 minutes waiting to land. Heather, Braydon and Meera were there anxiously waiting. Don called me to say they arrived and the Johnson-McCormick’s ran into each other’s arms and were so very excited to be together again.

What wonderful grandsons we have. We are so grateful that our lives have been so enriched by these two little guys. Kyle and Owen are FULL of life, FULL of excitement, FULL of energy, FULL of love. Thank you Heather and Braydon for adopting and parenting these two little boys and thank you so much for allowing us to have had three sleeps with them all by ourselves. We love you all.