Easter went well this year, very well. The girls are 7 now, they bean count everything - C is the queen of comments. I had to replace D's toothbrush and C noticed requiring an explanation of why she didn't get one. I explained it and she thought about it, then said "I'm not ok with this Nana". Yes, she got a new one too. Vegetables are not as much of a negotiation thank goodness and for the first time they take separate baths now which is a whole other dynamic. One will be in the bathtub and the other in the shower, they can wash themselves but I still have to dispense soap and shampoo or we'll be awash in bubbles. Toys have all been upgraded, this is the year of fashion dolls, they spent a lot of time in the playroom with Barbie and the LOL dolls. They also squabble a bit, we now have a new rule that you cannot punch your sister in the face - even if she did dare you to do it.
I thought of this vacation as the Re-do for the Christmas That Didn't Really Happen - I have over a month of vacation saved since I gave most of it back over the holidays. So I took days off and we did all the things that we didn't last vacation. David met Brandi at the halfway point and brought them home while I worked, most of the weekend they just wanted to play with the dogs, their toys.....and us. We painted, ran around the yard with the dogs (who were beside themselves with joy), played Battle of Bikini Bottom and I'm STILL stuck in Jelly fish fields, swung on the swings, took apart the playroom and hung out in our PJs - it was so much fun. Monday I worked from home, Tuesday I was in the office but Poppop took them to the activity center and McDonalds and then I was home. We drove out to Seaside to hang out with Aunt Kim and Uncle Steve, the girls are old enough to sit on the couch and hold the 5 lb dog Piggles. We did the Carousel and then Funland, then out to lunch. Friday we made the traditional Bunny Cake and Saturday easter eggs with their mom in the morning.
We did Easter Dinner Saturday afternoon - it's too much to try to do it on Sunday as Kim and Steve go to their daughter's and they have to back by Monday morning - it's too stressful. So I do the full traditional dinner using my 1950s china, I forgot to take pictures but rest assured, we had a wonderful time. The girls are at that age, D kept saying to me "I don't think the Easter Bunny is real Nana!" trying gauge my reaction to this statement, I told her that was for her to decide. But despite that Easter morning was its usual chaos, running and finding eggs and baskets. We did a nice breakfast and then they were on their way back home. Everyone had a good time - oh and they finally got their birthday presents! We missed that because I had pneumonia and they had the stomach virus so we had to cancel the trip to the zoo - Jackson had flown down to spend the week with them for their birthday and he came down with it too. They did get to go the next week though so better late than never.
