House Guests

So, if you have been following life with the Leslies, you'll remember that July has been very busy for us. And the second week in July was definitely no exception. On Monday evening, our niece and nephew came to stay the rest of the week with us while their parents were vacationing in Hawaii (hardly seems fair, right?).

Anyway, going from a family of one child to a family of three children was quite an adjustment for us and definitely came with some pros and cons. The pros were that we love these kids (Leah especially loves them) and it was great having them there to entertain and help take care of Leah. And it was good insight into the years ahead when Leah (and any other children that might come along) reach their age. Another advantage of having them there was that it gave us an excuse to do some fun things.

While they were there, we watched lots of movies, played outside a bit, and Ross even taught them how to play Bocce Ball. One of the evenings, we took them miniature golfing. Since they have much different levels of skill, Ross took William with him and I kept Sierra and Leah with me. We kept things VERY casual and the kids had a ball. We even gave Leah a ball and club to play with and she thought she was just as big as the rest of us.

These two girls were so funny to watch. They both started out the course by hitting the ball. But by the end, Sierra had resorted to more of a hockey style of play and Leah would just pick up the ball and put it in the hole. Plus, we started out a hole behind Ross and William, but somehow ended up getting ahead of and finishing before them. But I didn't care as long as the kids were having a good time, which they were. Here's a couple pictures of the girls chasing their balls around one of the holes. It kind of turned into a "free for all."

During the weekdays, the kids had day camp activities that they got to attend. So while they were gone, Leah had a nap and I enjoyed the peace and quiet for a couple of hours. And on Friday, Sierra and I got to have some "girl time" while Leah napped and William and Ross were gone. I let her pick out a movie to watch while I did her hair. Then we got out the foot spa and did pedicures and manicures. Sierra loved all the one-on-one attention!

Another fun thing we did was attend a Scottish Festival on Saturday. We had to get up early to get there in time for the parade, but I was glad we did because it ended up being really cool to see. Here are some spectators waiting for the parade to start.

Hearing the bagpipes and drums was amazing. After the main parade, the bands all lined up for a mass band and together played "Amazing Grace" and "Scotland the Brave" (that's the traditional song you often hear played on a bagpipe - it kind of sounds like "Praise to the Man"). It was so moving to hear them play like that, it kind of got me choked up at times. After the mass band, we walked around to look at the booths, watched the Scottish dancers and saw some of the athletic events. Unfortunately it started raining on us, so we didn't get to see as much as I would have liked.

We actually heard about the festival from my dad. He and my uncle Rod were planning on attending. So we decided to join them. They love them and have been to a few Scottish Festivals together (Ross has even joined them before). I now can see why. I didn't think I would like it as much as I did and would enjoy going again. I just wish I knew more about my Scottish heritage. In any case, Leah LOVED spending the morning with her Grandpa!

We also went with Ross's mom, Kyle, Amy and Jackson. Sadly, I didn't get any pictures with them. They didn't stay too long, but they wanted to come check it out since the three of them went to Scotland on vacation before Jackson was born.

But we did meet up with them later that evening when we took William and Sierra to Ross's mom's house for their next stay. After dinner, we took the kids to the park to play and to run off the rest of their energy. Leah loves playgrounds and went down the slide over and over again. Jackson was really unsure at first, but ended up liking it too.

 

The kids found a playful kitten to play with for a while. It was pretty good to let them play with it but sometimes it got a little rough. It even pounced on and attacked Leah once when she tried to play with its leg. And it ran away if all four kids tried to get it at once (I probably would too!). But it always came back before too long.

 Ross and Kyle had a great time chatting and throwing the football around with William.

Here coms a picture for all of you that think that Leah is always so sweet and good. Remember the cons of having house guests that I mentioned earlier. I won't bother dwelling on a list of them, but I will say that by the end of the week, we were all VERY tired. Leah was a beast that night. She was clingy and cried over the tiniest things. So even though Leah got upset when she realized that the kids wouldn't be going home with us, Ross and I were looking forward to getting back to our normal routine with just one child. So at the park, Leah reached meltdown mode, but she was happier for the picture back at Grandma's house. (It also helped that she had her beloved binky for the second picture.)

So that concludes week two of our busy July. Stay tuned for more, things haven't stopped yet!