Aunt Julie.....Kinda Boring? You Decide!

Well, I'm going to save you the trouble of deciding and just tell you that I am boring. I came to this conclusion weeks ago when I was hosting Matt and Janna's kids for the weekend. Some of you may remember that last year for our anniversary up in the Rocky Mountains (Steamboat Springs) my darling sil Janna offered to care for Josie, Jon and Calvin. And while Pie and I had a wonderful time in Steamboat, we realized when we picked the children up at the cousins' house in Hot Sulfur Springs that the kids had had an even more wonderful time. Jet skiing on the lake, hikes in the mountains, trips on the 4-wheeler, swimming at the hot springs, weenie roasts in the backyard around a pit of fire. My kids came home after 3 days with at least 2 weeks worth of summer camp memories.

So when Matt called me at the end of July and asked me to return the favor mid-August, I was happy to reciprocate. Well, happy yet also a bit worried. Because our life here in the 'burbs is so boring. No jet skis, no 4-wheelers. No open fire pits. I was concerned. I mean, how could we compete?

We can't compete, as it turned out. But thanks to the miracle of popsicles we managed to stickily sail right on through the weekend.

Our cousins:

Annabelle. Adorable 2 1/2 year old who was up for anything (and a whole lot of nothing, remember) and who did just fine hanging out without her parents.

Casey. Smart as a whip 5 1/2 year old who had fun hanging out with his cool cousin Jon. Casey and I both share a love for trying to fix things of a mechanical nature and spent an hour one afternoon trying to get Jon's old RC car to work. We enjoyed ourselves tremendously, even though in the end the thing still didn't work very well.

Cally. Almost 8 (she is 5 weeks younger than the twins), Cally fit right in with Jos and Jon. I'm sure she is the reason Annabelle did so well--whenever Annabelle needed a little comforting, Cally was there.

I picked the kids up from my mom's Friday afternoon. Annabelle immediately bonded with my vacuum.

Later on, Annabelle and Tommy helped me make the pizza crust. They were incredibly helpful, as you can imagine.

After dinner, we adjourned to the outdoors for our scrumptious dessert--all you can eat popsicles. Sticky.

So Friday went pretty well.

Saturday.

Saturday threatened rain all day. We stayed indoors, mostly. I had thoughts of taking the brood to the park nearby, but lightening strikes and intermittent sprinkles convinced me that the minute we were halfway to the park we would be caught in some ridiculous downpour. And driving anywhere was right out. Our car only has 8 seats (only!) so tootling off to, say, the McDonald's play place was not an option.(You'll remember I was the mother of 8) So what did we do? We ate. We ate cookies and popsicles and popcorn and Rice Krispie Treats. We ate ourselves sick, and sticky with filth. Every two hours or so brought us another meal or snack. Thank goodness the Pedersen children like eating as much as the Konchar children do. Because that's what they got.

Early Sunday morning came and the cousins were once again reunited with their parents. I hope they weren't too bored.

PS. My favorite moment of the weekend came courtesy of Annabelle. I was making a double batch of 4x the marshmallow Rice Krispie Treats (the only way to eat them, my pets) and I opted out of any of the children "helping" me. Annabelle spies the huge bowl I'm stirring:

Annabelle: I want a taste!

Me: Oh, sorry. No tastes. But you can have a treat soon.

Annabelle: .....I will help you.

Me: Sorry.

Annabelle: Okay........Uhhh, can I have that spoon for a minute?