The season finale of Mad Men is on this evening. Hopefully the eye lids will stay open until 11pm. The weekend has been a long one but more than enjoyable.
Chance, our awesome nephew, spent the weekend with us as we served as babysitters for only the second time. Previously when Chance spent the weekend with us he could not even walk. Now he is all boy, full of energy and talking a mile a minute. You can't always understand what he's saying, but it doesn't slow him down one bit.
Among the weekend highlights were Chance's first UGA tailgate, compliments of the Phi Psi house. Homecoming weekend brought out some old familiar faces and an opportunity to reflect on the years between those walls. Courtney spent the rest of the afternoon watching Chance while I worked the game. While we spent Friday evening taking Chance out to dinner, we ended up just eating some yummy Chick-fil-a at the house.
Courtney spent most of today at a wedding shower for Catherine, so it was all about dudes today and Chance spent time with his uncle. I will admit, I was nervous. Never had a true babysitting gig before, but the challenge was simply to fill the day with things to do until "Nanny and Papa" came to pick him up.
Following a pancake breakfast, we spent some time in the back yard kicking around the soccer ball. He seemed to enjoy it, but not as much as petting the dogs or running under the deck. Earlier in the week I went to facebook to ask friends what you do to keep a 2 and 1/2 year old boy busy and sifting through the responses helped me fill the rest of the day.
We first hit Lowe's where Chance was floored by the Christmas decorations, tractors and pretty much every other little thing in the store. He helped me pick up a few things for the house, then we headed to the park. Keeping track of a kid at the park is not easy. I knew he would love it but didn't anticipate how quickly he'd move from slide to swing to monkey bars. Courtney had left a small grocery list for us, so I very cautiously persuaded Chance back to the car.
Much like Lowe's, Chance was fascinated by any and everything at Wal-Mart. As you see above, he did get his hands on a little present. Early we discussed the importance of owning your first Transformer so I made that a reality. He wanted the blue one. No love for Bumblebee, Megatron or even Optimus. Nope, just the blue one.
We had about 30 minutes to spare before the in-laws showed up and knowing Chance's current love of Pirates, we ate lunch and then started watching Pirates of the Caribbean. It cracked me up ... this kid knows who Jack Sparrow is!
With the little monster gone, the house does seem quiet. It makes me realize just how unimportant some things are in life. When you have the responsibility of a child, weekly runs to Sam's or the mall seem so trivial. Courtney and I loved the weekend and Chance made it easy. Such a great kid.
Chance, our awesome nephew, spent the weekend with us as we served as babysitters for only the second time. Previously when Chance spent the weekend with us he could not even walk. Now he is all boy, full of energy and talking a mile a minute. You can't always understand what he's saying, but it doesn't slow him down one bit.
Among the weekend highlights were Chance's first UGA tailgate, compliments of the Phi Psi house. Homecoming weekend brought out some old familiar faces and an opportunity to reflect on the years between those walls. Courtney spent the rest of the afternoon watching Chance while I worked the game. While we spent Friday evening taking Chance out to dinner, we ended up just eating some yummy Chick-fil-a at the house.
Courtney spent most of today at a wedding shower for Catherine, so it was all about dudes today and Chance spent time with his uncle. I will admit, I was nervous. Never had a true babysitting gig before, but the challenge was simply to fill the day with things to do until "Nanny and Papa" came to pick him up.
Following a pancake breakfast, we spent some time in the back yard kicking around the soccer ball. He seemed to enjoy it, but not as much as petting the dogs or running under the deck. Earlier in the week I went to facebook to ask friends what you do to keep a 2 and 1/2 year old boy busy and sifting through the responses helped me fill the rest of the day.
We first hit Lowe's where Chance was floored by the Christmas decorations, tractors and pretty much every other little thing in the store. He helped me pick up a few things for the house, then we headed to the park. Keeping track of a kid at the park is not easy. I knew he would love it but didn't anticipate how quickly he'd move from slide to swing to monkey bars. Courtney had left a small grocery list for us, so I very cautiously persuaded Chance back to the car.
Much like Lowe's, Chance was fascinated by any and everything at Wal-Mart. As you see above, he did get his hands on a little present. Early we discussed the importance of owning your first Transformer so I made that a reality. He wanted the blue one. No love for Bumblebee, Megatron or even Optimus. Nope, just the blue one.
We had about 30 minutes to spare before the in-laws showed up and knowing Chance's current love of Pirates, we ate lunch and then started watching Pirates of the Caribbean. It cracked me up ... this kid knows who Jack Sparrow is!
With the little monster gone, the house does seem quiet. It makes me realize just how unimportant some things are in life. When you have the responsibility of a child, weekly runs to Sam's or the mall seem so trivial. Courtney and I loved the weekend and Chance made it easy. Such a great kid.
Speaking of great kids, we were very fortunate to meet the lovely Anna Lee a couple of weekends ago. In what basically was a mini-reunion, Newp, Erich and Jill, Karin and Court and I made our way to Virginia Beach to visit with Greg and Sarah and meet their beautiful baby girl.
Anna was born earlier this year so our visit was long over due, but it was so much fun watching all of us jockeying for some Anna attention. That kid could've gotten us all to jump through hoops if she only asked. Make no question about it, that weekend was all about that little girl, but having a great excuse like that to visit with friends made it even more enjoyable. Aside from weddings, most of us had not all been together in a very long time. Sure we've all visited with each other separately, but getting everyone together has been the challenge.
Without trying to sound like a big softy, weekends like that make me realize how important these relationships are to my life. These are people who have helped shape me and been there for me when times were tough. As more difficult times come in life, these will be some of those important people who will help me, pick me up and tell me everything will be ok. I see moments like that weekend in VA Beach as truly special and memorable.
Anna was born earlier this year so our visit was long over due, but it was so much fun watching all of us jockeying for some Anna attention. That kid could've gotten us all to jump through hoops if she only asked. Make no question about it, that weekend was all about that little girl, but having a great excuse like that to visit with friends made it even more enjoyable. Aside from weddings, most of us had not all been together in a very long time. Sure we've all visited with each other separately, but getting everyone together has been the challenge.
Without trying to sound like a big softy, weekends like that make me realize how important these relationships are to my life. These are people who have helped shape me and been there for me when times were tough. As more difficult times come in life, these will be some of those important people who will help me, pick me up and tell me everything will be ok. I see moments like that weekend in VA Beach as truly special and memorable.
The final two days of the VA trip were spent around the Williamsburg area. We stayed in a hotel near the historic district, visited donors in the area both Monday and Tuesday and also took some time to just enjoy the beautiful town. It had been some time since I'd been to Williamsburg, and now I hope we can go back again sooner than later. Aside from the great historical aspects of the town and William & Mary, the town itself is so very pretty. We loved the experience, and I hope we can have more mini trips like that in the future.
The trip to Virginia allowed for two stops in Winston to see the parents. While there Mom and I were digging through the closest and came across several of Dad's old suits and blazers. He gave me the go ahead, so I snagged two of his old suits and this insanely cool blazer. The suits needed to be tailored a bit but this jacket fit perfectly. All of it found a nice home in my closet. Now I just need an excuse to wear this sucker out on the town!
Off to finish the final few minutes of the finale. I love and adore this tv show ... sad that I will have to wait until late Summer for another season.
Off to finish the final few minutes of the finale. I love and adore this tv show ... sad that I will have to wait until late Summer for another season.
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