The girls!

Morgan, Madisyn (aka Madi) & Bridgette (aka Gigi) They are 12, 11 & 10 years old! Yes, Barbara had stair stepper kids!! :))

Gigi & Madi

Me & Morgan

I named a few restaurants that we can go to for lunch and the girls chose Coltons. Because I said they have really good salads. When we were seated the hostess put a bucket of peanuts on the table. All the girls looked at the bucket like....what the heck do you do with that. I think it was Madi who said, What do you do with the shells....I said, you throw them on the floor. The look on their faces were priceless!!! They thought I was lying!! They had never been to a restaurant where you eat peanuts. So I cracked open a peanut and threw the shell on the floor and they all started giggling!! It was SO funny!!! They had fun throwing those shells on the floor. Especially Gigi!!

We all ordered a fried chicken salad. I knew how huge they were but also knew that someone in this big family would eat the leftovers!!!

The salads were as big as Madi & Gigi.



The onion is almost as big as Gigi's face!

I wish I had more pics of Morgan....she doesn't like to have her picture taken.

We went and visited their cousin Emily who had her wisdom teeth pulled earlier that morning. We stopped off at Kroger first to buy her some ice cream.....the girls all picked out a Haagen Dazs mini. We were walking the store getting a few things for John and Gigi dropped hers and it went under the bread rack.....we couldn't reach it......we were all laughing so hard! They were saying how it was going to melt and make a mess and wondered if anyone would find it. We walked back to the freezer so she could get another.

It was all giggles with these girls!! They are a hoot!! I tell you my sister and her husband are doing a tremendous job at raising these kids!! They are ALL so polite just very well mannered.

Elijah

Elijah (the blond on the right) is 8 years old. He is Barb's oldest son. When it was his turn to spend time with Aunt Betty he wanted his cousin Flynn to go too. They chose to eat Mexican so we went to my favorite restaurant, El Canaveral.

It was funny listening to these two carry on a conversation. They were talking about the TV and trying to figure out what the people were saying since it was in Spanish.

Kids love cheese dip & salsa!! When it came time to order I asked what they wanted. Flynn being here several times knew he wanted.... a taco with cheese and meat. Elijah said, "I'll eat the same thing!" He is so sweet! They enjoyed those tacos!! Oh, and the pepsi that I allowed them to get. Shhh don't tell the moms!


After lunch we went back to my house. They wanted to go "workout" in my workout room. Then they wanted to watch a movie...Over the Hedge.....I told them that there were pops in the freezer. They were skinny cow pops but ice cream pops none the less....they had 2 each.

While they were watching the movie Flynn pulled his tooth out. Then lost it. Elijah & I were looking for it while Flynn was trying to stop the blood. We found the tooth and put it in a baggie.

Here is the new smile!! I love the way Elijah has his arm around his favorite cousin. That shows how sweet this little boy is. He has the sweetest demeanor and is sweet like that to everyone! He also gives the best hugs and has since he was little.


There friendship as cousins picks right back up like they haven't been apart. These two will always remain close.

It was fun having these two for a few hours. It was a very memorable day!

Evan

My sister Barbara and her family came down from New Hampshire earlier this month. We usually don't get to see each other but every two years or so. She has 5 children, 3 girls and 2 boys. I decided to spend some quality time with each of them. Evan, 4 years old, was first.

We went to Wal-Mart to buy some groceries. I let him pick out anything he wanted. He chose, popcorn, hot dogs, powdered donuts, juice boxes, fruity pebbles, pop tarts and bones for his puppy, Annabelle. Evan told me, "Aunt Betty, you look goofy in your overalls and watermelon shirt". :)


After eating 3 hot dogs (last one without bun) and 1/2 the bag of popcorn, Evan was ready to play. We ran around the yard with the dogs, went upstairs and lifted weights...hilarious....watched Beverly Hills Chihuahua....I thought he'd want to nap....Oh no, this one has the energy of a 16 year old!

He decided he wanted to cook some dinner for his mom & dad. I immediately thought of my girls when they were little when he asked that question. They would ask to cook and I would let them pick whatever ingredients they wanted to use and no matter how bad it came out....I'd eat it!!! (little did I know Barb lets her kids do the same so he has done this before)

Evan went through the cupboard and picked out Blackeye peas, Coconut milk, Artichoke hearts(they expired anyway) and saltine crackers.

He opened up the cans with little help.

Poured it all into the saucepan....look at the grin on his face.

Doesn't look to bad! He called it, A Surprise!

While it was simmering on the stove he decided it needed some spice. He grabbed the salt & pepper, shook some in there. Added some olive oil. Opened the spice cabinet and he went to town. Paprika, Italian seasoning, Cayenne pepper, garlic, Schezwan spice to name a few. He added about 10 crackers to the mixture making it very thick!

Yummy, huh!! Mommy & Daddy enjoyed it very much when they came over to pick Evan up! *wink wink*

It was fun having a 4 year old again. Although, I was a little worn out it was so worth that time we spent with each other. I miss him. He turns 5 next month and how I wish they lived closer so I could spend his birthday with him.

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I haven't been blogging much lately because I have been trying to get used to being back to work. I am pooped by time I get home. I am hoping to blog all this week. Just a warning....they will ALL be about what we did when my sister and family were in town!!