A Quiet Moment?

After being in SC for a wk I am having a quiet moment and I still have enough energy to post this blog.  Jeff picked me up last Sunday afternoon.  This allowed a bit of time for Xander to get used to having me around and for Jeff to give me instructions on various things including how to run the scanner and tips on Xander's preferences, before we took him to the airport on Monday morning.

The kids and I were on our own so the activities began.  Intermingled between activities were trips to each of the local grocery stores.  I like to check out all of them.  We are focusing on meals at home rather than eating out.  Each day we had a major activity like a trip to the library, the playground, bowling, summer movies, and time at their neighborhood pool.  We did that each day except Sunday.  We have been to the library twice and I'm sure we will go at least one more time.

The kids bowled two games and took turns bowling for Xander as he just didn't get into it.  Sadie said, "It seemed like we always bowled out best when we were bowling for Xander." He won both games as Baby Bowler.

 Steve arrived late on Friday evening after a long day of flight segments.  So Saturday morning we made our first trip to the beach.  I didn't tackle that on my own due to all of the equipment I would have to drag out there to make it a pleasant visit.  With Steve, there were more people to carry stuff and we still didn't bring the umbrella.

 It was cloudy and windy but the water was warm and the kids loved playing in the waves.  It cut down a bit on the crowds though so that was nice.  After the beach, we stopped by Costco for some supplies, tasters and treats.

One of Xander's beloved bottles, BaBa's was ruined in the dishwasher, and another one has disappeared so we were down to one precious BaBa.  I had him help me choose a special sippy cup with a soft nipple hoping that we could transition him off the bottle altogether.  He still prefers his one BaBa but he has taken to carrying this around and taking a few drinks.  I guess that is progress.

Xander loves to be outside so frequent walks with Grandpa are high on his list.  He is making progress with Grandpa.  He was very cautious at first of this new man who showed up suddenly.

The other day at the library, I bought a country cook book from the sale rack for $1.  There were a handful of raspberries in the fridge that I didn't want to waste so I made a raspberry Tasty Cake dessert from the book.  It was delish.  However, the Tasty Cakes are not the same.  The quality and size have really gone downhill.  I will probably try the Hostess next time.  As a long time Tasty Cake fan, I'm soooo disappointed.  Gone are the good old days.

 Here are the kids in the Costco cart.  Xander is still keeping a sharp eye on Steve at this point.

 There is a new playground next to the library so we go there first thing in the morning before it gets too hot.  We are still adjusting to the humidity.  Sweating is really not my style.

Church went pretty well today.  We didn't have to take any of the kids out for misbehaving but Benson put a folded up program made into a puppet inside Steve's iPad case.  That pushed against the Pandora icon and started the music playing.  Steve left to try to get the device under control.  That did not make him too happy.  Xander went with us to gospel doctrine rather than stay in the nursery.  He grabbed for Grandpa rather than stay there.  The third hour, I took him back to nursery and stayed with him.  It helped that we arrived just in time for snacks.  We made it through the hour together without further incident but he sat on my lap most of the time.  I figure it's time for bed so I am going to head that way.  We plan to have another wonderful week in SC.