Snapshots of My Summer

 Afternoon Starbucks brownie with my niece...

 Yogurt Mountain with the whole family (Fourth of July Weekend)

 We take up two tables -- at least. 

 Midnight swimming!

 Delicious after-church lunch fun at Papa's and Beer...

 Late afternoon sidewalk view from Trio's Cafe downtown...

 Baking cookies :)

 Helping Mom prep peaches for preserves and pie!

 Taking my niece to breakfast at -- where else? -- the Awful Waffle.  Haha -- except that it was nice and not awful at all...

 Enjoying baseball at a Greenville Drive game!

 On the way to the beach...

 The Sisters.  One week.  Thanks, Mom and Dad!

 Our view :)

 Prepping for B's bridal shower!

 Scones and sisters -- a perfect bridal shower combo :)

And now, back to our regularly scheduled school year... 

...and so it's a good thing I don't have kids.

We started the weekend well -- with popcorn and a movie: Megamind.  I'd never seen it, but Faith had, so she made sure to tell me what was going to happen as it was happening.  "and this is when Megamind THINKS he killed..." hahaha -- it was lots of fun. 

Finally I get her to bed.  It is 11:30.  This is troubling, but I secretly think that she'll sleep in the next morning, so there is an internal justifying of the late hour bedtime. 

Light woke me at 6:32 am.  When I stumbled into Faith's room, she was reading a book and my croaky, "Faith! What are you doing up -- it's still the middle of the night!" did not seem to sway her back to sleep.  I went back to sleep, though, and got a blissful 40 minutes before I heard "Auntie Ro, can I watch a movie?" I trundled out to the living room, set up the dvd, and went back to bed for another hour.  I mean, wow.   That girl got like 6 hours of sleep, max.  Cuh. Razy.

 When I finally got UP around 8 am, we sloshed through the rain and wind in our pj's to get our donut holes.  Then we came back and watched a movie all morning -- good times, good times. 

My plan was to get us both ready and out the door in time for lunch and then the show at SWU at 2.  I forgot that an eight-year-old doesn't always understand the importance of the "plan." We got out the door, barely in time to make it to SWU, and I'm ashamed -- so ashamed -- to confess to you that I COMPLETELY forgot two things:

1. Someone didn't remember to "do" her niece's hair.

2. Someone also didn't remember to ask her niece to brush her teeth. 

We made it to the play, but without an official lunch, I am ashamed to say.  I am further ashamed that I tried to placate the lunch situation with a zaxby's drive-through, but someone didn't want chicken; they just wanted fries.  Sigh.  So here's the day so far:

Unbrushed hair.  Unbrushed teeth.  French fries for lunch.

So far, Auntie Ro is an EPIC FAIL as a substitute mom.  I freely admit this :)

Because of my epic fail with lunch, little girl made it through the first act, but we had to ditch the second because of grumpy, grumpy hunger-pants.  I would judge, but I can't.  My sisters know how grumpy I am until I'm fed.  It's rather shocking.  So...

I suggested a slice of pizza.  We ended up with cheesy sticks. Considering that her mother specifically asked me to try to keep this weekend healthy... well, the Epic Fails continue.  Forgive me, sister A. 

Potentially, I may have also introduced her to garlic butter sauce, which she'd never heard of before.  <insert apology here>

Niece-a-kiss fell asleep in the car on the way home.  Now she's had her bath, is in her pj's, and we are about to make tacos at home.  I am going to attempt a lettuce-tomato seduction, but she's already warned me that she likes her tacos with "JUST meat and cheese. That's all."  We shall see...

Niece-a-kiss

My niece is coming to spend the weekend with me.  Sister A is going to a ladies retreat in the mountains, and she is allowing me to shelter and feed her most precious treasure for two days :) 

This morning, sister A told me that my niece said, "Auntie Ro is the funniest Auntie in the whole wide world!" (or something along those lines), and I've gotta tell you -- it mighta kinda sorta made my DAY.  We have "traditions" at Auntie Ro's house.  Here are a few of them:

* At Auntie Ro's house, there are always "hot chips."
Years and years ago, I brought some Doritos to a lunch or something, and my niece had never tried them before!  She loved them and has been calling them "hot chips" for as long as I can remember...My sister doesn't keep them at her house, because it's one of those things that is special for Auntie Ro's visits. 

* At Auntie Ro's house, we always watch Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
This is a movie I never get tired of watching, and I introduced her to it last year, I think.  Our favorite parts are:  the fizzy-lifting drinks, where they have to burp to save themselves; the carbonation-powered train, where they get covered in heaps and mounds of frothy bubbles; and the part where one of the dads says, "I've got a blueberry for a daughter!"  We laugh and laugh and laugh.  Usually, my niece rewinds these parts at least 3 times while we watch. 

* At Auntie Ro's house, we always get up early on Saturday morning and drive through Dunkin Donuts in our pj's to order my niece F her very favorite breakfast: Donut Holes. 
We make sure they include powdered, (her fav), chocolate and blueberry (our mutual favs) and "only a couple" jelly-filled (my fav).  Also, we get milk.

* At Auntie Ro's house, F always drinks out of a special pink cup I save especially for her visits. 
It is pink and plastic and she always gets to pick the color straw she wants to put in it.  I have many colored straws.

* At Auntie Ro's house, when my niece comes to visit, she gets to take a BUBBLE bath in the "swimming pool" bathtub. 
It is a 2 person whirlpool tub with jets and my 8 year old niece gets lost in it.  She loves it, although she is always a little nervous about "starting up" the jets.  ("They're so loud, Auntie Ro!")

This weekend, I have lots of fun things planned and my camera will be joining us on our adventures... stay tuned :)