Beach Week - Friday the Finale

Stu didn't get his way. Everyone was still here when Shane and I woke up at 7 AM. 

Since there was packing going on, no one minded the kids hopping on the Switch.

Which soon became the Switch and the 3DS.

The couch is giant, but the boys all choose to pack in as tight as possible. Pop threw Tenley in the mix.

Around 8:45ish AM, Ka, Stu, and crew pulled out and started their trip home. It took them 9 hours with stops on the way in. Hopefully, it goes smoother the way back.

I had thought about leaving on Friday, but if we did B would have been all alone. The house felt half empty and eerily quiet with five of the family driving off.

I started to wrestle B and Shane, but it turned out it was time for Aiden's 9 AM nap! Nana took them out for some crafts instead. I haven't made Shane do any structured activities all week. We need to get back on the reading, writing, and forms bandwagon. At least Nana's made sure his teeth are clean!

The boys are both into physical play. Shane's twice B's size, so he has to be careful. B likes to punch and play rough. It's all good mannered, but I made sure to tell Shane it's the bigger boy's responsibility to look after the younger boy. If B got hurt, Shane would be held responsible.

It mostly worked out. There were some close calls and bumps, but everyone stayed friends. Learning how to temper your actions is a valuable skill to learn. There was one big bump earlier in the week where Shane felt so guilty he cried about it.

I realized today that the only time I've heard Aiden squawk all week was whenever he woke up from a nap. He's a super happy baby.

Nana tried to do some more crafts with the boys, but only B was biting. Nana had asked me to do a "Booger Ball" science experiment with the kids. They never wanted to and I was off the hook.

There have been heavy rains and flooding in Charlottesville. We had some rain yesterday, but it really came down today. It came down so much you can actually tell from the picture.

B wanted to go to the beach when it cleared up. Shane preferred the pool. We were going to divide and conquer, but B changed his mind to stick with Shane.

He got to Facetime his parents before he swam for long. B's been a little homesick, but heavily distracted by all the fun going on. He was so cute I recorded part of the conversation to show Megan later.

He ran down to the pool and then ran back up bawling when he heard me tell Megan, "Bye." He was distraught. He never got a chance to say, "bye!" I guess he thought Megan and Big B were going to watch him swim from the phone? We called back and he got to tell them, "See you tomorrow."

The sun finally got me this morning, so I stayed out of the pool. I hadn't thought I'd been out that long and it was overcast. However, my ginger skin and lack of a t-shirt got me. It's a small burn across my shoulders. Nothing major.

The sun was pretty poking out from behind the rain clouds.

Nana hopped in for the first time.

She discovered that Indy was mesmerized when she kicked and splashed the water. Pop caused trouble and played with the boys, as usual.

I've been dying to play some games all week. Everyone has been busy with kids and catching up, though. That's the way it should be. I'm not complaining. I did the same myself.

I was happy when Matt and Renee mentioned they'd like to play something before turning in early. I broke out a Harry Potter card game I'd brought with them in mind.

It's not from my shelf of shame, but I had brought it in the hopes they'd like it and take it home with them. Carrie and I played through it already and beat all the levels.

The kids went to bed a little late and then it was staging and packing for everyone still moving. We have to be packed out and gone early tomorrow. Then we can all rest and recover from an amazing beach week!