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Mission Accomplished ... a Very Mini Trip Report


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On Sunday, July 12, we left home at 0 dark thirty.

 

Sorry, Dolly, you can't go this time!

 

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We headed east.  About an hour into our trip the sun started rising.  I call this next photo "Through the Bird Poop":

 

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Our mission which we chose to accept was to babysit four of our grandchildren overnight so that Matthew and Erica could attend an out-of-state wedding.

 

We knew this would be a tough mission, so upon arriving in Raleigh we immediately went to the new Golden Corral on US1 to fortify ourselves, review our game plan, and get our mindsets straight.  Remember we were going to be dealing with a big-time screamer -- Red (almost three) emits blood-curdling screams any time anyone does something he doesn't like.  And that's many, many times a day.

 

We arrived at the battleground a little after 9, and shortly thereafter Matthew and Erica left.  I felt terror rising in my throat.  Suddenly I felt like we weren't up to the challenge.

 

But the kids were all very excited to see us and happily said goodbye to their parents.  It was still relatively cool outside, so we all went out to play.  Fortunately their back yard is fenced in and is equipped with many, many things to play on. 

 

So they played awhile, and then Miracle gave me a bouquet of dandelion flowers.

 

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How sweet!

 

Once it started getting hot, we went back indoors.  The kids wanted to watch a movie.  Their selection:

 

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I was surprised this wasn't a Disney movie.  Doesn't Disney have some sort of copyright on Peter Pan?

 

Meanwhile Kassie wasn't too pleased with all the attention she was getting.  She eventually resorted to hiding behind the dining room table.

 

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That's Einstein in the middle.  He is 8 now.  And Red is on the right.

 

We played Cootie with the little ones:

 

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That's Miracle.  He is four.

 

And then we played a board game with the big kids.

 

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That's Diva in the middle.  She is now six.

 

There was a lot of laughter:

 

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To be continued.

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Very nice - I think three year olds have an incredible superhuman force to unleash screams that are capable of boiling water. I fondly remember a trip to the beach when our oldest was three.  Woke up two days into our camping trip tofind that all the other campers had left the area around us!

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Very nice - I think three year olds have an incredible superhuman force to unleash screams that are capable of boiling water. I fondly remember a trip to the beach when our oldest was three.  Woke up two days into our camping trip tofind that all the other campers had left the area around us!

 

 "unleash screams that are capable of boiling water."   :rofl2:  That's a great description!

 

How nice Gwen! I know you enjoyed being with them.

 

Yes, we thoroughly enjoyed it, but we're glad it's over!  

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So let's finish up my little mini report.

 

These kids literally eat every two hours or so.  Thanks to Matthew for leaving us great snacks!  Mango slices, watermelon chunks, hummus, etc.  So after the games it was lunchtime.  Diva wanted to make PB&J sandwiches for the little ones.  And then she and Einstein made their own lunches.  I was surprised at how self-reliant the kids are!

 

After lunch three out of four of the kids wanted to watch:

 

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David and I hadn't seen it before.  I thought it was cute.  I probably would have enjoyed it more if we weren't surrounded by kids singing along, telling us what was going to happen next, and constantly chatting.

 

Guess who's the one person who wasn't excited to see Frozen again:

 

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When the movie ended it was time for Miracle and Red to nap.  Thankfully they went down without a fight.

 

David and I taught Einstein and Diva to play "Go Fish."  Then the kids decided to play Wii.  And then awhile later I discovered they had Toy Story Mania for their Wii.  Einstein and Diva thought it was hilarious that I'd never played a Wii game.  So of course Diva had to show me how to play.

 

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Diva beat me on the regular round (no surprise), but I beat her in the bonus round.  By the time we finished that one game I felt like my arms were going to fall off.

 

Meanwhile David and Einstein made a quick trip to purchase a dessert surprise.

 

The little ones awoke, and it was time to make dinner.  Thankfully Matthew had already cooked some spaghetti sauce.  All I had to do was reheat it, cook the noodles, make some green beans, and get fruit out of the fridge.  All while pulling my hair out due to the noise factor and the constant, overwhelming requests.

 

We made it through dinner and pulled out the dessert that excited everyone:

 

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Ice cream!  Two flavors of Baskin Robbins.  Of course all the kids had to have both flavors.  And then they wanted seconds of both, and of course we let them.  Please don't tell their parents!

 

After we got the kitchen cleaned up and the dishwasher started, we went back outside to play until bedtime.  It was pleasant in the shade.

 

And by the end of the day Kassie was finally enjoying all the attention she was getting from the kids:

 

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By 9:00 the kids were all asleep, and we were exhausted. 

 

And then I realized something.

 

RED DIDN'T SCREAM!  NOT ONE TIME ALL DAY!  IT'S A MIRACLE!

 

I can't sleep without a TV on.  Apparently when Matthew and Erica arrived home about 1 am one of them turned it off.  And so I was awake for the rest of the night, after 2.5 hours of sleep.

 

By 7 am Matthew and the kids were awake.  So we packed up, said our goodbyes, and headed west.

 

We made it about five miles until David remembered he had left his glasses on the dining room table.

 

So we went east again to retrieve them.

 

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And finally we headed west again.  A couple of hours later we were home.  And a few hours after that I was asleep.  For 15 hours!

 

I don't know how Matthew and Erica manage every day.  This trip was a lot of fun, and I'm glad we survived.  But I was very happy to be home.

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That sounds exhausting! I'm glad your survived and it was scream free!

 

It was exhausting.  But so worth it.

 

So, you are doing something right.  No screams.  That is pretty darn cool.

 

I think part of the no screaming was that we were there with nothing else to do but play with the kids.  They had our undivided attention.

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I got tired just reading along, but you have to admit special time with your grandkids= priceless

 

Sorry!  I didn't mean to tire my readers out!  Yes, that time was priceless.

 

Yay for no screaming!!!!

 

You can say that again!

 

Very short but very sweet TR. Thanks!

 

Thank you for reading.

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Gwen, regarding Disney having copyrights to Peter Pan. They don't own the rights to the original fairytale, it's in the Public Domain, so anyone can make a version.

 

Disney's list of characters ripped off from other writers is very long.

Here are some of them:

Frozen, Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, Mulan, a bugs life, Lilo and Stitch, and Tangled,

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Great report, Gwen!  So glad you, David, and Kassie survived!

 

Thanks, Jean Ann!

 

Nice report Gwen.

No screaming is a wonderful thing.

 

Yes, it is.

 

Now that you have practiced, you can come watch my gang while I take INC to Hawaii.  

 

For non-family members our fee is a million dollars a week.  Is that okay with you?   :rofl2:

 

Great report!! :)

 

I'm glad you got the time with your grandchildren.  Blessing that you live close enough to drive.  No doubt your grandbabies enjoyed their time with you :)

 

Thanks.  We all enjoyed it!

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Gwen, I hate we were out of town (on a "deserted" island) while you were just right down the road from us... I could have sent Ashleigh over there to give you a hand... She has turned out to be quite the babysitter.  All of the kids that she watches from time to time absolutely love her.  We could have put her in charge, while you and David escaped to the Angus Barn for dinner...

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