Sunday evening we zipped back up Highway 121 for a couple more days at Grammy's house. This time there were cousins in the house!
This cute little thing quickly adopted Uncle Greg as her bff.
Greg certainly charmed sweet Cousin A.
David loved sweet Cousin A too--I spied him stealing a few hugs from her.
Uncle M had smuggled Kinder Eggs into the country for the kids. Not surprisingly, they were a big hit. Mary, David, and Cousin E anxiously peer into David's egg.
Mary and Cousin E are nearly the same age, and they got right down to the business of playing together.
This being Grammy's house in the summer, there was plenty of pool time.
I love this picture of three happy cousins!
Swimming pool + trampoline = lots of fun!
With all that time spent in Grammy's pool, it's no wonder that....drum roll...Mary learned to swim! Hooray!
That little doggie paddle brings much happiness to my heart! I'm not sure I could have picked a worse time to come to Texas. (Yeah, yeah, I know it's August and so I deserve it, but I didn't think it would be triple-digits the entire time!) So Mary's doggie paddle makes me feel like the trip was a success. The point was lots of hugs from grandparents, playtime with little cousins, and pool time. Check, check, and check!
Monday night Greg and I slipped away for an overnight date. The kids stayed at Grammy's with their cousins, Uncle M, and Aunt K for a cookout and more toy time. That night they got to sleep in Grammy's room, and Mary even got to sleep in Grammy's bed. This morning Grammy took David, Mary, and Cousin E out for donuts. David and Mary LOVE to get donuts with Grammy. (I am not going to tell you how many donuts Mary ate.) Then they came home and made chocolate chip cookies (and I am not going to tell you how many cookies Mary ate).
Mary loves to spend time with Grammy.
But you have to be careful if you stick out your tongue!
David loves to play at Grammy's house too. These are the blocks Greg played with when he was little.
When Greg and I got back this afternoon, Greg took David swimming at a community rec center. David has been so patient with all these little cousins. It hasn't been easy for him though--so Greg wanted to take him off on a special outing for just the two of them. They had a good time.
Meanwhile, the girls went on a fun outing to Half-Price Books. (These girls are so cute!)
After a super yummy dinner of calzones, we headed to the local downtown for some super yummy gelato. (We had an Italian theme tonight.) Yum. (I had the Sea Salt Caramel. Ooo, so good.) David enjoyed his.
And look at these cute girls!
After gelato (thank you for treating us, Grandpa), we rushed home to bathe the kids, put them to bed, and pack, pack, pack. Tomorrow morning we head back to Wisconsin. Besides the million other things waiting for us there, we've got to finish our tour of Europe!
But this has been one worthwhile detour.
