When I was growing up, I spent a week or so each summer with my grandparents. Both sets happened to live in the same town which meant that I could bounce back and forth between their houses - building, baking, exploring, swimming and generally having a grand old time. I looked forward to those weeks all year long and I'm pretty sure that much of my personality was formed, or at least influenced heavily, by all of the things I learned from my grandparents during those visits.
Briton has been heading off to my parents for a week every summer since he was five and Evie and I usually tag along for the first part but this summer we stayed for a longer visit before leaving him behind for some special Nana and Poppa time. Lucky us. It's also the first summer that Evie has really gotten to be part of the gang. Will and I contemplated sending her for some time on her own there, since she is five as well, but in the end it seemed like it was better to wait another year. Plus, I like getting to be there with everyone. It's like getting to be Huck Finn for a week.
Briton started off the visit by forming a plan to try out a different ice cream shop every day and rating them. While we didn't make it every day, we did end up eat more ice cream during the week than I've eaten in a year (such a hard life, I know). He's still on the job and I'm looking froward to seeing the results of his poll. (For the record, the frozen yogurt place was my favorite!)
It was kid (of all ages) heaven. There was fishing and bowling, fishing and painting, fishing and cooking, fishing and swimming. We went to the lake and the pool and the never to be missed City Museum in St. Louis. And, oh, there was more fishing. Briton and Evie were always game for fishing at the creek that runs through my parent's property. Even when it was 104.
So instead of blogging or checking email or reading facebook I played and swam and cooked and read two whole books and watched the tiny toad that lives in a flowerpot on the deck and knitted (more on that later) and yes, fished.
Yesterday Evie and I got on a plane to come home to a much cooler city and a very happy daddy and dog (until Evie decided the dog needed some accessories, then I'm not sure the dog was as happy to see us.
Thank goodness for patient pups!) and Briton went off with his Poppa for a day's adventure at the Science Museum and the Zoo in St. Louis which he told me on the phone tonight was the best day ever.Ah summer...
Now I just have to convince my girl that she can, in fact, survive for six days without her brother. It might even be fun. Museums, museums, here we come!