Grandpa Was Here

We had another great visit from my dad.  He came, he paid attention to the kids, he fixed stuff, he played scrabble with me, he made me happy.  It was good.

It is always fun when my dad comes to visit because it means we get a few days of uninterrupted Grandpa time.  He makes sure to read lots of books to the kids and pay tons of attention to them.  They soak it all up.  This time we decided to do a collective birthday party since Afton, Cade and I all have our birthdays within a couple weeks of each other.  To celebrate we went to an indoor bounce house and let the kids run around for awhile.  Afton and Ben had gone down this huge slide a gazillion times and I had even climbed up with Cade and gone down.  So Grandpa decided to try it too!  He climbed up the tiny steps and slid down the thirty foot drop with Ben on one side and Afton on the other.  I hope he has recovered by now. ;) 

 

Then he took us all out to a seriously yummy dinner.  It has been so very long since I've eaten out at a real restaurant that I found myself completely giddy with anticipation! The appetizers alone made my day.  I think I ate enough calories to last me for a few days, but it all tasted sooooo good I didn't even care.  Then to top it off we ordered a massive piece of texas sheet cake for dessert.  The kids had been telling us how full they were and couldn't eat another bite.  But when that cake came out, it was as if they transformed into piranhas.  That piece of cake disappeared so fast it was shocking.  I was simultaneously entertained and disgusted.  Yup, those are my kids!
 

The fun didn't stop there!  The next day we put him to work.  Grandpa and Jared finally fixed our annoying gate that wouldn't open or close without serious effort.  Now it opens with a gentle push and that makes me happy to no end.  There is something totally satisfying to have something that should work actually work.

 

 To top it off, I enjoyed my favorite daughter status as he agreed to make us some gourmet dinner while Jared took me shopping for a birthday present.  I am lucky, what can I say? These two are a natural in the kitchen.

 

I love it when family comes to visit! It makes me feel super loved that someone is willing to make that long drive to see us.  And it is so good for our kids to be able to connect with their family and build up memories that last forever. Thanks Dad.