Daddy Steps Up

Heather left for DC early Sunday, and I was delighted to discover how pleasant my girls are when they know I am completely desperate to keep them occupied for an entire day. We had a great breakfast at Hobee's, where we all ate what we ordered, which is rare. Then we went to a nearby park I had been wanting to visit. There was no parking anywhere close by, but it was a lovely green space, which was good since the playground equipment is for the very young, so we did some creative play.

 

We then went home, where the girls continued to trash our house with a massive arts & crafts project that has been ongoing and growing since the grandparents visited over two weeks ago. I took advantage of the distraction and quickly mowed the lawn. We wrapped a birthday present and got ready for Amalia's classmate Jessica's birthday party at Pump It Up, a massive warehouse full of inflatable jumping things way too intricate to call bounce houses or jumping pillows. It was impressive.

Impatiently waiting in line after watching a safety video.

 

Bizarro Lily.

 

 

They even had a tiny clown car with giant children in it.

 

Then things got serious.

 

Even more serious was the half-dozen or so times Lily scaled the wall from both sides.

 

 

Note the green button at the top. It got its bell rung quite a few times.

  

 A final group pose with funny faces.

 

 Jessica got to sit in the giant inflatable chair where she blew out her birthday candles. This photo makes me want to call her Jessica Rabbit.

  

The chair was very popular. Here is Queen Amalia thanking her sister's Greek gods for her moment of triumph.

Because I was having such a great day, decided to push my luck (No whammies!) and go straight to Home Depot with the girls to buy some shelving for the garage. Amalia wanted candy at the register and I denied the request, so she refused to budge. I asked an orange-vested checker to ask if she shoplifted any candy, which got her out the door, where I frisked her (no joke). What looked like an impasse melted away fairly quickly. Hmm. I was puzzled.

Of course, when we got home, Lily hit the computer and Amalia helped me assemble the shelving. We finished up, spoke briefly on the phone with Heather, took a bath, and wrapped up our day with a chapter of Harry Potter.

~Fin~