Smore's, Photos, Napkin Craft, Gardening, Sorry Game, and High Tea! The Quads' Visit!

Our Grand Quads were on Spring Break this week and they came over Wednesday afternoon to spend the night with us. We were so excited!!

And apparently - so were they!!!!

Kailey immediately got my phone and went around taking pictures.

First one was of her Granddad, of course!

This may well be my favorite photo of their entire visit.

These two have always had a special bond.

Logan was the next one to take pics.

I love this one best of all the ones she took.

Let me tell you - they took dozens of photos and Harrison took a hilarious 5 minute video!!

This is the note from Logan.

She is my Mini Me!

I love how she covered both spellings of MeeMaw!

The kids went around checking out their favorite places in the house and yard for the first couple of hours. They know where all the arts and craft things are and they always congregate around my sewing machine.  Sure enough, they hand sewed pockets and outfits for their stuffed animals using the denim squares that I have stacked in my basket. I think it's pretty cool how they can thread thier own needles and actually sew something!

I made sloppy Joe's for our dinner along with a big bag of potato chips and watermelon.

It was a surprisingly GOOD watermelon for this time of year!

Then they helped me put clean sheets on the double bottom bunk and the twin top bunk.

At nearly 8 years old, they can be a lot of help!

They took turns taking showers in my tiny shower - to hear them talk it - was super tiny!!

For the longest time they didn't even know I had a shower in my bathroom because I have an over the door towel rack with four rungs and when you hang four towels - it pretty much covers three-quarters of the shower door.

The girls prepared a giant S'mores cookie for dessert as they awaited their turn in the bathroom.

Logan took this picture of her latest stuffed animal all dressed up in the new outfit she made.

The girls slept in the guest room and Harrison chose to sleep in the living room on that big overstuffed chair and ottoman. He said, "It's so comfy! And I already have all my stuff around it like a nest!"

Only trouble was he could hear the TV from the den where Louis Dean and I were watching a Mountain Man episode on the Discovery Channel before we went to bed.

No problem! He came in and joined us and we all enjoyed our special time together.

He was really interested in the program and said he would have to check it out when he got back home.

When the kids spend the night, I leave special snacks out on the dresser for them to eat in the morning along with something to drink. They know they are not supposed to wake MeeMaw up and they don't. There's a lot to keep them occupied and Granddad was up early so they could go out in the den and visit with him.

It was midnight when I went to bed and 9:00 when I opened my bedroom door.

Since they had already had snacks, we went ahead and started our craft project before breakfast.

They made their Mama her very own Easter basket!

I fixed my coffee and filled a small pitcher with milk and set out tiny espresso cups for them.

They fill the cups one third with coffee and the rest with milk and feel like little grown ups sipping coffee with MeeMaw!

The craft uses printed napkins. We tear off the top ply where the print is and apply it to the basket with Modge Podge. I left my bottle of that at the ranch so I mixed Elmer's glue with a little water and it does the same thing.

It was warm yesterday - in the 80's - so we had the French doors open and the kids were able to go in and out as they pleased while I made breakfast.

Hash browns, sausage and crescent dinner roll pinwheels, cheese scrambled eggs and watermelon.

While the kids dressed and brushed their teeth and made up the beds, Granddad set up some gardening for them to do.

We set out more onion plants as well as some tomato and some pepper plants.

Trystan filled 8 small clay pots full of potting soil and they planted Shasta Daisies seeds in one and Marigolds in the other to take home with them.

It was so warm by this time I had to turn the AC on and shut the doors.

It's a good thing we have some good window units because the central AC fan wouldn't turn!

 I asked them to look in the den and find a game for us to play.

It was out in plain sight but it took them a few minutes to find it.

By this time it was nearly 2:00 so our last big activity was to have a High Tea.

This doubled for lunch since it included sandwiches - 3 kinds - butter with sugar and sliced almonds, chicken salad, and ham and cheese. Of course we had fruit and tea biscuits and tea cakes!

This was our first tea using the silver tea pots.

The three different tea cakes - aka Little Debbie treats - were in a silver basket.

I filled the tea pots with ice cubes and tea and they could all pour their own.

Plus - to make it really fancy - I lit all the candles!

Louis Dean has an antique wooden match box holder - you know the kind you put an entire big box of matches in and there's an opening on the sides where you can strike the match.

Turns out the kids had not seen regular matches before.

Their mama uses those flame throwers.

They were impressed.

As a matter of fact, Amber was telling me yesterday that Harrison said he liked visiting grandparents because he likes to see the 'old things.' He says they only have 'present things.'

I love his picture!

Harrison took the tea cake basket around at the end of the party where they picked out their favorite.

See the sweet expressions on their little faces?

We went straight from the tea party to the den to play the Tea Party game.

They have been playing that since they were three years old.

I think it may well be time to donate the game to Goodwill but they seemed to get a kick out of playing it. They know all the things you need to have a tea party because of this game.

All too soon it was time to say goodbye!

Look what I found after they had left.

It's Harrison's habit to leave a message on the black board in our bedroom.

I love it!

So our Spring Break Visit this year was a success!

This is a memory from Spring Break last year when we were all out at the ranch.

Today has been so quiet compared to yesterday.

I admit that I underestimated my energy level and am learning that this fatigue is something I must  except a little better. I think it's a combination of continuing to recover from my knee surgery and maybe a bit of simply being in my 72nd year of life.

Louis Dean and I were both in bed by 10:00 last night and didn't wake up until 10:00 this morning.

I had the coffee ready so we had one cup together in the den and then I took my second cup back to bed to have my prayer time. Then I lingered and rested and read and finally got out of bed around 1:00 this afternoon!

It's now a little after 11:00 so I think I'm ready to call it a day.

I'm sitting in the gazebo as I journal tonight.

It's been raining and it's considerably cooler than it was yesterday.

I'm glad we were able to make some new memories for the quads.

At nearly 8 years of age - they don't remember all the adventures and special times we have had together so it's important to stay 'present' in their lives.

But I'm confident that they WILL remember some of the 'old' things.......