Grandma! (Part I)

What's up, Party Posse,

How's everybody?  Good?  Awesome.  As you all know, it's June, and June around here means we here at the Fortress of Houghitude can expect a visit from Grandma (and usually Papa John as well, but unfortunately he's swamped with business and couldn't swing it this summer).

Mom was supposed to fly in to the Sanford International Airport two days ago, sometime around 10:20pm.  This was already not-so-awesome for us, since Sanford's nearly an hour drive away, but seeing how her fare was dirt-cheap and we're not really waist-deep in relatives down here, we took what we could get.  Well, long story short, Mom didn't actually set foot on Floridian soil until after 11:30pm, and as a result Yours Truly was forced to take approximately twelve victory laps around the airport Departure/Arrival circuit (since they financially rape you to park there).

By the time we got back to our house, it was nearly 1am, but, being the genius that I am, I had deemed it 'a smart move' to down a Red Bull shortly before setting off to pick Mom up.  I think I fell asleep sometime around 3am, but who knows. . .

The next morning, when I awoke (much earlier than what I deemed appropriate - thanks, kids), Grandma's Summer 2012 Visit was well underway.  What of the great things about Mom coming down to visit - besides her company, of course - is that she's a great help around the house, with the kids, etc.  As you all know, we just bought a house a month ago, and we're still in the process of putting it together - having an extra set of hands at our disposal has been awesome.  Of course, we have to reel Mom in once and awhile - she has a tendency of not only serving as a live-in maid and babysitter, but also purchasing gifts, items for the house, and groceries despite our futile protests (which are always appreciated). 

That's just how Grandma rolls.

Here's some crap from the first few days of her visit.  Enjoy:

Yours Truly explores the newly-discovered Attic above the garage. . . wherein was discovered a vintage fishing rod, a camping stove, bags of Christmas decorations, and other plunderous goods. . .

The Hough gals, out on a constitutional with Grandma. . .

Why would she deem it necessary to bring a PILLOW along with her on a walk around the neighborhood, you may ask?  Because she's the Cannonball, folks.

Important phone calls.

Colors/Shapes flash cards.  (Contrary to popular belief, Teachers do NOT take summers off. . .)

Abby spies a snack. . .

"GRANT ME YOUR BACON!"

 On Monday, Alayna has Zumba, which, for those of you not in the know, is something like dance-fighting. . . I think.  Or maybe it's more like aerobics.  I actually have no idea what it is, I just know our kid loves the hell out of it.  Once Grandma rolled into town, the Cannonball was quick to show off her flashy new dance moves (and even grant Grandma admission to Zumba practice at Sunchild).

Morning dance party.

We've spent quite a lot of time in the pool over the last couple of days, if only because a tropical storm is expected to slam into us soon and we wanted to take full advantage of the sun while it was out. . .

While we had an extra hand to coral kids and haul away yard debris, I felt it was time to tear down a few of the trees we had in the backyard.  The previous owner had planted some of them so close together that they were stunting one another's growth and forcing branches to grow in unhealthy ways.  Being fruit trees, this wouldn't be good for my 'harvest,' so, brandishing my trusty handsaw and hedge-trimmer, I sprang into action. ..

Behold my wrath. . . (that lone branch still standing held a bird's nest, and I didn't have the heart to bring it down in front of the kids. . .)

. . . its days are numbered, though.

One of the things Mom wanted to do while she was down was help us paint the girls' bedroom.  Well before we moved, we decided to let the Cannonball choose what color to paint their new room - it was only fair, seeing how it's theirs.

She chose purple.

We were going to paint a darker accent wall, but then said 'screw it.'  I don't think the kids will complain.

Mom ended up doing about 90% of this by herself. . .

Photo © Cannonball

Photo © Cannonball

The Sticker Chart: A Quasi-Effective Positive Behavior Support System.  Photo © Cannonball

Photo © Cannonball

Photo © Cannonball

The Temporary Library - Adam and I still have to build/paint the outer case for it.  Then I'll get around to organizing it, either by subject or alphabetically - I haven't decided yet.  I'm still in a quandary, though - this holds about 2/3 of our collection, which is in a constant state of expansion. . . I might need to build another one of these before long.

More to come.  Stay tuned.

- Brian