Stamina

Tuesday's Playdate...

Aunt Tonya has the stamina of a marathon runner. She decided to have all 4 cousins over all day. First, she woke at dawn for the excursion to pick up Matt, who I heard slept in the carseat.

The kids played with balloons and toys in the morning and about 10AM were hungry for lunch (getting up at dawn throws your schedule off). Then we had a painting party at Aunt Tonya's - thank goodness Uncle Michael was willing to do the clean up! The girls had the hang of painting down. They made a tic-tac-toe board, hopscotch, painted their footprints, you name it. Zach pretty much ate the paint (safe) and Matt got painted by everyone (particularly Aunt Shannon). I love the look of green toes on a toddler!

Matt was a little monkey and climbed the play equipment even using the big kid rungs as opposed to the easier, larger wooden steps. He went down the slide forwards, backwards, side-ways... And he enjoyed playing in the gravel, putting it in buckets.

The water table and pool were a big hit and helped expedite kid clean-up. Ashley and Kate took turns spraying each other and Zach pretty much had a temper tantrum. Not sure why he was so fussy but he does have molars coming in... Aunt Tonya organized, refereed everything and cleaned up. Like I said, she had more stamina than I could muster. Then it was baths, snack time, quiet time with cartoons and naps.

The girls have the largest playroon I've ever seen despite the fact that the toys had recently been culled and donated (but don't tell the girls they're missing anything!). Of course the playroom was fun for all the kids including the teeter-totter - even Aunt Shannon had a ride!

Fajitas were made for dinner complete with La Tolteca salsa. It goes without saying that everyone enjoyed it (except Zach who was still fussy and refused to eat). Grandpa Frank, Tita Loretta and Uncle Michael joined the kids for dinner. After dinner included climbing up and down the stairs, get to the landing and turn around again. Amazing what will entertain toddlers and the big kids cheered them on.

I was wiped out but Aunt Tonya still had the stamina to clean up and serve desert. Kate made special homemade vanilla ice cream with fresh berries. It was a hit. Zach was fading fast so we had to give hugs and kisses and get out of there. But I'm sure Matt hung out for a little longer to climb up the stairs some more and play with the girls' toys. Grandpa Frank and Tita Loretta took him back to Glendora for bed.

It was a great day but a tiring one. Remind me not to have another kid any time soon! Zach is all I can handle for now...

Pictures can be viewed here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mtsadsad/PaintingParty?feat=email#5335164775680663842