Grandma Lindsey arrived just before breakfast and whisked James off for a day of fun. Genevieve wolfed down her porridge and then scooted to school with Megan.
On their way to the classroom, Genevieve added another stone to the Crofton stone snake. This time she added a Harry Potter themed stone. She was chuffed to bits with her contribution.
When Megan got back from the school run, she called some pupils at home before heading in to school for a few hours. I worked from home in the morning and then needed a solid two-hour nap in the afternoon.
The following was written by Grandad Lawrie.
After a hearty breakfast of cereal and a jam sandwich, James, quite out of the blue, asked for the first time if he could help by putting his plate in the dishwasher. Maybe this is something he does all the time at home, but it was a unique and very welcome experience for us.
After breakfast, James requested very politely if he could play Wii golf again; and so he did. He started quite well, achieving a double bogey which brought a Cheshire cat grin to his face. Then things started to go downhill as James produced quite a number of hook shots that caused the ball to veer to the left. Even with Grandad Lawrie’s help and advice the ball kept veering away. I’m sure it’s something we can work on, but I think it may have put James off golf for a while.
However, he was then introduced to Wii cycling, and discovered that he had to pump both arms as hard as he could to overtake others in the race. He put as much energy as he could into the process but, sadly, the Wii software seemed to develop a fault, putting an end to cycling for the day.
However, things got back on an even keel when Grandma Lindsey unveiled a couple of additional Mega Blok pirate structures we had bought on eBay – the smugglers’ fort and Port Royale. These offer a new dimension of play as they include trap doors, cranes and bridges – and of course, more cannons.
After lunch and quiet time watching cartoons on the TV, James was delighted that his request to make some spinning paint pictures was readily agreed to. He was genuinely pleased with the outcome (the tie dye, psychedelic colours effect) and looking forward to showing his efforts to mummy and daddy when he got home.
It’s a sure bet that this is something that Genevieve will want to do when she’s here next.
I woke up from my nap and discovered a text from Megan asking where Genevieve’s big scooter was – she’d been complaining that her current one was too small. Fortunately I knew exactly where the bigger one (with flashy lights on the base) was hiding in the garage. But then Megan asked where the other bigger one was (with Disney princesses on the base) and I was initially stumped… until I realised it was in precisely the same place as the first scooter. I’m not entirely sure how I missed it the first time – perhaps I need my eyes tested!
And yes, I always send Megan bonkers photos like these in response to totally normal queries. It’s quicker than typing!
With the kids home from school and grandparents, we wandered out to see the friendly neighbourhood monkey. Today’s activity was the highland games. Fortunately neither child asked what monkeys wear under their kilts!
We were having homemade burgers for dinner and Genevieve was keen to help. That was until she started complaining about how much the onions hurt her eyes. I wouldn’t have minded but that was literally the first ingredient that went in to the mix!
After dinner, Megan presented both children with their new unicorn night lights. When she ordered them I assumed they’d only be a couple of inches big (like a normal night light), but they’re absolutely massive! They were an instant hit with the kids though – let’s hope the work and reduce the amount of fuss while they’re falling asleep.
While James was upstairs getting ready for bed, Genevieve wrote beautiful end-of-term thank you cards for her teacher and teaching assistant. While the writing was very good, she took and unorthodox approach and wrote on the left of each card. She resolved the issue by adding pictures on the right, so it was all good in the end.
I went upstairs to find James playing hide and seek behind the fan in Genevieve’s room. He was having a great time, but the trouble was that the fan was about half as thin as he is, and he was giggling so loudly that it was almost impossible to even pretend to not see him.
We got the kids in bed and had to deal with a fairly standard amount of messing about before they settled (so the jury’s still out on the unicorn heads). Then we had dinner whilst watching another couple of episodes of Tiger King. It continues to be fascinating and appalling in equal measures.
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