With Daddy Running the Ship

So this weekend marked the first time Jessica has been away from the kids for a whole weekend. She went to Gunpowder State Park in north Baltimore County for a woman's scrapbook weekend. I think there were eight ladies there, many that Madelyn and Abigail know as the mommies of their friends. She and Nana left town after dinner on Friday and returned back home this afternoon.

For those expecting some crazy and antics and occurrences that would end up on America's Funniest Home Videos, well, we had a pretty benign few days. Not to say that there weren't some antics, but nothing worthy of the front page news.

Madelyn knew right away that when Mommy goes out for the night (or in this case for the weekend) that means she can push the limits of the bedtime ritual. Of course, I am almost always happy to oblige, but in this case Abby decided that she wanted in on the fun too. Her typical 7:15 bedtime was stretched to 9:00 as well -- certainly not by my blessing. Madelyn I can understand staying up that late on occasion but Abby with her no-nap routines is not a designated candidate. On thing led to another with the highlight of the evening being group books in Madelyn's bed. Abby got bored rather quickly and decided it was more fun to bang her head (lightly) against the wall. This made her laugh (the last child tends to be clown) and Madelyn found it equally hilarious. The crescendo finally peaked with jumping on the bed and finally they were both off to neverland. (Future note: Madelyn stated on Sunday that she dreamed on Mommy while she was gone).

Saturday was a full day of fun and activity. We did a quick stop at the Catonsville library to get "Peter Pan", a book for Daddy and some books for the kids. Then it was off to Chuck-E-Cheese to meet up with reps from our Arlington friends, Rob and Diana. We had a great time as evidenced by the following photos.



After a late nap, Pop came over for a visit. We spent our time with a special screening of the "Tinkerbell" movie, aka, Peter Pan. I guess Madelyn really is more interested in her than anything else. We had a good dinner, then as luck would have it, we were invited over to the Hernan's to visit Ella and Maggie (their mommy organized the scrapbook weekend) for the some homemade ice cream. Yum!! The conversation was mostly about Barbie, Hannah Montana and High School Musical. Gee I am really in for it soon.

Today, we went to church and Pop, the girls and I met up with Mommy and Nana at the scrapbook haven. We saw where all of the magic was taking place. We were able to marvel at all of Mommy's handiwork which will be admired family treasures for years to come. After a late lunch, we had some naps. I was able to get in a run through the neighborhood as the other rested. Now its after six, and one would think the weekend is wrapping up, but since the girls did not get up until 5:30, we are in for an extended evening.

Its nice to have everyone back together!