Jacob was gone to Winslow all weekend (he just returned home last night), but Dylan and his friends more than made up for the empty space left by Jacob's absence.*
Let's just say it was a very looooong weekend!
*I do not allow Dylan to spend the night at the home of friends, but on holiday weekends I occasionally let him invite one friend to stay the night at our house. Since we are on Fall Break, a 4-day weekend, I told him he could invite a friend for one night.
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On Friday, Dylan informed me that he'd invited FOUR friends for a sleepover. Gulp!
(Is it just me or does Diego look like Rin Tin Tin in the above photo?)*
I didn't want to hurt the boys' feelings, so I made it clear to Dylan that in the future only ONE friend will be invited per sleepover, and then I resigned myself to a house full of noisy boys.
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What was I thinking?! Not a good idea for one who is supposed to be reducing stress and lowering her blood pressure!
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It began when Eric showed up Sunday morning. The sleepover wasn't supposed to begin until 4 pm, but Dylan loaned Eric some Sunday-go-to-meetin' clothes and he attended church with us.
When we got home from church at 1 pm, Dakota was waiting for us in our driveway. Justin and Tony arrived closer to the scheduled start time.*
At left are Tony, Dylan, and Eric. Wedged between the two boulders, down close to the ground, you can just barely see Justin. Dakota did not join the boys for this hike.
We had burgers and chips with dip for dinner Sunday evening. I allowed the boys to stay up till 1 am before I sternly demanded lights out and silence. Yet the silly talk and laughter continued, keeping me up until 3 am. I finally had to threaten to call their mothers!*
Of course, they were all awake and noisily competing on our Wii game system by 7 am. Groan...
Seeing my stress level skyrocketing, my wonderful Sarah stepped in. She made the boys chorizo for breakfast on Monday and then she loaded them up and drove them to nearby Mogollon Rim Trail for a long hike.*
These photos were all taken yesterday during their hike, though the pictures are labeled "07/01/2008" (Sarah needs to adjust her camera). Sarah took her beloved Diego with her, naturally.
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After the hike, she loaded them up again and took them to the Show Low community pool for a swim.
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It gave me a few lovely hours of peace and quiet. Thank you, Sarah!
By 7:00 last night, the boys had returned to their own homes. Just in time for Jacob to come home and immediately invite his buddies Kyle and Marcus over to watch a video.
By 7:00 last night, the boys had returned to their own homes. Just in time for Jacob to come home and immediately invite his buddies Kyle and Marcus over to watch a video.*
Thankfully, they all stayed in the boys' bedroom and watched the movie quietly.
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Now it's just me and my children again. The house is quiet because everyone is exhausted and sleeping late.
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And I still have one day left of my holiday weekend!
1 comment:
4 friends over night? Oh my. How sweet though not to want to hurt their feelings since he had already asked them. I'm not sure I would have been so kind. I have to say that I like your policy of not letting your kids have sleep overs elsewhere. If I could do parenting over again I've often thought I would have that same rule.
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