The closest thing we could find to a padded room

After being stuck inside during six straight days of record high temperatures over 100 degrees each day, we decided the kids needed a fun outing.  What they really needed was a padded room to be set free in so they could act as crazy as they wanted without Mommy and Grandma JoJo yelling at them to stop trashing the house.  The next best thing was Jump for Fun! just a few miles away.  Yes, the exclamation point is in the name of the venue.  For the bargain price of $7 (Peter was free, so we only had to pay for Charlie Jo), they could jump on inflatables to their little hearts' contents.

The Sesame Street area was a big hit.

We loved that the time from 10 am to 1 pm was designated for ages 6 and under only, but Mom and I took offense at the drawing they used on the warning sign to indicate that us HUGE OBESE people who weigh over 150 pounds were not welcome on the structure.

Even Charlotte was offended at the drawing.

Charlotte loved this structure that offered a choice of three different slides once you climbed to the top.

She came shooting down the slides like a bat out of hell and then begged us to instruct her to "do it again".

In the baby play area, Petey bonded with another little guy who wore matching shorts.

But then he decided to follow his sister up another ladder to more death-defying slides.

Yeah, I'm pushing my kid down the slide.  Got a problem with that?

ZIIIIING!

It's tiring having so much fun.

At one point I stupidly let Petey climb up inside this monstrosity.  He never came out, and finally I had to go in (and flaunt the regulations against gigantic fat people!) to rescue him.  Another little kid told me to please never let him climb in there again.

The Helpful Joneses

Whenever Charlotte or Peter are being "helpful" while Corey or I are working on some project, we call the little helper "Helpful Jones". While we were at my parents' house last week, there were all sorts of instances where one or both Helpful Joneses showed up hoping to gum up the works.  I had previously posted a photo of Helpful Charlie Jo Jones assisting Grandpa Spike with the faucet installation.  Here, Helpful Peter Jones was very interested in offering his assistance with the swapping out of door stops.

It was especially interesting to watch Grandpa Spike demolish the old butler's pantry.

Charlotte declared the empty space her "home" and she made a little bed out of old towels.

Not to be outdone, Petey set up his own bed (with help from Mommy) in the space across the way where more cabinets were being replaced.

I was doing dishes a little later and Helpful Charlie Jo Jones insisted on participating.  I got a step stool out and should have known that Helpful Peter Jones would soon follow his sister up onto it.  After it got a little splashy in there, I sent the Helpful Jones siblings on a permanent break and kicked them out of the kitchen.

If you have any need for assistance with handyman chores or household tasks, please let me know.  I would be more than happy to lend out the Helpful Joneses at a very reasonable rate.  Actually, I may pay you to take them for a while.  Those two are exhausting when providing help.

More Tuesday goofiness

On Tuesday, we had even more fun in the pool . . .

. . . and "helped" Grandpa Spike put a new faucet on at the kitchen sink . . .

. . . and played play-dough with Great Grandpa Chuck . . .

. . . and finally fought the large rainbow tunnel monster from outer space.

Oh no!  The rainbow tunnel monster kidnapped Peter!  I hope they show Thomas the Tank Engine movies on the space ship, because that's the only way they're going to get Peter back to the home planet with their sanity intact.

Tuesday fun

Peter and Charlotte adore their Great Grandpa Chuck.  You would think that an 83-year-old who can hardly see would have little patience for such little kiddos, but Grandpa has had a terrific time entertaining (and being entertained by) Petey and Charlie.  He has even gotten a kick out of assisting with cheering Charlie Jo on through her potty training trials and tribulations.  I'm busy taking lots of pictures and videos to remind my kids in the years to come how loved they are by their relatives, because I know these memories can fade when you're worried about making mortgage payments and getting a promotion at work.

There will be more photos to come, but for now here are three of my favorites -- one of Grandpa Chuck getting Petey to giggle his way out of the beginnings of a tantrum by showing Petey how he really should be crying if he truly meant it, and one of Charlotte asking Grandpa if she could help him with his knitting because she is "really good at it" and then telling him he's doing it wrong.  The sweet moments have been fun to witness, and it makes me again count my lucky stars that my kids have the opportunity for so much inter-generational family bonding.  I probably mention it too much, so just smack me if I get too obnoxious bragging about how my children get to spend quality time with not one, not two, but SEVEN living great-grandparents.  (I guess this is partially because Corey and I are the oldest children in our families, all four of our parents are also the oldest children in their families, everybody had kids relatively early in life, and we have ridiculous amounts of luck!)

Great fun with Great Grandpa Chuck

My Grandpa Chuck just made a friend for life!

The last hurrah

Before Ella, Lillian, Jake, and Lauren left today, we packed in a few more hours of fun. First, we bonded over our love of toast spread with Nutella.

Peter and Lillian pretended to fight fires.

And the kids took turns on my mom's childhood rocking horse, Carl.

Then, we went swimming (of course) and had a quick lunch.  When it was time to say our goodbyes, we thought Ella and Charlotte were going to hug each other to death.  Those two are going to have a lot of fun together over the years!

Thank you so much for making the drive up here, guys!  Can't wait to see you on our next trip down to Texas.

The Ella and Lillian show comes to town

Because Grandma JoJo and Grandpa Spike didn't have enough craziness going on with a three-year-old and a one-year-old staying at their house, we invited my cousin, Jake, his wife, Lauren, and their five-year-old, Ella, and their one-year-old, Lillian, to come for the weekend.  It was sheer madness, but we had a blast.  As predicted, Ella and Charlotte were best buds from the start.  Peter either tagged along after the big girls or babbled with Lillian.  We probably spent about 38 hours total in the pool, I think.

The kids spent endless hours setting up "tea parties" by the side of the pool.

Ella is quite a ham.

Charlotte would only let someone she REALLY adores pour water over her head like this!

Poor Lilli had to go to bed before we swam this evening, so we couldn't get her in the group ice cream shot.

Snuggling in the "movie theater" (as Charlotte and Ella were calling the upstairs TV room) with Grandpa/Great Uncle Spike.  Peter loved sitting on Ella's lap.

Not exactly sure what was going on here.

Lunch at Firehouse Subs was crazy but fun.  Ella is always proud to tell people that her daddy is a firefighter in the Air Force.

Lilli looks a little suspicious of the dalmatian-print tables.  Don't worry, Lil -- I don't think any puppies were harmed in the making of those tables.

The souvenir hats have provided tons of fun for Petey ever since.

Lilli finally got to go swimming on Saturday afternoon.  She liked riding on the blue raft but had a penchant for diving right off with no warning.  Luckily, her daddy was there to catch her.

Jake and Lauren live a few hours away in San Angelo.

Wanna drink?

Bubbles in the hot tub!

Chicken little

Grandma JoJo took Charlotte to see a "Dora the Explorer - Live!" play today. Charlotte is just about the world's biggest Dora fan. She even asks the stylist to cut her hair to look just like Dora's and then tells everyone that she looks just like Dora. The play had something to do with the piggy pirates and Diego and Baby Jaguar and all sorts of Dora-related things, and the audience members got some souvenirs along those lines. Charlotte loves her new pirate hat:

Then, the play started. It was apparently all just a little too overwhelming for Charlotte. The actors were just a few feet away, and when Swiper the Fox showed up, Charlotte shook like a leaf. By intermission, Charlotte had seen enough and asked to go home. Grandma JoJo was happy to oblige. Oh well. Maybe in a year or two she will be ready to try the theatre again.

Earning their keep

Charlie and Peter do nothing to contribute to the household economy, so we decided to try to get them jobs at Grandpa Spike's office.  We brought them in for a brief internship to assess their potentials.

The interns were more interested in the pond behind the office building, so Grandma JoJo and Grandpa Spike had to hold them up to check it out.

Next, they pushed just about every button on the keyboard (using the teamwork typing method) and somehow managed not to delete every file on Grandpa Spike's computer.  Peter then used the cordless mouse to scrape across the keyboard, and still the data miraculously managed to survive.  

Charlie Jo called all of Grandpa Spike's most important business contacts (using both the handset and the headset, of course) to discuss all sorts of interesting things.

Will they be hired full-time?  It's up to Grandpa Spike, who won't be back from a business trip until Friday afternoon.  Peter and Charlotte are sitting by the phone, waiting to hear the news.  I just hope they can telecommute from Tennessee, because I'm sure as heck not driving them 685 miles to work every morning.