Babysitting

Today after church, my sister and brother, Bryn and Tyler, and I changed, packed up some stuff and left for Soddy Daisy. We're currently babysitting our nephew, Tucker, and niece, Coral, for today, tonight and tomorrow morning. We got to their house around 1p.m. and ate a yummy haystack lunch. By that time the kids were telling their parents to leave so they could start having fun with their aunts and uncle. So my older brother, Mark, and my sister-in-law, Terrie, gave us a few directions, said good-bye to the kids and left for a night away for their anniversary.

We spent the afternoon doing awesome aunt-and-uncle-ly things with Tuck and Coral. We taught them how to play that wonderful Adventist Review & Herald game, Animals, and they really enjoyed it. Coral played on Auntie Bryn's team and they tied with me for a winning four sets. Then the kids needed some running around time so we put them in clothes that could handle the rain-softened earth and took them into the backyard. We taught them "What Time is it Mr. Wolf" and played that until the mosquitoes and other assorted Tennessee bugs drove us back inside. Then Tucker showed me his coin collection (and I inwardly drooled over some of his specimen) and Auntie Bryn introduced Coral to her camera. Coral became the family photographer and captured the rest of the afternoon on memory card. Not sure how many of the pictures turned out, but it should be fun to look at them later. Then we had Lupi's pizza for supper and spent the last hour or so before Quiet Time playing more games. We played a couple rounds of Uno and then taught Tucker and Coral some new games including Pit (rather hilarious since Tucker couldn't remember that the point of the game was to get a spoon, not worry so much about his cards) and 7-Up (the game with Rook cards, not the game kids play in elementary school). Then it was Quiet Time and the kids got their blankets and "buddies" (stuffed animals) and snuggled onto the couches with us while we listened to "The Sheaf of Grain," one of my personal favourite Aunt Carol and Uncle Dan stories. When that was over we made them a camp-out nest of pillows and blankets on the floor in Tucker's room, said prayer with them and shut the door so they could have some sister-brother talking time before falling asleep.

Now Bryn, Ty and I are hanging out in the living room eating leftover pizza and ice cream. It's great babysitting these kids!