Our week with Grandma Lue and Topper

On Saturday night we said goodbye to Grandma Lue and Topper (they flew out early Sunday morning) who had been in town since Tuesday. Harrison and Ellie had a blast and were sad to see them leave. On Sunday morning Ellie looked around and said "Grandma Lue?" Unfortunately, she never said that while Grandma was here but there's no doubt she got used to her Grandma Lue. So here's the play by play:

Tuesday

Harrison spent the day asking "Are Grandma and Topper here yet?" I guess he thought I wouldn't tell when they arrived or something. They pulled up around bedtime and he was so excited. Ellie was a little more hesitant and shy. Topper was the designated bedtime book-reader while here and I was more than happy to relinquish the role.

Wednesday

We woke up and headed to the New England Aquarium. The weather was awful and we had to hustle through the wind and frozen ice. Once inside the aquarium, Harrison was so excited to see everything but didn't want to see anything for too long :) He would quickly look at each display and move on to the next. Grandma Lue managed to keep up with him while Topper stayed with Ellie who was content to read the signs with him. Ellie loved the touch tank and had no fear. She would reach in and pick up anything she could grab. I feel a little bad for those poor sea stars and mussels who were rudely ripped from their home and then unceremoniously tossed back in. After she dipped her hands into the water, Ellie would lick them and make an awful face. Not long after we left the touch tank, Grandma Lue noticed that Ellie had broken out into a rash. We are not sure if she was having a reaction to the water or the shellfish but it was a little scary. Harrison was a little more hesitant at the touch tank and was content to watch other people pick things up. The penguin exhibit was under construction so we had to go outside to see them. Overall, the kids had a wonderful time and loved watching the fish and other animals.

Thursday

On Thursday we made Easter cookies. Ellie loved playing in the flour and generally making a mess.
In the afternoon we went to Chuck e Cheese. The kids were sufficiently over stimulated but had a great time. For dinner, Ellie showed Grandma and Topper how she can down one huge slice of pizza, an amazing feat considering her size.

Friday

On Friday morning we decorated our Easter sugar cookies. Ellie would dip the M and M's and some cereal into the frosting and eat them (that's my girl!). Sometimes she skipped the middle man and would just dip her fingers or a paint brush into the frosting and lick it off. Harrison liked to decorate the cookies with LOTS of M and M's and also enjoyed painting the frosting on. After cookie decorating and lunch, Harrison, Topper, and I went for a walk. We picked up some fresh Italian bread from a local bakery and fresh ravioli from the pasta shop.

After nap time, we ventured over to the Harvard Natural History Museum. Harrison wanted to see the turtle shell and the dinosaurs first. He and Ellie were both wild in the dinosaur room and would run around looking at the different displays, crawl under the benches, and generally avoid the camera. They went a little too fast for Topper's pace (meaning Topper wasn't able to read all the little signs on the displays) but at least he got a work out from chasing after them. Grandma found a two sided fish puzzle for Harrison in the gift shop and a dragonfly finger puppet for Ellie.



After the museum, we stopped by Josh's work to look at the fish (Harrison never passes up a chance to look through the microscope). Harrison refused to go to bed until he got a chance to put his new puzzle together and always amazes me with how quickly he can do puzzles (even new ones).

Saturday

The Easter bunny visited the Cameron house a day early. He managed to sneak in after the kids bathed and cleaned up their toys. Harrison received a new puzzle, bubbles, a jump rope, treats, pez, and a book. Ellie got some new books, a travel doodle (so the kids don't have to fight over Harrison's at church), bubbles, hair clips, and treats. They shook all the eggs and were excited to see what each one held. After Easter baskets, Josh and I went on a date while the kids, Grandma Lue, and Topper dyed Easter eggs. After nap time we went to an Easter egg hunt with some other members of our ward. The sun was out and in addition to having fun hunting for eggs, the kids loved playing at the playground. Ellie wanted to go down the slide over and over and over; she would get to the bottom, point to the top and say "wee, wee" signifying she wanted to go again. After that, we went to dinner and I noticed that Ellie I had were showing signs of sunburns. There's something wrong about getting a sunburn in 40 degree weather. We tried out one of the local Mexican restaurants in hopes of finding "the one".

So if you are still reading this ridiculously long post, good for you! That's called "stamina". We had fun and now the kids are even more psyched for our trip this Summer.