After Dinner Games

Robert took the weekend off to go to a roping clinic in Sheridan, WY with Carter's horse, Picky (since he still can't rope off his...) It's nice for him to have a break and go play since he really works so hard. For me, my ideal break is him taking Carter for the day and just letting me stay at home reading or puttering around the house. That's my idea of a vacation right now. Some day, I'm looking forward to going to Chico or Fairmont Hot Springs with the kids and doing all sorts of fun stuff, but right now, it's WAY too much of a hassle and to me not worth the trouble. Not quite yet... Maybe Number 2 will like traveling more than Carter does, although she's getting better all the time.

I figured since Carter and I were batchin' it this weekend I would make up a big pot of hamburger soup and see who I could entice to come over and play with us. Luckily my cousin Wynne is up to her ears in studying for her nursing degree and she and her family are always up for dinner, particularly if someone else is cooking. Even better, she generally commandeers her kids and they do up the dishes and generally leave your house cleaner than when they got there. (I used to occasionally cook and just bring the food over to her house, but didn't take me long to figure out the better deal!) Works great for me since Carter loves having her kids come over to play. We had to run to town first before dinner (Robert was sweet enough to leave me a list of stuff he needed done today while he was off playing...) With gas prices the way they are, I figured I better pick up groceries and everything else I needed before coming home. By the time we were headed back home, Carter was exhausted and fell asleep. Normally this isn't a big deal, but when we have company coming over, it is less than ideal. She HATES waking up to a house full of people, it really seems to mess up her idea of what home should look like when you wake up. It generally takes her a hour or so to perk up, glued all the while to my hip, and by the time she's finally ready to play, everyone is heading home and she is now upset all over again. Tonight we got lucky. Chance and Blake got to stay and play awhile longer. They are showing Carter how to do their "Bunk Bed" trick on the trampoline below.

Chance is showing us just how high he can jump!

Carter is carefully watching as Blake shows her how to do a flip...I'm rather hoping Carter will wait awhile longer before attempting that stunt.

Now they are roaring around the house, playing ponies. I'm thinking Carter will sleep good tonight despite the late nap. (Or more my luck, she'll be wired and all hyped up until way after mom's bedtime!)