I'm Baaaack!

After 15 days with our Texas family from Lewisville to Round Rock and back joining California relatives in Lewisville we made it home late July 3.  We were pretty weary on July 4 and celebrated by ripping up the carpet and padding in our living room.  We arose early July 5 in anticipation of the install of laminate flooring at our back door.  And tile for the fireplace surround and hearth.

We did take our time beginning the work as we just sort of relaxed on the sofa that is shoved into the dining area of the kitchen.  A friend in Round Rock gave us a book for our anniversary.  We began reading it aloud on our return trip home.  And during rest stops from the carpet ripping, doing laundry and watering we read a chapter or two.

This tradition of reading books to each other started during the 2007 ice storm.  We had only one headlamp, a flashlight that strapped to one's head.  I do not even remember the name of the book.  The next book was "A Painted House" read while driving to and from a North Dakota trip.  This book, "The Night Circus" is being quite entertaining.

What a great time we had with the unsupervised play time with the grandsons.  Each one has their distinct personality.  All could be trying on old people's nerves at the end of a long day.  I even saw a grimace on our  son's face a time or two.  But there was nothing better than the joy of being/hanging with our little family.  Watching swimming and swim meets, jumping on trampolines and riding the bull at Jump Street proved to be quite entertaining.

Grandson #3 rode with us during the drive to Lake Conroe.  Grandpa had a ghoul voice for the GPS that had us looking for boneyards, spiders and checking the trunk for unusual sounds.  Grandson #1 delighted Grandpa and me with his new guitar skills.  And Grandson #2 performed amazing acrobatics in the pool.  #1 discovered a bunch of snakes in the waters below our condo balcony which kept me and them watching our steps!!!!  

Feeding 3 growing boys and their sidekicks proved to be interesting.  Several have "outgrown" McDonald's so the grandsons, friends, us and the GPS had great times finding Jason's Deli, IHOP, and Plucker's to name a few.  And sometimes we actually attempted to cook.  Of course that meant buying groceries to carry up to the 3rd floor apt .... sans elevator.  So, yes, once down at ground level, just look for the nearest place to eat.

The variety of games available through Xbox, Wii and the internet is amazing.  Seems Grandson #3 is an ace at Fruit Ninja while #2 Grandson could do Peebles at an arcade level.  #1 Grandson came to my rescue wiggling my hips to help me finish my turn on Wipeout.  Yes, there was some jumping involved and no, the police did not get called by the person in the apartment below. 

Thursday morning The Carpet Shoppe folks showed up at 8:00 AM.  We were fortunate to get half of the expected installations completed.  The confound fireplace has presented yet another problem that left the installer scratching his head and gathering up his tools.  I am beginning to think our fireplace has a poltergeist in it as it continues to give challenges.  I can almost hear it saying, "I'm Baaaackk"!