Papa hits the road

It always makes me laugh when I say to the kids "let's hit the road", to which Bean always replies "Mama, we can't hit the road". Everything is so literal at this age. Schmoo seems to get it. I've obviously explained it at some point that it means to get going, but Bean still hears it the way I'm saying it.

So today, Papa hit the road. As I write this, he's high in the sky on a jet plane to England. By the time I wake up in the morning, he'll be in London and by lunchtime, hopefully he'll be at Nana's house. We had a lovely family morning. The kids were up early and enjoyed fruit (orange, apple, banana) on the couch while Papa and I enjoyed a nice long snuggle. Both kids even came into our bed at one point for a family snuggle - what a treat! I made them french toast for breakfast and then went out for a quick run, my last attempt for a sweat fix before Papa left. We got everyone organized and had Papa at the airport with lots of time to spare. Bean was enthralled with the fish pond that sits outside the waiting room window and with checking out the plane that Papa would ride on. Schmoo was mostly just concerned with leaving so that we could go and eat. But both kids, especially Schmoo, loved it when Papa bought them each a trinket from the toy machines in the airport. We had lots of "last one hugs and smoochies" and then said good-bye. It was a beautiful sunny, although windy, day - perfect for flying over the mountains to Papa connection.

He had a long day ahead of him, with a 7 hour layover in Vancouver. Luckily we were able to track down Uncle C, who was there with his new "girlfriend" (apparently they're official) for a wedding and they went out to meet Papa at the airport for an hour this afternoon. I still heard from him a couple of times in the afternoon, obviously bored and looking for ways to pass the time.

The kids and I enjoyed a McDonalds lunch and some time at the park before heading back home. It always amazes me that when I think the weather will distract the kids from being outside (ie. I'm cold), they seem to care less. The wind was blustery at the park, but the kids had a great time running around together playing on the swings and the slide. We headed home for some quiet time. Both kids had specific instructions to sleep, as we were scheduled for a Thanksgiving dinner date at C & H's house tonight. Schmoo obliged, Bean did not. A true testament to their personalities. Bean rummaged around in his room for 2 hours and I finally gave up when there was no longer adequate time for the nap he needed.

We headed out at 4:30pm and had a lovely evening with our friends. The kids had a great time. They really miss seeing C & H on a regular basis now that we're all in the swing of new school routines. We ended up staying until almost 8pm, making it home just in time for me to tuck the kids into bed and find my way to the couch for Desperate Housewives. With an extra home day ahead tomorrow, I'm not feeling rushed to go to bed. I wonder if I'll get any late night visitors tonight.

Side note - Airlie managed to remove most of the remaining green tomatoes from the inside tomato plants today. Apparently they're not as tasty as the red ones as she left most of them chewed up on the floor. Bad dog!