Wednesday, April 29, 2009

"Thank you mommy, er... Susie!"

Last week Jim was in Indianapolis for his first (working) trade show of the year. As an awesome surprise, he had arranged for my sister-in-law, Susan, to live with me while he was gone. She not only helped me out tremendously with the girls, but also was a great companion for me so I didn't lose my mind from not having anyone to talk to for a week! Plus we got the added bonus of my in-laws Yorkie, Daisy, staying with us.

We had a fun-filled week with Aunt Susie. Every morning Kyra would announce "I see Daisy" as we walked downstairs to have breakfast and then ask "Where's Susie?". Kyra totally loved having Susie around all week to play with and climb on and talk to. After having Sue around for a few days Kyra started calling her mommy and me Susie from time to time. She would say "Thank you mommy" to Susan and then correct herself and say "Thank you Susie".

A couple highlights of the week include playing at the park with Susan, Katie, and Mac; dinner at On The Border; and going to Springton Manor. The dinner out at OTB was actually quite crazy. As soon as we got to our table Kylie pulled an entire stack of 4 plates off the table and they shattered all over the floor. It was SO loud and it scared her so she started crying. Within minutes a manager was at our table asking us and the surrounding tables if we were all okay as a busboy quickly swept up the broken pieces. Then Kyra spilled her milk on the floor which also resulted in the return of the busboy to clean up the mess. I ended up practically force-feeding Kyra her dinner so I could justify allowing her to eat the free ice cream sundae that came with her meal. She was quite a sight with chocolate syrup all over her shirt and face as she enjoyed her treat. Susan and I also treated ourselves to dessert. It was our reward for still having our sanity after all the chaos that had ensued.

Saturday the weather was beautiful so we decided to get ourselves outdoors by going to Springton Manor. We ate a picnic lunch by the pond and then visited the animals in the barn. Kyra got to see horses, including one getting a manicure, a momma pig and her babies, a couple of donkeys, baby chicks, a furry cow (it was very peculiar, but very cute) and her baby, and a couple of goats. Kyra even got to pet the goats as they ate some hay. After that we had the chance to watch a sheep getting his wool removed since we happened to be there on "Sheep Shearing Day". It was so crazy how fast they shave them! And surprising how well the sheep would cooperate. They seemed very happy to be shedding their coats now that warmer weather has arrived here in PA. We then took a scenic tractor-pulled wagon ride around the Springton Manor grounds and then called it a day. Being out in the sun for those few hours really sucked the life out of the girls and they were definitely ready for some naps afterwards.

Chase enjoyed having Daisy around all week too. He is a very social dog, but only rarely gets the chance to be around other dogs so he loved having a live-in friend. The two of them acted like brother and sister in the respect that he would sneak up behind her and swat her with his paw and then she would yell at him for it. He even sat on her head a couple of times, but she got back at him by peeing in his bed. I think she failed to consider that he wouldn't be the one cleaning it up. They would steal each other's treats and get jealous when the other one was getting loving from Susan or me. It was almost like having 2 more kids. Prior to last week I had been seriously contemplating getting another puppy and having Daisy around for a week gave me the reality check I needed. It was fun to see Chase with Daisy, but having 2 dogs is definitely more work than having one. Ergo, I won't be getting another puppy anytime soon. (Can you hear Jim's sigh of relief?)

Having Susan's help and company definitely made the week without Jim more fun and made it go by quickly. I'm sure she was exhausted by Sunday when she finally moved back home, but we couldn't have survived the week without her! Thank you Aunt Susie for staying with us!

3 comments:

Katie @ Loves of Life said...

The pictures are so cute! You guys had a busy week. I can't BELIEVE no one told me about the OTB experience!! how terrifying! haha...wow ;)

The Life of Susan said...

awwww yay! what a fun week that was. those pictures are so cute. i need to get copies of them!

Grammy Jean said...

Loved the story and pics, Kylie has changed a lot in just 2 months, we will see you soon.