Nice Getaway

Last month I flew to Salt Lake City and then Cheryl and I drove from there to Scottsbluff Nebraska to watch Eric's children so he and Nicole could get away for their anniversary.  This was not only a getaway for them, but it was a getaway for me and Cheryl too.  We had a lot of fun as we took over the duties of parenting Ethan, Ella, and Livi for a few days.  Ethan somehow avoided all of the photographs (camera shy guy) but we were able to capture the girls without a problem.

One thing that was fun that I hadn't done in a while was doing girls hair.  Remember, I only had one daughter so I never did get that great with hair but it was fun to try to resurrect some old skills.  Cheryl did Ella's french braid and I did Livi's hair.  I can't remember what Cheryl called that style...but you make the pony tail and then pull it through.  This photo doesn't really show it well.

Another thing we got to do was eat a Thanksgiving feast with the kids at their school.  (Note: these pictures are a little out of order. See cafeteria photo closer to the end of the post. I didn't know how to fix it).  After we ate lunch we were allowed to go out on the playground with Ella.  I could tell she loved having us visit her "turf".

Having taught elementary school for three years, Cheryl felt right at home helping Livi with the slide, the swings, and the climbing equipment.

Taking care of Tonks was another one of our responsibilities.  She loves to sit on the dishwasher door and lick the dirty dishes.  She is so little and cute!

This is the photo of us eating the school lunch together. Ethan is straight across from me, but of course you can't see him.

I love Livi's smile in this photo. You can tell she is genuinely happy...and so was I. I was happy to be able to spend some time with my grandchildren.

While Eric & Nicole were away, we took the kids to Walmart so they could buy their parents an anniversary gift.  We also decided to surprise them by decorating the livingroom with streamers and balloons.  The kids really enjoyed putting up all the decorations but then had to patiently wait for their parents to return home from Lincoln before they could see the surprised looks on their faces.  

Altogether too soon it was time for us to head back to Utah.  Cheryl had a job to get back to and I had to plan a Thanksgiving meal for our family in conjunction with Jane and her family.  Sorry, I forgot to take photos of that event, but I really would like to thank the Airds for letting us crash their Thanksgiving. We really appreciated their generosity, the great food, and fine company. It turned out splendidly!