Sunday, Fun-day!

Today was just a great day, start to finish. Well, there were a few bumps here and there, but so many more frowns than tears. We started off the day meeting Nonnie, Pappy, and Great-Grandma (Ben's parents and grandmother) for brunch and a little perusing around the outlet shops in San Marcos. Mealtime was great - Ava wowed Nonnie and Great-Grandma with her tic-tac-toe skills, Jocie and Pappy occupied themselves with a peg-and-hole game, and Molly entertained everyone with her usual antics. The best part, however, had to be the rides provided by Great-Grandma's walker. The walker came out, and for my kids it apparently looked like the coolest stroller EVER. Each child took a turn being pushed around by Great-Grandma. In turn, she got her own ride in one of the stores! It was a silly gimmick that brought everyone a laugh.

playing tic-tac-toe

cheeeeeeeeeeese!

Ava tested out the walker ride first

Molly took holding on very seriously

those not on the walker made out pretty well, too

Jocelyn giving Great-Grandma her own ride!

Then when we got home we hit a little snag. Molly's only nap came on the car ride home, which took under an hour. Add the fact that she seems to be hitting that point where she's feeling a little homesick (or just sick of not being in her own house), and to say she was a bit of a terror does not do Molly any justice. She's been getting into things she never would at home, and making all kinds of trouble. The final straw: just after dinner, she walks into my parents room covered in her own feces, which she had spent quite a bit of time digging out of her diaper. I was SO mad at her. I took her diaper off and just threw her in the shower (not literally, although I was slightly tempted by that point). I went to grab the soap, and came back to her squealing and splashing in the "rain." I had yet another quintessential parent moment: I could have wrung her neck seconds before, but the sound of her laughter and sight of her playing maniacally melted (almost) all the anger away. 

Finally, to end the night and a whirlwind 18 days, Ava stayed up late yet again to watch the closing ceremony for the Olympics with my mom and I. It has been a true joy sharing the spirit of sport with her these past few weeks. There were moments when it took a little arm-twisting ("you can only watch this once every four years, you're going to watch it with me!"), but overall Ava enjoyed learning more about different countries and sporting events. I can't wait for January of 2014 when we can do it all again - sleep deprivation and all.