Alivia on Vaca

Tuesday morning, Alivia set out with my parents for a week long trip to their lake home with them. Although initially hesitant, she was excited in the end. She packed her bags, in the new luggage we bought for each of the kids no less, and was ready to go swimming in Grandma and Grandpa's big "pool," aka, The Lake of the Ozarks.
Addison was crushed. Addison went with Grandma and Grandpa on her individual trip last summer when she was only 4 years old. We wanted each of the kids to have this valuable time alone with their grandparents before they go together, perhaps, someday. The girls are even planning vacas at the Lake with their little friends, although Alivia will be the first one to trial run this idea. But, I am getting ahead of myself.
Alivia set off just before lunch on Tuesday morning, arriving before dinner and jumping right into the water with Grandpa (my Dad). Grandma went to the store to get food, and try to find something Miss picky Alivia would eat. I tried to make a list with Alivia for Grandma on things Alivia would eat, but it contained pretty much nothing (welcome to our world of Picky Chris plus picky Krista = the extreme crazy eater Alivia. Thank goodness Addison and Asher are adventurous eaters!). Today sounded like much of the same, with most of the day in or on the water as they took a boat ride. Sounds like the temperatures are hot as they are hear, soaring to 102 at one point. No better place than on the water or in it! Alivia sounds in good spirits on the phone so far. Only time will tell if she gets home sick.
Meanwhile, I am trying to be creative on fun things to do with Addison and Asher to take their minds off of Alivia being at the Lake (having all the fun, they think, while they are stuck at home). Yesterday, we hit the Children's Museum before Alivia left. In the afternoon, Addi and Asher and I went to the library, then played in our pool at home. Today we ran errands this morning, stopping at the toy store so Asher can get a birthday gift for his friend. In the afternoon, we took our first visit to Oak Heights Pool with our friends Bonnie, Xander, Gabby and Baby Ben. It was a beautiful and HOT afternoon at the pool. Of course, I was dreaming the entire time that it was in my backyard and their was no pee in it, but that is a whole other story. We ended the day with take out pizza for dinner and a sleepover at Grandma Bet's house in Iowa. Yes, we are staying at their house while they are away. We were intending on staying 2 nights, but Chris got us tickets to see a baseball game tomorrow night. So, the kids and I are thrilled about that! We have plans to go camping, too, all before Alivia returns next week on Monday or Tuesday. In other words, we are trying to keep the schedule full of fun things.
Addison and Asher bicker CONSTANTLY. Addison is usually whining or crying about some silly thing Asher has done to her. Asher is pestering her as I believe he finds it entertaining to hear Addison whine and cry. It is a vicious circle really.
Oh, but the fun will go on! We look forward to hearing all about Alivia's vaca with Grandma and Grandpa while we make memories at home. We all will have a lot to catch up on!