Just Another Wild Week at the Auntees

We started the week off thinking we were going to Arkansas for a funeral for Sarah's uncle. Timing and weather derailed those plans so we were thinking that this would be a quiet week with not much going on............we always start our weeks thinking that. I don't think we will ever learn!

We had not seen one of our favorite families for a while so we invited them over for an early dinner on Friday evening. The boys can get a little rowdy when it begins to get late so the parents like to get them home and to bed before too late. With that done, we carried on with our week. An appointment out of town. A few other little things.

I called a military family who had moved before Christmas that we had not heard from. I was a little worried. After their move, their household furnishing did not come as expected so they spent the holidays in a house with no furniture. We missed calls a couple of times but we finally made contact. The were doing good, had finally gotten the furniture but did not like the new duty post. Seems there have been some rather unfriendly people and not so good schools for one of the kids. Also, there was a problem with drivers license in the new state. However, they had sold their house here (something they were worried about because of the economy). We talked a while and enjoyed catching up. It was good to know they were doing good.

On Thursday, the wife in the military family called me back with the news they were having a signing on their house on Friday and wondered if we would like company that night. Of course, we would like company! Two really cute kids, a mom and dad we really like and an old sweet Labrador Retriever. They arrived around 11 p.m. on Thursday night. The kids were mostly asleep so the parents put them to bed. The little girl saw me as her mom was laying her in the bed and she smiled really big. She loves her Auntees. We talked for a little while and all went off to our beds.

Up the next morning bright and early. Mom and dad go off to solve the driver's license problem and we go to the church craft group with the kids. The plan is to meet back trade off cars (they used ours for the driving test) they will get the kids, do the signing on the house they are selling and return home. I have a retirement party to go to. Well, things slowly begin to tip down the hill. They need to go back to their old house to check on some things and it takes a little longer than expected. We get a call from our dog sitter who has found our dogs with a strange other dog running behind her house (they are supposed to be in our fenced in yard). Sarah runs home to check on the dog situation. Mom and dad return to the church while Sarah is gone. I need to leave to go to the party. I ride with mom and dad back to our house. A friend keeps their kids and her kids while they go to the signing. We trade cars back at our house. They go to the signing and we go to the retirement party.

We leave the party. Our other guests are due at 5:15 p.m. We return to the house and realize that the out of town family is probably going to be with us another night. No problem. We just need to call them and arrange for them to come back for dinner (there is plenty for all). Of course, there are problems getting them by phone. We have just finished dinner with the couple and 2 little boys who live here when the military family gets our message and calls back. I tell them to come on back and eat there is plenty of food left. They have swapped off with the woman who kept their kids while they are at the signing and they now have 4 kids. So they all meet back here.

Now the fun begins. We have 6 kids in the house. The Auntees like kids so it is really not a problem. They are having fun running and romping. Everyone finally gets fed. We are sitting around and the kids sort of change from one activity to another. It is a little loud and a little crazy but we do like kids. The phone rang and Sarah turns around asks, "okay, who called 911?" It seems that someone in the group had called 911, unfortunately for the kid, the father had caught him with the telephone but did not realize that he had actually called someone. The 911 people told Sarah that a police officer would be coming by. The dad made the caught-kid apologize to the police officer for calling 911. You could tell he was a little scared. The officer was very nice.

We chat for a little while. The mom and 2 kids leave and we insist the military family stay over for the night because it is at least a 6 hour drive home for them. They stay. The kids get off to bed. We have time for nice long conversation and catch up on lots of things.

The next morning they are up. The 4 year old girl sleeps a little longer than the others (you know princesses need their sleep). She wakes up full of smiles and happy. We have time to visit a little more. The little boy says he want to stay (that melts our hearts). They really are sweet kids and we do miss the family a lot. They say they plan to return from time to time and we really hope they do. We assured them we have bedrooms for them.

Just another wild week at the Auntees!!