Birthday Party Fun

In spite of the fact that I didn't have any free time, I took some time off yesterday and Leo and I went to our grandson's birthday party. My granddaughter Madison turned 7 a couple of weeks ago, and grandson Mason will be 5 next weekend. We drove to Liberty and enjoyed watching the kids play, visiting with friends and family, and forgetting about school and work for just a few hours. The biggest thing the weekend did for me was remind me that there is "life out there", and as soon as I get through trying to be SuperWoman and get it all done in the shortest time possible (an MS in a single year while working full-time away from home) I believe I'm going to have to learn to be a "grandma" all over again. I will CERTAINLY make more time for my kids and grandkids!

Here are some photos I just HAVE to share:

Mason, a redhead, is sporting his new "buzz cut" here as he plays in the coolest little neighborhood water park. Mom had to cut his hair before the party since sister Madison did quite a chop job playing with him a few days before. She had taken her school scissors and convinced him that she should give him a haircut. The new haircut was such a mess, Mom decided just to buzz it all off and let it grow out again. Mason's an easy-going kid, though. He had no problem with the chop cut nor the new buzz job. The haircut was just fine with him.

Madison is my little angel, but certainly not in the "typical" sense. She is headstrong and vocal and loves to be the center of attention. She also has quite her own sense of style, but can often be convinced to modify it as she is also eager to please. No matter how long it's been since we've seen each other, she always greets me with a big smile and hug as if it's only been days. Yesterday when I arrived, she immediately ran up to me to ask if I brought my bathing suit and was going to get in the water with them! She is a beautiful child, blue-eyed with long blonde hair, and always full of questions.

Here are my two M&Ms (Madison & Mason) playing in the water. The water park was so very nice. It was just a small coated concrete slab with all kinds of pipes, spouts, water falling from above, water squirting from below, buckets dumping water unexpectedly, and all of it in constant motion as the water flow increased and decreased continuously. This is the kind of place the kids could play all day, without much interruption from parents and the like, and keep themselves entertained. (And it was MUCH better than any tv show or video game.) While the kids played the parents and family sat under the trees and visited. All in all, it was a beautiful day and we had a wonderful time.

This is a photo of my girls and I. For those of you who don't know me (and I know that some of the blog readers don't), I am the woman on the left. I'm sorry if it is a surprise to you that I am such a large woman...it's one of those things that sometimes takes people by surprise. But, enough of that...I'll talk about it more another time. Rachael is in the middle, and is the mother of my two grandchildren. She is 24, lives in Liberty where she runs (she is the Office Manager) a law office there. Rebecca is my oldest, 11 months older than her sister, and lives in the Austin area. The girls are close, and close to me in that we talk regularly, but I don't see them nearly enough to keep me satisfied. After May, however...

Well, there you have it. When I'm complaining by week's end how I did not finish all of my homework or did not get enough sleep this week, you'll know that it's because I took one day off from my busy life so I could practice being a grandma again...what fun we had!