Week with Danny & Sean

Uncle Dan and Auntie Karin were married in June of 2002 and we were married in September of 2003.  As such we will be celebrating our 10-year anniversaries this year and next year, respectively.  Last summer I suggested that they should plan an anniversary vacation for sometime during 2012 and we would stay with the boys; then we would plan an anniversary vacation for 2013 if they would stay with the boys.  Friday, Uncle Dan and Auntie Karin left for a cruise to Bermuda and we began our week with three little boys!
We planned to spend the weekend at our house and then head to RI for Tuesday - Friday.
Papa and Gramma brought the boys up to us on Friday night and we all enjoyed a pizza dinner.  Getting three boys ready for bed was a bit of a procedure but they were all well behaved and enjoyed a couple of stories read by Uncle Bruce/Daddy.
Saturday it poured all day!  I had originally thought we would take the boys out for the day but the weather was so bad we decided to just stay home instead.  We spent the day playing with every toy we have, plus all of the ones that Danny and Sean brought with them.  While Sean napped, Danny and Evan worked on "projects", a variety of handmade crafty type things that Danny loved making.  When Sean woke up, all the boys made a fort in the newly finished basement.  It was nice to have a few minutes to myself to sit and relax while the boys enjoyed their fort adventures.  After a while, Sean had had enough fort play and he came upstairs with me to play Legos.  It was fun to have some one-on-one time with Sean, something that does not happen very often.  After dinner, we watched a bit of Peter Pan before getting the boys to bed.  An exhausting but fun day!
Thankfully the sun came out on Sunday so that we could take the boys to the annual Kavanagh family picnic.  Monday, another rainy day, we had a low key morning and early afternoon before heading to RI so that Danny could go to karate with Papa.  Papa took Danny to karate while I stayed with the little boys at Gramma and Papa's with Gramma and Grammy.  By Monday night, I think Danny and Sean were ready to get back to their own house and to sleep in their own beds.  Monday night I was on my own with the boys because Bruce had to stay in Millbury and go into the office on Tuesday.  Things went relatively smoothly and thankfully Gramma, Papa & Grammy were there to help out, both on Monday night and also on Tuesday.
Tuesday, while Danny and Sean were at school, Evan loved playing with all of their toys on his own.
Evan and I enjoyed lunch at the Newport Creamery, a RI institution, and then both napped in the afternoon. When Danny came home from school he said, "Boy, Aunt Di, Evan made a mess today!" And he sure did! It looked like all three boys plus a few more were there playing, not just Evan.
After 5+ days with the boys, I was totally exhausted! When I had suggested this anniversary vacation-kid swapping idea, I wasn't planning to be 7+ months pregnant but things happen for a particular reason and I am. As a result of expecting our second child in August, Bruce wasn't able to take as much time off this week either. Knowing how tired and stressed I was, despite the fact that the boys were all being great, the grandparents decided to step in and help out even more than they had originally planned. Gramma and Papa volunteered to have Danny and Sean stay with them on Wednesday night so that I didn't have to drive to Northbridge to tutor and then back to Warwick. Grammy also volunteered to stay with the boys on Thursday night so that Bruce, Evan and I could just go home on Wednesday and get back to being a family of three.
While we had a shortened week with Danny and Sean, we had lots of fun. It was great to be able to spend so much time with them and to get to know their personalities, especially Sean's, a bit better. I know Uncle Dan and Auntie Karin had a great vacation, even though they missed their boys. Now we need to start thinking about where we will be going on our anniversary vacation!