1st It Was Hayden's Turn...

The Summer Tradition continues...

Several years ago we started splitting up a week during the summer with the Mini's. We carried on this tradition this last week. And, it accounts for the tiredness of Claude and me today.

This year Hayden came first. I met Andie and the Mini's at the Taco Bell in Shelbyville last Sunday afternoon. We had a great lunch together. The Mini's ate their meal and were still hungry. I went back with each and got another meal. Then I went back to the counter and we got dessert. Hmmmm...They were eating very well for kids for which this can sometimes be a big concern. Then we loaded Hayden's gear in my car and he and I set off for Georgetown to visit with Papa. 

We stopped at Kroger and picked up Papa's groceries before going to his apartment. When the Mini's come, I'm never sure how my time will be for taking care of Papa, so Hayden and I opted to be sure this chore was done. Can't have Papa starving now, can we? Hayden showed me the intricacies of Red Box. We found two movies to watch with Hayden. We also purchased ribs fresh from the grill to take to Claude. 

Papa was so happy to have Hayden come in and surprise him. I told Papa over and over this was going to be the week with the Mini's here. He was still surprised to see him and totally enjoyed having him visit. I put away the groceries and then we visited for a while. 

On to Sadieville where Hayden surprised Claude with his BBQ'd ribs. Claude immediately started to eat them. He was very happy to receive this food. He does love those Kroger BBQ'd ribs. 

Hayden has two things for which he is doing fitness training. The first is a Boy Scout merit badge and the other is his participation in Cross Country at his school. So he came with homework to be done each day. He did his walking and running on the treadmill. And, he made himself a sheet to record his accomplishments in each area each day he was here. I did not tell him to do that, he just did it on his own. Clever young man. I sent this picture to his mom with a caption "You're Boy is Being Obedient". She asked if he was wearing flip flops on the treadmill to rankle her. Hmmmm...Did not pay attention to that little tidbit. He was actually doing the running part at the end. I wonder if his grin in the picture is because he knows his mom will get this picture?

We watched both his movies on Sunday night. The first was "Kung Fu Panda III". The second was "The Chipmunks". Hayden was super happy with his movie fest.

Monday morning Papa had a doctor's appointment in Lexington. This left Claude and Hayden to their own devises all morning. Hayden not only ate several of the little individual boxes of cereal but they also made the can of cinnamon rolls and devoured them. Hmmm... But I returned to a happy home after Papa had a clean bill of health from the dermatologist. 

Monday evening, Hayden wanted to see the "Secret Life of Pets" in 3D. He found it at the Regal Theaters in Hamburg Pavilion. So our afternoon was to accomplish some banking chores Claude needed to do for Sadieville and then off to Lexington for dinner and a movie. We opted to introduce Hayden to A&W. He had great fun using the tap to get our beverages. We all enjoyed our hamburgers and should have only ordered 2 fries instead of one each. 

We got to the theater before the rain started. We very much enjoyed the movie and learning the Regal now has lounge chair seating. Claude said he could enjoy going to movies with that kind of seating. The rain was pouring when we came out and we waited to see if it would clear before running to the car. Finally gave up and made a dash for the car. 

Claude took us to Walmart. Another tradition is a toy from Walmart for the kids when they come in the summer. I set a little dollar amount and they try to stay at or below that number. Hayden really wanted a computer game, roamed the Legos just in case and finally found a book he really wanted. He is interesting in that, if he buys a book from a collection he wants to keep, he knows he only wants a hardback. I find that interesting in a young person. As a result he has a nice bookshelf full of hardback books that he loves. This pleases his Gramma immensely. So, it didn't surprise me when he found a nice hardback copy of "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" Parts 1 and 2 included. My request was that after he finishes reading it, he lets me borrow it to read.  We ended our evening by dashing into Dairy Queen for an ice cream in the pouring rain. So grateful for the garage when we got home and not having to make that final dash to or from the car in the pouring rain.

Tuesday, August 2nd, was Hayden's last full day with us. We started it at Waffle House. To say the boy loves Waffle House is an understatement. His father loves Waffle House and has taught that love to his son. Hayden ate well. We marveled.

We spent the rest of that day at home. Hayden did manage to take my Kindle and add 20 extra hints to the game I like to play there. They were free he said. Such a kid.  In all Hayden's roaming the Internet with his tablet, he found a Superman Museum with a huge statue of Superman in front. I told him Grampa had been there. He sent the link to Claude who indeed confirmed he had been there and had ice cream at the local Dairy Queen. Hayden was much impressed. 

Wednesday morning we packed everything up. The kids neither made a huge spread out mess with their belongings this time. So packing was a snap and I don't think we forgot anything. Claude followed us to Hardee's and we treated Hayden to breakfast there before he and I went to see Papa on our way to LaGrange. We had invited Papa to ride with us to take Hayden home but Papa opted out...until we got to his apartment for Hayden to say good-bye. Then Papa thought he should join us for the ride. We all loaded in my car and headed west to take Hayden home.

We parked in the Marx family garage and Papa came inside to meet Percy and Pip, the Marx family's kittens. At one point both were curled up on Papa's lap. Papa is a dog person, not a cat person. When Hayden got out of the car to run inside ahead of us, I leaned over to Papa and said, "You know how you wanted everyone to love Tiny? Hayden feels that same way about his kittens and he wants you to love them like he does." Papa understood then and tried his best to be very kind and happy with the kittens. 

Once we were sure Hayden was home and I texted Andie and Michael to be sure they knew he was now in their home and alone, Papa and I were off to gather up Bailey for her adventure at Ma and Pa's home.