Vacation in Town: Day 1

As of Tuesday at around Midnight, I have been on a much needed vacation from the jobby job.  It is far from my typical vacations though.  My younger sister, Caitlyn, her friend Amy, my nephew Tayshaun, and my new niece Jazaiah flew into town for an extended weekend visit.  My nephew is nearly 3 and my niece is almost 4 months old.  I have very limited experience with kids.  It will be a fun time and I want to take the blog world along for the adventure.

Thursday morning, the five of us woke up and I darted across town to pick up Ashley's daughter, Kaleigh, who is 4 years old.  We are all headed to the popular destination of the Aquarium.  I thought the kids would enjoy the time and luckily, Ashley got out of class in time to join us.  The seven of us took several hours to go through the complex and it was a lot of fun to see the kids reactions to the fish.

For dinner, (after a short car nap by the kids) we had a simple pasta dish with my doctored up marinara from a jar.  Tayshaun is a picky eater and I hid the portobella mushrooms and green peppers well.  I also steamed some veggies for some nutrients.  It was a nice meal and I think everyone enjoyed it.  My limited experience with children makes me timid in the kitchen when it is time to cook.  I do not want to make something that their undeveloped palates will object to.  Pasta was safe with allowing me to still be slightly creative for the adults.

After dinner, we headed to the park for about 3 hours on the playground.  The Tayshaun and Kaleigh really impressed me with their ability to scales walls.  I guess I am a little out of touch with a child's capability but this seemed impressive to me.  From the playground, Ashley and Kaleigh headed home and the 5 of us headed back to my house.

As soon as we walked in the door, Tayshaun reminded me that we had picked up a watermelon and it was time to cut and eat it.  We had a long day and we had earned our slices.  Jazaiah even joined in on the watermelon devouring.