Kinex-icut Lagniappe

The extra 6+ hours--the lagniappe, or extra bit (think baker's dozen)--we got to spend with Gommie and Pop might have been one of the best parts of the trip (once the stress of figuring it all out passed).

Pop spent almost all of Wednesday building a Kinex rollercoaster set with Bud on our coffee table.  Slowly at first and then building speed with familiarity and experience, they constructed (with consulting help from Mama, who finished off the tracks at the end) an almost 4'-tall, double track, motor-powered rollercoaster, which they then watched fascinated for the rest of the evening (which track is faster?  why?  is it the momentum with which the car jumps on the chain?).

Meanwhile, Gommie and Sis played American Girl dolls go to college, packing bags, changing clothes, discussing school, having tea, going to class.  It was fascinating to hear Sis's rendition of college, which mainly involves moving away (a la Beloved Babysitter) but still has much the same structure as elementary school ("We're in the same class!  In room 4.")  They also made an AG iron-on apron and played a questions game on the iPad.

As a break, after a lunch of leftovers, Gommie and the kiddos watched the end of Polar Express.

And eventually it began to snow, the whole raison d'etre of the extra hours.  Though it was dark, we all bundled up and headed outside.  It's rare that Pop and Gommie have gotten snow on their Christmas visit to CT (much less winters in Houston!) and they enjoyed watching it, though not so much being out in it.  The kids excitedly took their new snowball makers which make very nice round snowballs (thanks, new Babysitter!  I have to come up with a better name for her.  Babysitter II?  Jr.?).  And the fluffy stuff was falling fast enough that they could make good snowballs.  So I had a great snowball fight with them.  When I got cold, they played in the backyard together, in the new garage lights, for another 45 minutes or so, all of us adults checking on them and the weather through the windows.

After a delivered Italian restaurant meal (I hadn't prepared for guests for dinner, nor a snowstorm), the kids played games with Gommie and Pop.  Bud and Gommie played Uno in the kitchen, while Sis and Pop played chess in the living room.  Later, Sis and Gommie painted each other's nails, and then mine.  All while resting our feet on my new foot massager!

I got pictures of it all--grainy, over-lit cellphone photos--pretty much the only pictures we took the whole week (excepting the family Christmas pictures we took at the end of that 12+-hour day!  I haven't even seen those and can't imagine they're wonderful either).  Still, in the microcosm, the photos and the hours encapsulate the fun the kiddos always have with Gommie and Pop and the joy we all get from Christmas together.  And there's nothing better than stolen hours together with loved ones.