Ethan's visit!

Adam and I became parents...for a week at least! On July 5th, my 5-year-old nephew, Ethan, came to stay with us for a week. My sister and her family had celebrated the Fourth of July in Virginia Beach with her brother-in-law's family. So, on their way home, they dropped off Ethan (and spent a night with us). They left with their precious 6-month-old, Eva, and....we were left with a happy, talkative bundle of energy.

At the "Castle," a little playground in our townhouse community.

Luckily, I had gotten time off of work--and Adam was able to score a couple of half-days off of his job. :) It really took the pair of us to even start to tire him out. Also, Mr. Oliver never had it so good: Ethan was always happy to go on walks and throw the ball to Oliver. The only thing Mr. Oliver didn't like were the swings, so we had to leave him home on those excursions. I'm going to scatter pics throughout this post, so I hope you enjoy!

While Adam was at work, Ethan and I went to the pool for swimming practice, went to multiple parks, played checkers, checked out books at the library, explored the Arboretum, and much, much more. I'm glad I was able to spend time with such a cute bundle of energy....but, boy, was I wiped out by the time Adam got home everyday! And poor Adam, he worked hard all day, came home, and then was an energetic and enthusiastic playmate until Ethan went to bed. I couldn't ask for a better husband! Adam and I read Ethan Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone before bed each night; we didn't get very far, but we figured that you gotta start those HP fans young! :)

Ethan at the Arboretum, with the ducks!

Fun with lockers! This is at Adam's office building, which used to be a high school.
I had always wanted to fit inside one of these lockers, so I convinced Ethan it would be fun. He had a blast!

Doing a tricky climb...

When Adam had half-days and during the weekend, that was when the bigger activities happened. On Wednesday, we went over to the Schultz house for a cookout--and so Ethan could play with two dogs--Molly and Oliver! We pitched some wiffleballs and played Mousetrap; Ricki and Kyle were amazing hosts. (Plus, because Ethan didn't get to bed until 11, he slept really late the next day! Yippee!)

On Friday, we had planned to do some kayaking, but, just as we were leaving, some rain started. Boo. Instead we went bowling that day.

He's ready to bowl with his 6-lb ball!

Ethan's preferred bowling style:

On Saturday, Adam took Ethan to the Farmer's Market for doughnuts and berries, then to the park. Then, we all drove to Staunton to go on the Gypsy Express, a little train that went around Gypsy Park. Afterward, we went to Kline's Ice Cream, and Ethan showed us how fast ice cream can melt when in the hands of a 5-year-old. :)

Spiderman!

The Hopper!

The Gypsy Express! It was a lot smaller than we had thought,
so Adam had to sit a few rows away from Ethan and I. :( Still, it was a cute little train!

Smiles!

Crazy pic...

Ringing the Gypsy Express bell

Adam, chomping some butter pecan

Ethan: before eating his Oreo cookie ice cream cone

Ethan: during. You don't want to see the after! :)

Eating mint chocolate chip!

On Sunday, we went to church and Ethan fit right in with the children activities there. He is sociable and doesn't mind trying new things, talking to new kids, and just being friendly. Amazing! I know I wasn't that brave when I was 5 (am I now???), and Ethan impressed Adam and I with how easily he adapted to any situation. We also took Ethan putt-putting for the first time in his young life. He did pretty well--and he didn't get as frustrated as his aunt...so that's a positive! And we even did some baseball.

Ethan and I posing during putt-putt.

Ethan at batting practice.

Uncle and nephew getting some baseball time in.

My parents came (in their new RV) on Monday and stayed until Wednesday, when they left (with Ethan) to go back to Indiana. I'll write about that in a separate post. My parents stayed at a campground and Ethan spent the night with them on Tuesday, so driving home on Tuesday was kind of eerily silent. In just that short week, Adam and I had become used to Ethan talking about everything, asking questions, saying nonsense words, etc. When we got back to our house on Tuesday night, we just sat on the couch wondering why it was so quiet! :)

Tired, tired, tired!

Boy, it's a lot of work to take care of a child (and we only did it for a week!!! all parents reading this are probably laughing their heads off right now!!!), but it is so rewarding. Ethan loves singing and dancing to Lady Gaga, so that was hilarious to watch. He tries all different types of food and loved to eat raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and pears. I know I never liked fruits that much at that age (...or at this age, to tell the truth!). His imagination and enthusiasm is infectious, and I happily found myself playing pirates one minute and castles the next. I hope he can come and visit us again soon!