Week of the 4th

Well we've had a busy ten days or so. The week of the 4th of July brings a closure to Callum's daycare so I was off on vacation. Simultaneously, we had some visitors- Edna, my MIL, and her sister, Aunt Sheila, came to visit us from across the pond. After they spent a week trekking through NYC and Boston, they flew in HIA and Iain drove them to Ship. Edna's been here many times but this was Aunt Sheila's first time in the States and also visiting us. We had a great time considering the cool weather- although sort of hot to them compared to Scotland- and with Callum's antics. He proved to be the ever loving mamma's boy that he always is but he did let his Gran Burnett bathe him several nights and even spend Tuesday and Wednesday morning and most of the day with them. The trio had a lot of fun on walks, in the car and out in the backyard. We even traveled to Lancaster for a visit with the Amish and Callum only caused a (major) fuss for about 45 minutes on the way back (yelled the whole way). Somehow a trip through the Carlisle Wendy's drive thru for a Frostie, which he didn't eat, calmed him down. He seemed to appreciate my efforts even though I wasted $1.39 on the darn thing. We appreciate the long journey Aunt Sheila and Edna made to see us and hope that their trip home went smoothly and that the 10 mile walk on Saturday was relatively painless (Ouch!). I'm sore just thinking about it!

The Burnetts just returned from a weekend at Pappy Al and Grandma's house. They were kind enough to host us and babysit Callum Friday afternoon and evening so that Iain and I could attend a wedding of a good friend of mine from high school. Fortunately Callum had a 2.5 hour nap so he was good as gold with the exception of the run in with Big Neighbor Joe. Anyone who knows the Sloans often knows the Alexanders, our long time next door neighbors. Joe & Linda Alexander have been friends with my dad since high school. Being so close in proximity allows for frequent visits and impromptu chats across the yard. There really isn't a boundary where the properties end because for years, we've so frequently been back and forth across them. Anyway, Joe is a big guy and he came over to visit the night Callum was with Pappy and Grandma. Apparently, Callum wasn't informed of the long standing friendship as he became so upset over Joe's presence that Pappy and Grandma couldn't calm him down and had to ask Joe to leave! The other hilarious thing is that Joe is a child psychologist and is as close to a teddy bear as anyone could ever come. Callum wouldn't have any of it. Too funny. The weekend was very relaxing and we appreciate the time away. Hope you had a great 4th of July!