Quiet House

Susan and I were abandoned by our children yesterday. Our sister-in-law, Cheryl, decided that a repeat was in order this year of the summertime slumber party that she hosted for our girls last summer. To that end, she drove to Dickinson yesterday to pick up the girls and take them to Mandan. (More on what they did while there in just a minute.)

While they were gone, Susan and I went together to the West River Community Center to work out (which we've been doing as a family each night this past week--aren't you proud of us?!) and then returned home for homemade pizza and a night of television. We had some recorded TV shows to tend to: the season finale of Lost from May and at least a half-dozen episodes of Eli Stone dating back to March! Yes, the DVR is both a blessing (allowing us to save lots of TV to view at a better time in the future) and a curse (allowing us to build up quite a backlog of shows to view--we even have a movie still saved from May of 2007!). Anyway, it was nice to have some "alone time" while the girls were enjoying Cheryl's company.

Cheryl brought the girls back to Dickinson this afternoon, and here's what all the ladies did while together for the weekend (according to Hillary):

• en route to Mandan on Friday, stopped in New Salem for beverages
• ate supper at Red Lobster (Hillary ordered macaroni and cheese! at a seafood restaurant!!)
• attended High School Musical On Stage!, a musical theatre production by Sleepy Hollow Summer Theatre performed outdoors at Sleepy Hollow Arts Park (the girls are bi-i-ig fans of Disney's High School Musical phenomenon in all its forms)
• back at Cheryl's, watched The Bee Movie (the girls outlasted Cheryl, who woke up just as the movie was ending--no worries, Cheryl . . . I've been there!)
• this morning, did a craft project with Cheryl: painted birdhouse windchimes (which Cheryl will shellac later and which we'll pick up for the girls the next time we're in town)
• ate dinner at Cracker Barrel (Hillary ordered macaroni and cheese! for the third meal in a row!!) [yes, dinner at noon on Friday with Mommy was also macaroni and cheese]
• shopped at Old Navy
• toured the power plant where Cheryl works in Center, ND
• stopped for beverages on the way back to Dickinson

Thank you, Cheryl, for entertaining the children! They had a great time, as usual.