Things I Learned From Mandy's Visit

As I've said at various points and in various ways over my last several posts, we had one hum-dinger, rip-roarin', boot-scootin', fun-tastic time while my sister and her kids were here. I think it was a great experience for all involved. I am so glad that my niece and nephew were able to warm up to Daniel and I. Since we live so far away, they don't really know us. It was so wonderful to have their attention for six days. By the end they would even give me a kiss! That's major progress!

I think I learned a lot of really important lessons from this visit, and I just thought I should share them.

1. My sister Mandy is an AMAZING mom! She takes everything in stride and never lets her children frazzle her. She has taught her kids to be well behaved and they obey her without too many fights or problems. I'm sure it helps that her kids are very sweet and have happy personalities, but most behavior is learned by example, and Mandy has been a terrific example to her kids!

2. Don't worry, be happy. Mandy's kids had the best time on the airplane. My sister even told me about a guy on the plane with them that was nervous about flying, but after seeing my niece and nephew giggling with delight about being so high in the sky, he realized he doesn't need to be scared. He should just enjoy the ride.

3. Take the time to truly be amazed by the world around us. If I learned nothing else from my time with my niece and nephew I learned this: Our world is amazing, and EVERYTHING deserves to be studied and appreciated. Cannon would pick up sticks and fallen leaves and bring them to me like he'd found treasure. He would have spent the entire day at the aquarium watching the sea lions swim around or touching the starfish in the touch pool. When we went to the waterfalls, he'd see each one and exclaim "WOW, look at THIS ONE!" Kylee loved the beach and the ocean so much we almost couldn't get her to leave. I asked Kylee when we were on our way back to the airport what her favorite thing about the trip was. Without the slightest hesitation she said "The sand". We went shopping, to the aquarium, the cheese factory, saw 4 different waterfalls and yet her favorite thing was the sand on the beach. All she needed to be happy was the sand and her imagination.

4. A person can get A LOT of stuff done in one day if they just keep moving. I had to keep moving, Kylee and Cannon never stop.

It was truly an amazing time for me. I love my sister and her kids so much! Mandy and I might be swimming in completely different ends of the gene pool, but we are sisters and friends. I hope she comes back to see me again real soon.

THANKS FOR THE WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE!