While the Cats Are Away...

... the Mice will Play.  And play they did.  Olivia and McIver had a BLAST spending the week with Nanoo, Pop and Cacoo.  They went to Lake Sinclair on Sunday afternoon for the birthday party of Catherine's friend Amy. 

McIver and Jonathan dug for clams.  Pop told me that McIver spent HOURS digging for them and then filling up a float with his finds.  

Olivia rode the jetski with Amy, the Birthday Girl.  I was surprised to hear that she rode with Amy first, instead of waiting to go with Cacoo.  (I should also say that they really started their Sunday with a trip to Bass Pro Shops to pick out new life jackets, which also ended up being a hit in the pool, too.)

Don't worry - He didn't actually drive it by himself.  He didn't even drive it with someone else.  He just posed for Nanoo.

They also celebrated Catherine's 17th birthday on Monday.  Catherine had a bunch of girlfriends over to their house to have lunch and hang out by the pool.  Olivia told me that McIver loved having all those girls around.  They also went to dinner at a Japanese steakhouse.  We had been there before so the kids knew what to expect this time.  The onion volcano impressed again.  We gave Cacoo a bunch of make-up goodies from Ulta.  Olivia helped pick everything out and they had fun watching her open all of the gifts wrapped individually in tissue paper.

Nanoo found some cool wooden puzzles to help keep Olivia and McIver busy while we were away.  Olivia had some help putting together the dollhouse, but I'll have to wait to see who takes the credit - I think Pop spent the most time on it.  There were also four sheets of wooden furniture to be put together.  I was able to take part in that effort - and, let me tell you, it was not easy ...  Pop has the patience of Job!

Nanoo found a cruise ship and dragon puzzle for McIver, but I think they realized he needs to stick with the 'regular' puzzles for a little while longer before tackling the wooden puzzles.

The kids also went to Camp Eagle all week.  Olivia made a few friends in the puppet theatre camp - they made puppets all week and then put on a production for the rest of the campers on Friday.  McIver went to 'safari camp' - and his teacher was MY KINDERGARTEN teacher from (uhumm!) 30 years ago.  McIver walked right into the camp like he already knew his way around (no surprise there!), but it took Olivia a little while to warm up.  Nanoo stayed with her until she felt comfortable on the first day, but then she had a great time - and was super-chatty with me about her camp every time we talked on the phone.  

Thanks for a great week, Nanoo and Pop!