Saturday

Today I was just sure that Annabel had reached a whole new level - I thought she said "thank you for lunch". I answered "how very sweet of you, you're welcome".

Grace said, "Uh, Mom, she said, 'Is this lunch?'"

They were watching Kung Fu Panda and the "master" turtle had just said, "There are no accidents."

Perfect timing, right?

As we were packing, getting the girls ready to meet their daddy in Waco, my cousin called and said they were on their way over.

While growing up, we lived one block from my aunt and uncle and their four kids, so it felt like we all grew up together. Our moms were best friends and we spent lots of time together.

Now everyone is scattered as far away as Missouri. OK, not like it is all the way to China or something, but it might as well be!

Gillian texted her dad and asked if we could meet 30 minutes later so we could see everyone.

We always called my cousin, Dubby. Dubby is my age, despite his constant reminder that I am two weeks older.

Annabel misunderstood.

She asked if that girl, pointing to a picture of my sister, Lisa, was coming and bringing her dog.

What????

First I am confused that she is still pointing and calling Lisa "that girl", which I know is going to go over well with her. She also calls her my sister. In some ways I think she still feels this is temporary and no need to learn all of this.

But I digress, so unusual for me.

Lisa coming and bringing her dog???

Oh, her dog, Buddy.

No, this is my cousin, Dubby.

It was great seeing my cousins even though it was for a short time. I wish I would follow through and start making road trips and go see them.

They were headed to El Fenix after we left. YUM!!!

We loaded up and hoped that we had all of their stuff.

It is so difficult to hand Gillian and Darcey off to their dad. We all miss them so much but thrilled over the time we had together.

I, being the pragmatic mother that I am, drove through Burger King, even though we had just been in using their facilities, bought bags of chicken fingers, and headed home. This is when I was just sure that Annabel had said thanks for lunch!

The girls took a nap on the ride home, but Annabel had asked if we were taking the dogs to get a hair cut.

This is one of the great things about the changes in Oak Cliff, now there is a dog groomer who will take our dogs at the last minute for grooming on a Saturday. The Dip and Clip is great! So I called and they said yes, so as soon as we got home we took the dogs to the groomer and on to the library where we paid the huge fines we had amassed from DVDs.

Annabel did surprise me again when she read the sign that said, "Please do not slide, thank you" on the hand rails.

It is still a few days away from being home for just five months! She only speaks in English, rarely gets stumped by a word, but will ask now when she doesn't understand something.

Another huge surprise is that Dad has learned to cook out on the grill. And does an excellent job at it! So even though Mom and Dad were exhausted from this week, they made sure we had a nice dinner together before calling it a night. Which is exactly what I need to do now.