Mr. HB's nephew and wife and their 7 year old son....
it's been awhile since we have had an active 7 year old here...
they arrived at 5:30...after a day of shopping, sightseeing, and playing at the park.
I had Brie and Smoked Applewood cheeses, crackers and cerignola olives for appies...
the 7year old, let's call him R...was famished and the Smoked Applewood was a hit!
I served him a glass of sparkling grapefruit which he drank in one sip...and after checking with his mom I gave him a refill.
It turns out he could drink it as fast as I could pour!
He was very active, excited, hopped a lot and chattered on a mile a minute...I was trying to stay one step ahead of him...but he was faster!
Mr. HB disappeared downstairs for the huge tub of Lego...it is one thing we have kept from when our children were young...
I spread out a large blanket on the family room floor and we dumped the entire collection of Lego out...
he made some wonderful flying contraptions which he flew past us as we sat and sipped our cocktails and enjoy a brief conversation before dinner.
As I mentioned, I kept dinner very simple...Caesar salad, Lasagne, garlic bread and cherry pie a la mode.
R love the salad..not the Lasagna, and inhaled the garlic bread! Ate only the ice cream and left the pie...no worries, I offered it and hoped for the best...
it turns out a grilled cheese sandwich would have achieved a 5 star rating.
After dinner R was still extremely energetic and surprisingly still hopping...
Does R stand for Rabbit?
Mr. HB suggested that we go for a walk to the beach...great idea!
The family live in the interior where there are rivers and lakes....no oceans.
R loved it! He was in his element.
He lead us down to the beach wielding a driftwood sword, he made Rules and shouted loudly to the rest of us who followed and had to abide,
we were a very loud and raucous lot as we made our merry way along the stoney beach.
Our group was disturbing the peace, and interrupting the calm and quiet of the people who were relaxing in the after dinner sunshine.
We were the Rabble Rousers...led by a sword wielding, elephant toting 7 year old...
who told me ...that he will be in grade 3 and learning The Times Tables next year.
It was a memorable evening, lots of laughter and smiles as broad as the day is long.
I took lots of photos...
one of my favourites is of his elephant "Stomper"
Tonight all is quiet in the Bungalow...
I've uploaded the photos and emailed them to family....
Kids help us recapture the joys, that as adults, we may have forgotten or lost.