This post is intended to be an update as well as shameless bragging about how adorable my little ones are. This week has been my most productive yet. I’ve gotten the chance to play parent with my almost 5 year-old niece and twin 3 year-old nephews. While it’s not the impossible mess I’ve sometimes imagined it to be, it is quite a demanding career (kudos to Fawn for doing it 24/7). Now, the majority of time was spend in “don’t take your brother’s toy” and “I can’t understand your crying, you need to ask me with your words” we did get to sneak in a few fun memories. One of these was making rosemary bread rolls. Aunt Annie flours her counters instead of greasing them, and that seemed to go over quite well with this crowd (sorry for the interesting laundry this created Fawn).

Yes, despite all the joy in their eyes, it was nothing more than flour. However, with this crowd, pictures seem to bring out something quite unique. Here we see a glimpse into who they really are. Sofia, well, she always makes strange faces, and here Sam is doing a great imitation of her. However, Ben’s face is the most interesting to me, because that’s a look he gives often. There’s a edge of mischief in it, yet he seems to be reading you, just to see how you’ll react. But then again, there’s flour, so what else does a child need?

In addition to good wholesome fun, I also got the chance to have a few “I’m your aunt not your mother so we can do these things” moments. One of those was taking my little herd to McDonald’s to run off a bit of their energy. And of course, as a responsible adult it was also important to replace their natural energy with a sugar high. So enter, ice cream.

On a completely unrelated note, I played soccer with Filipe and some of his friends for several hours tonight. And while I had a fabulous time (turns out running around after a ball can indeed be fun) I also may be paying a price for my enthusiastic participation. Here are my big toes. And it is important to note, purple is not my natural nail color.

A few more days here then perhaps Michigan will hold some special treats for me as well!