As expected, as soon as we got home from the beach, Ken repacked to take 37 college students to the annual college conference in Atlanta. Addie and Palmer didn’t return to school until today, so I officially had a week with the kids without Ken.

Looking ahead at the next year, I know that times that Ken and I get to spend together are rare, I realized that it will be difficult for us to do a lot of the family-friendly adventures around Nashville. By the time the kids are out of school for the summer, I will be mired in my busiest time of year.

I decided that now was the time to make some memories with the kids. Fortunately, my parents flew in for the week and joined our adventures and helped me man-handle the kids. So, last week we:

• Made their first fort in the living room and shared a snack inside.
• Learned how to play hide and seek, and also learned that Addie has to be the worst hider EVER. This surprised no one.
• Went to Chick Fil A in Hermitage. And Mt. Juliet. Because if you go to the same one too many times, they begin to think you have a chicken addiction. (We do.)
• Went shopping to buy a chair for grandpa and helped him put it together.
• Learned to hula hoop with Grandma, who still has great moves!
• Watched the movie Annie and sang all of the songs.
• Went to Fired Up and painted plates that we will be able to eat off of! We can’t wait to see them finished!
• Went to Rainforest Cafe and marvelled at the animatronics, ate way too much food, and were amazed by the hand dryers in the bathroom. Sometimes it’s the simplest things.
• Went to the Lego store and let the kids pick out new Lego kits.
• Watched grandpa put together a majority of the Lego while Palmer watched.
• Painted a snowman, and a few other things accidentally, with Addie.
• Went clothes shopping with the kids, and survived.
• Went to the downtown library’s story hour and puppet show. I took Palmer out early to look at books, while Addie made friends with a complete stranger by going up to her afterwards and giving her a big hug.
• Bought Palmer and Addie some fabulous hats.
• Ate cookies and milk (some with coffee in it) in a bakery downtown.
• Went to the new McDonald’s Play Place on Lebanon Pike and made some new friends.
• Looked at a picture slide show every night from the beach, Christmas morning, playing with friends in the park, etc.

The kids were exceptionally good. We laughed a lot. At one point, when we were watching Annie, Addie turned to me, and said, “I love you mommy.” I actually had to ask her three times what she said, because she had never told me that spontaneously before. The next night, Palmer gave me a kiss on the cheek for the first time.

We had a great time, even though we were missing Ken terribly. I was thankful that the kids were willing to have a year’s worth of fun with me last week. The memories will last a lifetime!