Time With Jared - Days, 1 & 2

The day has arrived for our scheduled days with Jared.  Jen is driving to Denton to pick up Jon from another robotic camp and will be dropping Jared off late this afternoon while on her way.  Yay!  I am looking forward to this time alone with him.

We only have a few minutes to visit with Jen when she stops by as she is running late and it is still quite a distance to Denton in traffic.  Once she is off, we get Jared settled in and he shows me a craft project that he brought along.  Well, let's get going on it shall we?  I find a rolling pin and some parchment paper to work on -- now we are ready.



It is a clay magic kit and he gets down on the floor to roll out the base for his "creature".  Once he has the base coat on the ball, I help with opening little blobs of colored clay and get them rolled out as well.  Soon he is decorating away.  The end result:  a very colorful little monster.  This is a fun kit -- may have to pick up a couple of them to keep around the house for visitors.

After our mess is cleaned up, Mister makes "cocktails" for all (yep, Shirley Temple again) before dinner is ready.  Jared loves his drink and asks for several refills.

When dinner is complete and the dishes done, Uncle Scott takes Jared off to play for awhile before bed.

It has proved successful to let the grands help select the food we are cooking during their stay.  We need to get groceries for this week and our first stop is at Farmers Market for fresh fruits and vegies.  We love to buy local as much as we possibly can but all sheds are visited, especially for handouts along the way.  Jared is in melon heaven.

We find quite a few good deals and some unique ones as well.  The watermelon that he selects is a yellow one on the inside and oh so very sweet.  The blueberries are a steal at $1.00 a box and since we are out of jam, seems like a good afternoon activity.  Look at our haul -

We take a little time to sit back and play.  Jared spots the blocks in the back closet and asks for them to build for awhile.  When he finishes, I get out the Mancala game and Jared and I play a few games in which the grands retain their record of walloping Gammy.  Grandpa brings out a game he has had for many years and teaches Jared to play.  It looks interesting and I think I will challenge Mister to a game or two every now and then.

Aunt Cassie gets home from work and wants some nephew time as well so out comes the mancala board again.  I love the thought processes involved --- the facial expressions indicate that some strategizing is taking place.

While Cass and Jared play, I get everything set up for jam. Blueberries can make an awful mess so I round up aprons for all.  I start cleaning the berries and am joined by Jared to help pull stems.  Once the berries are all cleaned and washed, into the processor they go.  Now it's time to make the magic start working -- pectin -- the wonder powder.  After the required stir and wait time, we are ready to fill containers and Jared is in charge.

Aunt Cassie comes out to the kitchen to check on things and takes some of our jam and marks Jared's cheeks with it.  He is now the "Jam Master" (said like a super hero).

Six boxes of berries gave us thirteen containers and a little leftover for the fridge.  Doesn't that look good?  Time to put it in the freezer.

Grandpa and I ask Jared what movie he would like to see and he says, "Percy Jackson, Sea of Monsters."  Mister locates the theater near us with the best deal and away we go.  It is a good thing we get there early cos we might not have found a good seat otherwise.  Does this bode poorly for the movie?  Somehow I thought this movie had opened this weekend.  Hmmm.

The important part --- Jared loved the movie.  It was in 3D - even better.  Aunt Cassie provided popcorn and soda and he was one happy little camper the entire time.  All in all -- a good day.