Denver Visit

Flew into Denver last weekend to visit my niece and her family. Her fifth child was just born in May so this was the first time I got to meet him(so of course I held him a lot)! The kids and I played in the water a lot---first at their house with the plastic swimming pool and hose and then we went up into the mountains near a shallow stream. The water and going up to the mountains was a great way to cool off in the hot weather!! So we played, played and played some more! And of course my niece, her husband and I played Phase 10---we always have a good competition with that game---I lost ): but it was still a great time playing it with other humans(I have the game on my iPad and so I only get to play avatars which cheat and stack the deck---as only electronics can do-- the iPad version made me more aware of  and brought out my competive emotions ---at first I would yell frequently at my avatars for the unfairness of it all[like skipping me when I'm the one behind] but now I do not yell at my avatars[Nancy, Floyd and Andrew] as much---now I just take a deep breath at each injustice and remind myself it it just a game---and with humans I never have an emotional outburst like I have with my iPad so maybe in the end it's good emotional therapy). Anyway,  we had a last minute change of plans and instead of flying home, I drove home(about 10 hrs) with my niece and her kids---I don't know how families survived traveling before dvd players in the vehicles. And can I just tell you that everytime I visit my nieces or niece-in-laws with their small children, it makes me have more respect and reverence for mothers than ever---I am always exhausted afterwards and wonder how they do it 24-7!! It is truly amazing to me!!! I am in awe of mothers!!--and I'm not dissing the fathers and the time they spend with the kids and helping out, but let's face it, mothers do so much more than any of us can imagine!