Hello, everyone! How was your weekend?

Mine was interesting! Wednesday night I arrived at my cousin’s house. Starting on Thursday and ending Monday (with a brief break in between while a family friend relieved me), I watched her three sons and dog while her and her husband went on a well-deserved vacation (that’s their dog pictured below excitedly awaiting the boys’ return from school). While I of course had fun, it was definitely a learning experience. Here’s what I discovered while hanging with three boys ranging from kindergarten to fourth grade:

• Catch is the best game ever. Inside, outside, basketball, bouncy ball, tennis ball – anything!
• If you aren’t playing catch, then you should be playing basketball with the mini hoop in the basement, kickball in the driveway, or touch football on the lawn while mocking your 22-year-old babysitter for not understanding all the terms you are using.
• Macaroni and cheese is the best dinner option, while oatmeal with dinosaur eggs is the best breakfast choice.
• Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 is an optimal movie selection.
• When you go to McDonald’s and ask a six-year-old what he wants, and he says a cheeseburger, you should ask what he wants on the cheeseburger. Otherwise McDonald’s will put cheese, onions, pickles, and ketchup on it, and while you are driving home you will keep hearing exclamations from the backseat as each unwanted addition is discovered (good news though: the dog likes any sort of cheeseburger).
• If you spend Friday night all piled into the biggest bed watching baseball together, all three boys will fall asleep and you will be left to find a new bed in which to sleep.
• Also, if you attempt to cuddle with a 100+ pound white German shepherd the same way you cuddle with a 40 pound beagle-mix, you might just end up with a bloody nose at 1AM. This will also scare the dog, who will run away and sleep under the bed the three boys took over and you will be completely left on your lonesome.
• You become much more patient and sociable in the morning once you have had some coffee (all right, so I already knew that, but it was adamantly confirmed).
• Adele’s music is the perfect thing to sing along to on car rides.
• You should have way more than 11 games on your iPhone.

P.S. I have a new appreciation for the show Home Improvement.