how to be terrible babysitters and house sitters

Last weekend, we babysat some of my siblings while the rest of the family took a little road trip. The idea of us babysitting my little siblings is funny for several reasons. First, the youngest child who was there is thirteen years old, and they're all very capable of functioning by themselves. Second, we have a baby who actually does need babysitting, and all my siblings took care of her, which means we basically got free babysitting during our babysitting job. And third, we generally don't consider ourselves responsible adults.

But seriously. We rarely remember to change the oil in our car. We sometimes forget to check the mail for a week at a time. I can't even do that thing all moms know how to do where you peel an apple with a knife in one long strand. You know what I'm talking about, right? It's like the universal sign of being a good mom. I've even practiced with a little paring knife and an apple, but I just can't do it.

(Speaking of mail, now that I type this, I realize we never checked the mail once during our entire stay at my parents' house. See? This is what I mean. We're so not qualified. Sorry dad!)

So naturally, knowing we'd be the worst babysitters and house sitters in the world, we accepted the offer. And then we took it upon ourselves to see how many family rules and routines we could destroy in one long weekend. Bedtime? Cleaning jobs? Dessert restrictions? Screen time restrictions? Out the window!

We had the best time. We don't get to spend nearly the amount of time with our family as we want, so we soaked in the ability to just hang out and watch movies with them. We taste-tested recipes, went on a hike, slept in, and had the most delicious banana chocolate chip pancakes in the world.

So. Much. Food. So bad for us... but yet so good :)

Nicko and Jason are such good friends, and it makes me happy. Of course their definition of friend is anyone who will play on the tablet with them..... but still.

 Look how grown up and pretty Emma is!

 Claire had about fifty times more space than she's used to, and utilized every square inch of that space to practice walking on her little walker. She's still figuring out how to navigate the turns, but she can really get cruising on that thing!

 I love this view so much.

 More food...

 Choosing a godfather for our children isn't part of our family's culture, so technically Claire doesn't have one. But McKay volunteered himself, and he takes his godfather duties very seriously. Here he is reading The Jungle to Claire. It's never too early to learn about health violations, unsanitary meatpacking conditions, and muckraker journalism, as the parenting books say.

We also went to visit some graves on Memorial Day. It's kind of a sad day of remembrance and honor, but the cemetery sure looks beautiful with all the flowers and decorations on the graves.

So basically, if I were to give advice on how to be the worst babysitters and houseguests in the world, I'd tell you to disregard routines and rules, make as many treats as you can, stay up way too late, and don't bring in the mail. The key is to frantically clean up everything half an hour before the family gets home, so you can pretend it was clean all along! :)