Josh had to go back to real life. He had a managing lawyer convention in Boston (so of course he fit in a Red Sox game) and an upcoming lawyer retreat to organize and go to.
Maddie was especially heartbroken that her dad was leaving because they had so much fun together. The ONLY person who could have replaced Josh was her beloved Grandma Linda. (I don't think even I could have been a sufficient replacement!)
Jack was a little slower to warm up to Grandma. But after a few days, he now prefers Grandma over even his mama!
There were lots of fun times with Grandma, making forts,
eating ice cream for dinner,
playing at parks,
drinking tea with the pinkies up,
puzzles,
Jack pretending to be Maddie and Maddie pretending to be Jack,
finding every cranny to use as a hiding spot,
piano lessons,
enjoying the architecture and landscapes of Ireland,
knitting,
exploring,
and having picnic/movie nights.
Jack learned about FaceTime and is completely obsessed about talking to Dada all day every day.
He also became obsessed with being naked. He suddenly hates clothes, and especially pants.
We were lucky to get my cousin Emily to visit. We were a nice little layover for her on her way to London, Paris, and Switzerland. She is beautiful and fun, and we loved her visit!
The only real negative about the house we lived in was that we seemed to get locked out all the time. Our hostess had to let us in about once a day because of this. One time, she wasn't there when my mom and kids accidentally locked themselves out. So to kill time, we went to dinner at a nearby pub. Maddie and my mom had no shoes, while Jack had no pants. This is definitely one of my favorite memories of our vacation.
