Typical weeknights at the Nicholson's

We are loving having the big kids stay with us for a season... There is often some type of game going, like scrabble, rummicub, or catch phrase... Some are in the kitchen cooking, some are helping the younger girls with homework, everyone pitches in to clean kitchen, fold laundry, or walk Buster. You can tell the night's when I cook... Hamburger helper, Spaghetti cake, Hamburgers, Hotdogs... When Alex and Laurel, or Drew and Hayley cook, it's shrimp sautéed in mushrooms over couscous, or chicken stuffed with sundered tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, feta, and quinoa with a spinach salad. My favorite part of mealtime is the dinner conversations... Hayley asked Emma what she wanted to be when she grew up. Emma said, "Either the President, a principal, or a cashier at Walmart." lol. She said, "If you were the President, what promises would you make the people?" Emma said, "I'd give everyone free ice cream, I would stop the violence, and I would make the immigrants not have to take such hard tests to become citizens." 

Laurel will be heading to Atlanta soon. She recently got hired by a design firm in Atlanta and will be moving there. But so proud of her, but we will miss so much. Emily, Laurel, and Hayley are daughters to Keith and me. Alex will go to Atlanta to see Laurel a few times a week and also play some shows with Brennan while he's there. He will be traveling back and forth between Athens and Atlanta. He's getting more students at the music school here and working at Jittery Joes part-time, and also playing a few nights a week with Tyler and his band, Tarnation. 

 I just signed Emily and Hayley up for Step 1 tennis lessons and both are loving it!!! Laurel is going to start taking lessons when she settles in Atlanta. (Dawn, Jeannie, Natalie... I think you should join her! It's always more fun to start with people you know. The coaches will teach you everything you need to know and when you're ready, you can join a team and start playing matches. They have day teams and business teams for people who work. When I come to visit, we can all play on the courts under mom and dad's balcony and mom and dad and Aunt Betty can watch us... See, I have it all figured out:)