Adventure's in babysitting

It's well-known among my friends and family that I'm not exactly a "kid" person. Oh, I get a long fine with children - I'm just not the type to seek them out. I don't get a gooey over a new baby (though I do like knitting for them), I don't tend to care when coworkers go on about their kids (though I dutifully smile and nod). I don't have anything against kids - they just aren't my thing.

That said, there are some children on this planet that I do adore. First, naturally are my nieces. And next up are the Three Musketeers:

Lily, Ethan and Owen, the beautiful children of my best friend Samantha.

On Sunday, Sam and her husband Michael had a wedding to attend, so Sam asked me to watch the kids. Now I'm no dummy - I know the easiest way to make a babysitting job go smoothly is to keep the kids entertained - and what's better than crafts? It's a little tricky with the age spread (10, 8, and 4) but I had a good idea of what to do.

A trip to the dollar store and $20 later I was equipped with everything I needed for an afternoon of fun.

And the final result - birdhouses!

 

Clockwise from top left: Lily's (complete with Angry Birds!), Owen's, Ethan's and mine. 

After painting, there was trampoline jumping (I need one of those - it's a great workout!), Star Wars watching, card playing, video games, and homemade fajita eating:

 And then, one by one, they went off to bed and it was just me, my book and good old Dozer

 

And now it's back to knitting...