This past weekend's trip to Kingman was really, really good.
I left on Friday (way later than I meant to) and got in a little before 7:00. Austin was SO excited to see me! That evening I took him out to dinner (at Cracker Barrel, his favorite), and Jillian joined us. Then I took him to Hastings and let him pick out his birthday gifts. The look on his face when I told him he could spend $40 for his birthday was priceless. I know $40 is a lot . . . I think it was a combination of how cute that kid is and how guilty I felt about not visiting my family since June. Anyway, he got Mario Yahtzee (I have no idea why) and this little science kit thing. As he called it, he got "Mario Ahtzee and science!"
The next morning we went to Austin's soccer game, which was pretty hilarious. Austin likes to kind of rev up when it's his turn to kick the ball in, so he starts running from way back at the goal net and then kicks. It's just fantastic, and by the end of the game all the kids on his team were doing it. Afterwards I took Jillian to lunch at Chipotle (because they opened one in Kingman, which is so weird!) and we talked about her plans for the future, which was nice. Jillian is one of those people who's got a great head on her shoulders but just needs to figure out how to use it, and I think she's making progress.
And then it was time for Austin's birthday party! My sister has gotten a lot smarter about throwing little kid parties, so this year, we had it at this park near my mom's house, and had cupcakes instead of a cake. It was fun, and Max was in heaven with all these little kids wanting to pet him and love on him. Afterwards I helped Austy build some of the Legos he got for his birthday. Austin is always endlessly impressed with my Lego skills, which makes me happy.
Sunday morning my sister was working so Austin had to go to daycare, so we said goodbye before he left since I was anticipating leaving before he'd be out of daycare. I went to my dad's and we visited and he changed the oil in my car (woohoo!), and then I went back to my sister's and took a nap. By the time I woke up it was afternoon and I decided to stick around and pick Austin up from daycare as a surprise. The look on his face when I walked in was amazing. He said, "Auntica, I thought you were going home!" And I said, "I was, but then I decided I'd rather hang out with you some more instead!" He was so excited. We went to this frozen yogurt place he likes (I don't actually know the name of it, but it's by Home Depot) and got some frozen yogurt. They have board games there that you can play and Austin got all excited when he saw they had Yahtzee, so we played that while we ate our yogurt. It was just lovely.
Afterwards I took Austin to my mom's, hung out for a little while, and then had to leave. Poor Austin was so sad, he was crying his sweet little eyes out because he didn't want me to leave. It was pretty heart wrenching. I hate hearing him cry. I think how I feel about Austin is probably the closest I'll ever get to maternal instinct, so it was hard. I just love him so much.
So now I'm back in Flagstaff, dealing with fun new crap at work and missing my family. This visit was probably the best one I've had since the breakup, and that makes me happy.
I wish Austin could stay this age forever. I wish he could spend his whole life thinking the world was bounce houses, Legos, and people who love him unconditionally and without reserve. But since he can't, I just want to remember that right now, he is this perfect distillation of joy and energy and good all contained in a gangly, grinning little boy.
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