Unlimited Energy?

The hubby and I have the pleasure of taking care of our niece this weekend and part of next week. From this past Friday until this coming Tuesday, we are not only Aunt and Uncle but caregivers of our seven year old niece.

As expected, a seven year old has a bit of energy. I went into the weekend with this knowledge and therefore planned some events that would help focus such energy and maybe work it out of her a little bit.

Friday, we went over to my folks house and hungout with them, my littlest sis and her guy friend. We ate pizza and played a double elimination game of Ladderball. My niece played too, and when she lots twice, she then made her way into the living room to watch Monster House. After taking a quick shower before we left, she fell asleep on the car ride home.

Saturday, we woke up, had breakfast, and watched some morning cartoons. After lunch, we made our way to the new mecca of fitness centers in Collierville where my sister works. Because of my sis' employment there, we were able to visit the massive, mall like fitness center, and enjoy their ginormous outdoor pools for free to entertain our niece. You probably think I'm joking about the whole mecca or mall analogy about this place, but seriously... It is like going from a podunk town where WalMart is considered the big shopping to do, and then arriving into the luxury suburban mall of the large city hours away. A BIG contrast! And we didn't even tour the place, just walked into the entry and dressing rooms, and visited the pool. I'm sure everything else in that place is amazing. Anyway, so once in the mecca of fitness centers, we enjoyed the outdoor pools and waters slides for almost four hours. I was pumped, my hubby and I just knew that swimming all day would tire our niece out, and she'd be ready to rest at some point in the day.

So we made our way home from the pools, even taking the time to shower before we left and change back into real clothes in case our niece fell alseep on the car ride home. Uhhh, that did not happen. When we got home, we all three (hubby, niece, and myself) settled down on the couches to relax and unwind a bit before our next festivities of the evening. Forty-five minutes to an hour later, I was woken up by my hubby... apparently I FELL ASLEEP on the couch while my niece continued to bounce around and stay WIDE AWAKE.

Uhhh, can we say backfire? I'm learning more and more that I'm not as smart as I sometimes believe... swimming did not wear my niece out, but instead tired me out. Seven year olds have lots of energy I say... We're having fun!