Aunt Janis came to visit!

So my sister-in-law came to visit Sacramento on Thursday. Really she came for a ceramics conference at UC Davis, but she was kind enough to come spend Thursday afternoon with my family.



In case the ceramics reference didn't clue you in, Janis is an artist - and a really good one. She claims she cannot draw, but I have seen her draw to keep my kids occupied - so I beg to differ. What took me a whole book and months to learn (how to draw a horse) she does on the fly. It is amazing.

Anyways, she's explaining about Amish people and her cabinets to my children and she just takes one of those large crayons and starts doodling what an Amish person looks like. And then draws a buggy and horse and explains to Nicholas that they normally don't drive cars, they ride buggies. She does all this with Abby on her lap, listening intently and not moving at all. I don't know what special powers Janis has, but I totally need some of those.

We went to the park in the afternoon and the kids loved it and got totally messy. It was fabulous. Janis just laughed at them and enjoyed her time watching them play. I know it wasn't a great outing or anything, but my kids love the park - and the mud. Abby can find mud anywhere; her brother taught her that.

Then, to make it a more perfect day, she babysat so Jon and I could go out to dinner. Without kids. We saw a couple at the restaurant with a baby and it was so wrong of us, but our only thought was, "Thank goodness that isn't us this time."

Thanks Janis for making it a wonderful day to come have you here!!!

P.S. - Nicholas didn't want to go to bed until his Cars pictures (and who knew she could draw Lightening McQueen and Mater so well) were in frames on on his wall. Not that I did it that night, but he was trying to get me to do it.

P.P.S - Now they don't want me to draw for them anymore. I pulled out the crayons and Abby looked at me like I was crazy and then ran around the house looking for something - well I think she was looking for Janis. Nicholas told me I should "draw like Aunt Janis does. She's a mommy and she draws better than you." Nothing like being compared to a professional artist to make my day :)