Babysitting the Runyan Kids

My cousin Jake and his wife Jaime asked me to babysit their kids overnight while they went on a work retreat.  I went up to their new house in Heber on Thursday (Feb 2) and came home Friday afternoon.  I was a little nervous, since I'd never had to play the part of single mom of 4 before, but Jeff and Brea both came up after work Thursday night to help out, and we all survived!

Afternoon snack:

Shad and Naomi are just over a year apart, so it was fun to see how they'd interact, with Shad not used to any siblings, and Naomi not used to a younger sibling.  They weren't too bad, as long as they didn't have to share many toys.  ;)

We had pizza, apples, popcorn, and cookies for dinner, accompanied by Dance Central and the movie Little Rascals:

Before bedtime Brea read Josh and Dekker a story, while Naomi giggled at Jeff trying to rub his eyes, which of course turned into a game:

All three Runyan kids woke up an hour early, before the sun was out.  They acted like they weren't quite sure what to do, since it was dark outside.  But it worked out, since they had more than enough time to eat breakfast, get dressed, brush hair, and lolly gag before they had to catch the bus.  Plus I got to watch the sun come up, or more the valley light up, which I haven't done in a long time, thanks to having one child who usually sleeps till 8...  

Here's Naomi at breakfast sitting in Shad's booster chair, something she loved, complete with boots of her choice.  Kids are so funny at this age!

We ended up having fun, there weren't any real tears from anyone, Jake and Jaime got to get out kid-free, and it was a good learning experience for me...  Win for everyone!