Spending the Afternoon with the Pacheco Beaty Family

Today, I spent the afternoon with Sarah, Gregorio, and their kids. Of course, this counts as something that makes me happy, which fits right in with my November challenge to myself to write daily on that topic.

Sarah, Lyla, and I went to watch Nico play soccer at noon and also to see Gregorio coach the team. Nico is seven and is a full head taller than many of his classmates. He scored several goals and was pleased that we were there to see his soccer skills. Gregorio was sweet with the boys, encouraging but also letting them know he expected them to play hard. They have one more game to go in the season. Gregorio also coaches Luna’s team, which had played at 8:30 this morning. He said he was pretty tired after coaching all morning long.

Lyla, who is four, was busy on the sidelines. She at first only wanted to play with her mother, but then headed off to practice some of her gymnastics nearby. She is a very smart little girl who also looks older than her age.

After the game, Gregorio took the kids home and Sarah surprised me with a mother-daughter trip to get pedicures. This was quite a treat since the last pedicure I had was on Mother’s Day when all three girls treated me to that and also a spa treatment. This gave Sarah and me a chance to chat without three kids wanting or needing to be part of the conversation. Not only did I get to have a lovely time with my oldest daughter, but we both emerged with some newly painted toenails. Very nice. Thanks, Sarah!

We returned to Sarah and Gregorio’s home and I played hide and seek with Lyla and Luna. This is always a favorite game and we dashed around the house either hiding or looking for the two other people who were hidden. We had some good belly laughs, especially when the hiding places got pretty inventive. Luna somehow managed to cram her ten-year-old body into the laundry hamper, which I wouldn’t have thought was even possible if I hadn’t seen it with my own two eyes. She did need my help to get out. We had to do some serious pulling before her whole body popped out!

I headed home around four after Sarah fed me a late, very tasty lunch. All in all, it was a lovely afternoon. How else could it have been since I had the chance to spend time with a whole gang of my favorite people?

Thanks for the pedi, Sarah, and lunch, and also for sharing your kids with me. I’d say they’re a pretty good bunch even if I am a totally biased Grandma.

Here are some photos of our afternoon: