As you may be able to see in the photo, there is an opening from the lobby, where you stand in line to check out books, to the second floor.
That day, a male teen threw down a couple of books from the second floor which landed with a loud slap on the floor right in front of Serena.
We both jumped!
The teen then ran down the stairs and out the door of the library with a book under his arm. The security guard was sent after him and a call was made to the police.
I was upset because I realized how close we were to Serena getting hit with a book. And, of course, Serena was upset.
Once outside, we watched as the kid was trying to unlock a bicycle chained to a post, while the police were arriving. It was quite the drama, which Serena talked about the rest of her visit.
Well, on this trip, we all went upstairs to find a book for Kendall. Kendall and I were busy in the stacks looking for books.
When we finished, we heard Serena’s voice down below in the lobby. I leaned over the railing and said, “Serena, what are you doing down there?!”
She had evidently turned left when we turned right and as she wandered through the stacks, Kendall and I were immersed in our own search. Serena said she couldn’t find us and she was afraid to go down the stairs so she found a man who was sitting at a desk and asked him to help her find her family. He took her downstairs to the front desk and after talking to her, the librarians were planning to get on the loudspeaker to get our attention.
It was only later, in the car on the way home, that we realized how frightened Serena had been. Then, I began to realize that it could have been much more serious.
I said, “Serena, if a stranger had tried to take you, would you have screamed?” She said, “No, because it’s a library and you have to be quiet.” Oh, dear… we then had a lesson on screaming even if it is a library in case a stranger tried to take her.
After we got home, Kendall immediately started reading her book and Serena and I continued to talk about her library experience.
The girls chose the dinners each night from a list.
Sunday night was Macaroni and Almost Cheese. Whenever Kendall has visited us by herself, we made a habit of eating dinner in front of the TV while we watched two half-hour episodes of Modern Family.
We decided to see whether Serena could do that on this visit. I did set up a high chair for her as she has a tendency to jump out of her seat a number of times during a meal. She agreed to the terms.
We were all amazed that for such a talker and wiggle worm, she sat and watched two episodes while eating and never said a word!
She was also very careful about not spilling anything on the carpet during our TV/Meals – except for one night when she decided to unlatch the tray from her high chair while her dishes were still there. Luckily, I caught everything – except the orange/kale smoothie she still had left!
Monday, the sun was out and the girls were eager to go swimming. The pool water was a brisk sixty-five degrees and I had been unable to get the pool heater to work.
We had a nice lunch by the pool and Kendall enjoyed a little sunbathing time before deciding to get wet.
When they did decide to get wet, it was quite a shock!
Tuesday morning, Serena and I went to the personal gym and worked out with Ms. Lisa. Serena loves working out and getting so much attention from Lisa. She worked circles around me and when we left, she was still full of energy!
Kendall is doing an internship with a Justice organization and had a couple of hour-long Zoom calls that morning. Then she spent quite a bit of time on her computer trying to get her assignment done – looking up some of the Texas “house” bills and trying to write down the parts that needed to be shared with others. What tedious work for a teenager!
Tuesday afternoon, we made a trip out to the Wild Tiger Sanctuary where we walked around and looked at the tigers who had been rescued from abusive situations.
And, maybe the tortoises were rescued as well.
Wednesday was cleaning day! My cleaning ladies just say, “Muy bonita!” over and over to the girls.
Kendall took Serena on a long walk into the back country and they came home with muddy shoes and talk of their great adventure. They must have walked 2 or 3 miles.
Later, Rick took them on another walk, and of course, there were golf cart rides.
On Thursday morning, Serena and I went to the Cotton Belt Railroad Depot Museum.
Included in the museum's collection are four large model train layouts, photographs, uniforms, hats, etc. that have been donated by former employees of the railroad, rail fans, and friends of the depot.
Those things were interesting, but the "hands-on" trains were much more fun.
On Friday, modeling day had finally arrived. Serena loves modeling almost as much as she loves working out with Miss Lisa.
The Models...
Kendall is really good about playing and entertaining Serena. Here they are working a jig-saw puzzle.
Of course, Kendall loves her quiet reading time.
A sandwich recipe that Serena told us about... avocado, spinach, cucumbers and pickles!
It is always so quiet around the house once they leave. 😞
