I must brag about the grandchildren yesterday.
We took the children to Inner Harbor, MD. Spent the day at the National Aquarium, which included hours of walking through many exhibits, watching the dolphin show, doing a bit of shopping, etc. We got there around 9:00 or so. The children had a bit of lunch, but nothing spectacular. And then we took them to Phillips for dinner.
They were very well-behaved. Caleb got a little bored as we walked through the jellyfish exhibit and the rainforest exhibit, so he and I walked out ahead of everybody else and he played some Angry Birds on my Nook while we waited on the others to finish. No whining, no scrabbling, nothing. If he wanted to see something, he always said, "Excuse me, please" to get up front to see an exhibit.
At Phillips, the waiter was so impressed with the children's behavior during dinner that he bought them their desserts! Caleb had a child's ice cream sundae and Sarah enjoyed a small frozen chocolate drink (essentially a milkshake). They ordered their own dinners and Caleb even had some questions about his order: Did his dinner come with French fries? Could he have just a glass of water with his dinner? Sarah, who's a real sweetie, too, asked her own questions and ordered her own dinner, too. All with "please" and "thank you" as appropriate. Caleb thanked the waiter for answering his question about French fries.
We didn't have to nudge them to do anything; they did it all on their own.
We got back home with the children around 7:30 or so last night. They didn't sleep at all on the way home. While Graham (our son) drove home, Caleb and his mom watched a movie on the DVD player in the car and Sarah and I read some stories to each other. I learned about Penguins Going to the Beach and Penguins Going on Vacation.
Rick took a nap.
We had a wonderful day!
Let me add that Caleb just turned seven and Sarah will be six in December.
We took the children to Inner Harbor, MD. Spent the day at the National Aquarium, which included hours of walking through many exhibits, watching the dolphin show, doing a bit of shopping, etc. We got there around 9:00 or so. The children had a bit of lunch, but nothing spectacular. And then we took them to Phillips for dinner.
They were very well-behaved. Caleb got a little bored as we walked through the jellyfish exhibit and the rainforest exhibit, so he and I walked out ahead of everybody else and he played some Angry Birds on my Nook while we waited on the others to finish. No whining, no scrabbling, nothing. If he wanted to see something, he always said, "Excuse me, please" to get up front to see an exhibit.
At Phillips, the waiter was so impressed with the children's behavior during dinner that he bought them their desserts! Caleb had a child's ice cream sundae and Sarah enjoyed a small frozen chocolate drink (essentially a milkshake). They ordered their own dinners and Caleb even had some questions about his order: Did his dinner come with French fries? Could he have just a glass of water with his dinner? Sarah, who's a real sweetie, too, asked her own questions and ordered her own dinner, too. All with "please" and "thank you" as appropriate. Caleb thanked the waiter for answering his question about French fries.
We got back home with the children around 7:30 or so last night. They didn't sleep at all on the way home. While Graham (our son) drove home, Caleb and his mom watched a movie on the DVD player in the car and Sarah and I read some stories to each other. I learned about Penguins Going to the Beach and Penguins Going on Vacation.
We had a wonderful day!
Let me add that Caleb just turned seven and Sarah will be six in December.
I really wish all parents would teach manners like that. It seems to have gotten lost with the latest generation. 
