A Sweet Visit to Ewen's House

Way back when Louis was little and we would meet his friend Ewen for a playdate, they would be shy for the first part of their visit.

Not this time.

As we pulled up outside Ewen's house after more than two hours in the car, Louis said, "Mama, I told you it wouldn't be a long drive," jumped out of the car, and ran to the door yelling, "I am Dark Vader!"

Michael, of course, was hot on his heels.

And Ewen was hurrying to open the door.

Because we don't live very close to Ewen and his family, we typically pick a midpoint for our playdates. And that works just fine when the dads are there to run around with the boys. But Amy--Ewen's mom--and I never seem to get much time to talk at those meetings. So this time I sort of invited ourselves over to their house to play for the day.

And it was terrific.

The boys did some artwork.

They built with Trios. They played Hot Wheels. They ran in circles, doing some sort of Star Wars game (I think?).

Amy and I actually got to say more than a few words to each other. Our three boys could play inside, outside, eat lunch at a normal table, and then--get this--have ice pops for dessert.


Ewen was great about sharing his toys and his home--and the ice pops, which he has been eating by color, which is why all three are eating pink--with Louis and Michael.

Ewen apparently also enjoyed realizing that little brothers (and he has been asking for one of his own for a while) are quite a bit of fun.

That was neat to see--that Ewen and Michael would play, while Louis built with Trios (or commissioned a Trio building that ended up being built by Amy) or Ewen and Louis would play while Michael played Hot Wheels.

And then sometimes all three would hang out, running or playing Star Wars or eating or just being together. Our boys feel so comfortable around Ewen and they made themselves right at home in his house.

When sharing started getting to be a little challenging--and both my boys were showing some signs of having skipped their naps--we loaded the boys into our cars and headed over to the free ride at Chocolate World. (Ewen and his family live close to Hershey.) Everyone wanted to hold Ewen's hand--he is almost 6 and really a wonderful friend. Not surprisingly, Ewen was the only one who would consistently smile for my camera.

In fact, this photo ended up being a fairly accurate rendering of our trip to Hershey: Ewen giving me a grin, Louis waving my camera away--and Michael nowhere in sight--perhaps running away from the group, laughing wildly over his shoulder. Michael loves to run.

I had been on the free ride with John a few years ago--pre-Louis--but it had definitely been enhanced. And the boys enjoyed it, even though Louis couldn't get his mind off the fact that there would be free candy at the end of the ride.

The boys switched seats along the way and they watched the singing cows with interest.

I suspect it was a bit boring for Ewen, who must do this with every friend who comes to town, but he was a gracious host, nonetheless.

At the end of our ride, it was getting late, so we said goodbye to Ewen and Amy and headed out of town. Michael and Louis were not happy.

"Go Ewen house! Go Ewen house!" Michael said over and over.

"Michael," said Louis, who slips happily into his authoritative big brother mode. "You know why you want to go to Ewen's house? Because it is bigger than our house."

Louis then wanted to know why Ewen's house was big, and I mentioned that maybe Ewen would have a little brother from China one day--and that he wants one.

"Why would he want a little brother?" Louis asked--and I heard more than a note of disbelief.

"Because even though you have to share with little brothers, they can be a lot of fun," I told Louis. "You always have someone to play superheroes with and run around the house with, and Ewen just has Miss Amy."

That gave him something to think about. But a few minutes later Louis had another question.

"Mama, why is Pennsylvania different from where we live?"

"Because every part of our country is a little different," I said. "What do you think makes Pennsylvania different?"

"Well," he said. "Pennsylvania has bigger car sales places and more playgrounds."

I can't argue with that.

You know what else it has, though? Singing cows.

It also has Ewen's house. And both our boys can't wait for our next playdate.