Katherine Heigl called.

I'm here! I am officially an aunt/nanny/house guest/tourist/anything they want me to be because I'm on an all-expenses paid vacation to North Carolina! A six-week adventure in child care. I kind of feel like I'm on a reality TV show to give single in-their-2o's people who pretty much do whatever they want whenever they want a taste of the other side - it's kid stuff all day long, complete with poopy diapers, temper tantrums, and play dates with five kids under five running around for an entire day.

Meet the cast:

Nate, 5

Grant, 3

and Bennett, 8 months (you can't see it well here, but he typically has a mohawk that will not be tamed.)

Things We Do:

Tread water for 20 minutes straight catching child after child off of this really great landscaped slide

Go to swim meets

Keep three children swinging on a swingset simultaneously, pushing each one before they have time to say, "Higher!!" or "More Underdog!!" Go camping in a tent that was set up in the rain (but it's BEAUTIFUL here, and they loved it, so it was totally worth it. I showed all my pics to Grant, and at every picture he said, "There's my flashlight!") Hike to waterfalls without giving in to "I'm tired. Will you carry me?" "Nope, hikers get to hike." Family Bowling (my score made a substantial increase with the bumpers up - I have only broken 100 on the rarest of occasions)Dress up as superheroes on play datesWe also play Candyland and Memory quite a bit. I am not as good at these games as I remember. Somehow I always end up back in the Gingerbread Forest, and I can never ever remember where the goldfish is. Grant and Nate legitimately win every time. I have also been introduced to Hi-Ho Cherry-O. Not as fun.

Cute things that have happened so far:

Nate picked up James and the Giant Peach from the library and I began reading it with him. We finished a couple chapters and he went right to bed. The next morning, I overheard him asking Scott, "When can we read some more of Peter and the Giant Orange?" Peach. It's a peach.

Grant, every time he toots, says, "'Scuse me, dat was so wude." EVERY TIME. So this happens, maybe, 10-15 times a day.

Little kid prayers that say things like, "Tank you for good food and for not feeling grumpy." According to Scott and Alexis, he always says thanks for the food regardless of what time of day it is.

At Family Night, it was Grant's turn to choose an opening song. I, being new to the show, was expecting a nice rendition of the classic "I am a Child of God," or perhaps "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam." Nope. He jumped up on the ottoman (the stage), threw his arms up in the air, and began singing, "What do you do with a scurvy pirate..." My favorite part was when he forgot the words, and Scott and Alexis both finished it for him.

And THIS:

Also, this doesn't qualify as cute, but the other day the phone rang. I checked out the Caller ID and it said, "Heigl, Katherine." And it was actually her. I chickened out and just handed it to Alexis without answering.