Unca Ryan and Aunt Shannon come to visit

We had another wonderful set of visitors recently. My brother, Ryan, and his wonderful wife, Shannon, came all the way from Chicago to see us. We filled the weekend with LOTS of events, but truth be told, I think we could have filled it with just the boys.

Friday: Their flight came in about 10, so all of us loaded up in the van to make the trip to XNA. The boys entertained themselves while waiting by acting like monsters crashing a toy house in the baggage area. What can I say? Boys will be boys. We came back to the Fort and had a nice lunch at Chedders. I think Shannon was appalled at Ryan's choice of Chicken Fried Steak, but she tried it like a good sport. Once we made it to the house the boys were relentless in their pursuit of playing with our guests. I think it is safe to say that everyone was WORN OUT by early afternoon. Justin had to scout a game (we had a bye week), and the weather was nice, so we decided to grill some tasties. The boys were happy to share their new movie, Toy Story 3, with Aunt Shannon.

Saturday: The boys and I woke up fairly early. Wilson complained of a stomach ache and claimed the only remedy was cinnamon rolls. He waited patiently for them to finish cooking and devoured 3 on his own. Once everyone else woke up, I fixed another round of cinnamon rolls and promptly banned the younger people from eating them all. (They must be going through a growth spurt!!) Ryan, Shannon, Wilson , and I made a quick run to Academy Sports for Hog gear. Of course, while we were there, Wilson found a Rebel colored football that he just HAD to have. Uncle Ryan was very nice to buy it for him (even if it was for us to take to the game later). Ms. Macy made it to the house to hang out with the boys while the adults made another trek up the hill for the Hog game. We had a blast tailgating at Pratt Farm, and the Hogs won in honor of Shannon. Once we made it back home, we all got out our competitive belts for a quick game of Cranium. Do you even need to ask who won? THE GIRLS!!

Sunday: We decided to take Ryan and Shannon to a really nice breakfast at our favorite stomping grounds--IHOP. I think the funniest comment of the weekend was Ryan saying, "Man, it is hard to take kids to breakfast. I am used to getting a paper and not saying anything to anyone." Yep, big bro, kids put a kink in those plans. Sunday was pretty much lounging, laundry, playing with the kids, and napping. We had to leave about 2:30 to make one last trip up the hill to the airport. After we saw Uncle Ryan and Aunt Shannon off safely, me and the boys drove safely back to our quiet home to enjoy the rest of our evening.

It was such a wonderful weekend (even if it was terribly short). The boys can't wait for the next time they see their "best buddies". Russell claims every time he gets mad at me that he is going to get on a plane and go live with Ryan and Shannon in Chicago. My typical response is "You would never make it in that cold. "