A Visit to Remember

Kaleb is 8 this summer, which means it's his turn to visit Grammy and Grampy's house without his mom and dad! When given the option of bringing his big brother along, of course Kaleb said yes. He adores Braylen--most of the time. :) 8 years old, 8 days away from home...how exciting! They drove halfway, choosing to stay overnight in a motel. They're with their grandparents, so why rush? Taking it easy allowed them to visit a former president's boyhood home, and of course do plenty of swimming at the hotel. Kaleb preferred to sit in the hot tub (without the jets on.) Braylen and my dad did plenty of splashing in the pool. My mom says Kaleb wanted to stay at the motel and would have been happy to do so for the entire trip. Silly boy!

Here they are at the museum. Kaleb is a history buff, as you'll soon see!

After watching plenty of dvd's on the road, they arrived at Grammy and Grampy's house. Braylen mowed the lawn for my dad, while Kaleb swept the grass off the driveway. Such helpers--no wonder my parents wanted them! :) One MAJOR highlight of this trip is the chance to spend time with their Uncle Eric and Aunt Amber. They drove out from their house (6 hours away) to spend 5 days with my boys. We don't get to see them very often, so that made this visit extra special. I was jealous, but knew their time together would be much sweeter nephew/grandkid time without the mom and dad around. :) We can look forward to all of us being together at Christmas!

All you can eat pizza and bowling...does it get any better than that? Actually, Kaleb ate 4 pieces of pizza and that was too much. After some rest and TLC from Grammy, he was his happy self again the next day. Whew!

They took a trip to one of my favorite parks growing up. I've told Braylen and Kaleb that I love weeping willow trees, so they found some and took pictures for me. Isn't that sweet?

Besides eating out and watching tv, the boys loved to play Uncle Eric's Wii game called Boom Blox. I'm told they did that a lot together. Since this is Kaleb's trip, their fun outings revolved around his interests. Bowling. Pizza. History? Yes, history. Kaleb loves history! So Dad and Eric took the boys to an awesome place called Cantigny Park. They toured the indoor museum, which showcases WWI and WWII, Vietnam, the Korean War, and a little of Desert Storm. One display gave them a chance to explore what a building looks like after it's been bombed. That does so much more than a textbook could ever do. Kaleb's favorite part was the outdoor tank exhibit. They were allowed to climb all over them--how cool! Here's Kaleb and Uncle Eric on top of a tank. :)

Both boys with their uncle. Inscribed on the building is: "No mission too difficult. No sacrifice too great. Duty first."

All too quickly the time came for Uncle Eric and Aunt Amber to go back home. Braylen and Kaleb had so much fun with them, and with their cat Shelby. Kaleb taught me the card game they played together, and we call it "Kings are Good." It has a more official name, but I can't remember what it is. Thank you Eric and Amber for making this trip!

Another interest of Kaleb's: golf. Mini-golf is always fun, even in the summer heat. To cool off they went bowling again. Grammy says Kaleb only bowled the wrong way once. Yikes! :)

Only one thing could top off Kaleb's visit--a ride in one of Grampy's fire trucks! My dad took him to work and Kaleb loved every minute of it. He loved hanging out in Grampy's office, sitting in on some firefighter training, touring all 3 stations, and of course--riding in a fire engine! We'll be sending a pretty nice thank-you note to the guys who made this happen. After his exciting ride in the truck, the guys were called out and Kaleb was able to see the buzz at the station when that happens. He even came home and told me the details of the call. I wonder if I have a future firefighter for a son? :)

While Kaleb hung out with my dad, Braylen said he went to the barber shop with Grammy so she could get her hair cut. Oh my, my mom's getting her hair done at the barber shop now? :) Silly Braylen, it's called a beauty shop! He toughed it out and Mom rewarded him with a trip to Dick's Sporting Goods. Braylen's much more comfortable there! He showed Grammy what he wants for his birthday, because who says a boy can't dream? :)

Meeting up with my boys 8 days later was a fun time for all of us. Aaron was glad to be included in this part of the trip. I missed Braylen and Kaleb while they were gone, and yet--I didn't. I knew they were being loved and cared for, experiencing things with my family and making lifelong memories together. My only regret is not getting a picture of my boys with my parents before we went our separate ways. But speaking of pictures...didn't my parents do an excellent job of taking pictures this week? Grammy bought a photo book for Kaleb and let him pick out the pictures he wanted to put in it. It sits front and center on his desk at home, and I catch him looking through it here and there. We'll have to do this again sometime, don't you think?