A Whirlwind Visit

My dad and brother arrived from Michigan last Friday and left just a few days ago, on Wednesday. The purpose of their visit was supposed to be relaxation, but I think the only one that relaxed was my brother. He slept in, took a few naps and did as little as possible (good for you, bud!) Papa spent 40% of his time playing with/entertaining Blaine, 40% working on Hannah's room, and only about 20% sleeping... who knows if they'll ever come back after the time I showed them :) Friday night was spent at Home Depot picking up all our supplies (though we did end up going to Lowes/Home Depot 7 more times throughout the week) and we all ate a very late dinner: Filet Mignon and shrimp on the grill. I think this was our only real meal we had at home. On Saturday David was in a fishing tournament and the boys and I went to Zilker Park to ride the train and play on the playground. Blaine played hard at the park and then 15 minutes into the train ride, he fell asleep... sitting up. We leaned his limp body back against Papa and he continued to sleep for the duration of the ride. So much for that excitement. The rest of the day was spent working on Hannah's room and we went out to dinner (Mexican food) which was followed by a food coma for all of us, and more work on Hannah's room. Sunday we enjoyed church together and you guessed it: more work on Hannah's room. (Hannah G isn't even here yet and she is controlling our lives!) Sunday night Blaine strapped on his new cowboy boots and we went out to the Austin Rodeo where we saw X-treme bull riding and my brother ate way too much fair food. Blaine was entertained by the bull riding for only about 30 minutes and then both he and Papa ventured back out onto the fairgrounds where they found the kids tent, John Deere tractors and horse trailers (which Blaine became obsessed with and did not want to get out of). We stopped for BBQ on the way home and then did some more work on you-know-who's room. Monday I went to work and Blaine was entertained by Papa and Matt - I guess there was a lot of fort-making, eating, and running around. At least that is what I am told. Blaine slept well that afternoon, so I know he wasn't bored at all. Tuesday morning I dropped Papa and Blaine off at Pump-It-Up (and inflatable fun zone) where Blaine showed Papa what he was made of. David and I rescued Dad around noon and then we spent the rest of the day working. In fact, the day turned into night and the night turned into morning... my dad stayed up until 2:30 am trying to get as much finished on her room as he could since he and Matt had a 8:45am flight back home on Wednesday. I can't believe how much he got done and how generous he was with his time and resources to complete the room! And we love it! We still have some work to do, but Dad did most of it and we're very grateful. I did as much as I could to help, but the man works like a machine, so I could barely keep up! Note to self: bending over repeatedly while pregnant and painting and staying up past your bedtime is a BAD idea. I was exhausted when they left and felt like a freight train had hit me - my dad claims that it feels like he did a 5 day power-lifting contest. Needless to say, he needed a vacation after his "vacation". David and I are always remembering how blessed we are by our families and this visit was no exception. Thanks Dad and thanks Matt for reminding us that we should nap when we're tired!

P.S. The first few pictures in the slideshow are of Blaine opening a gift from his Aunt Sarah and Uncle Steve. Blaine has an obsession with tags (he has been rubbing the tag on his blanket since he was first able and he holds the tag next to his head when he sleeps and rubs it) and it just so happens that his Aunt Sarah also loves tags and ribbons. She found him this great stuffed dog (whom we now call Mr. Tags) that has like 20 tags all over him. He is a new favorite.