Uncle T & Auntie Laura's Pit Stop

My brother and Laura made a quick pit stop at our house in June on their way to a week long vacation at the Rauh's cabin in South Fork, Colorado. We loved having them stay with us for 2 days and packed in as much fun as we could! 

The boys worked hard to draw and write welcome signs for T & L and taped them on the front door for them to see when they arrived late Friday night! 

 If the amount of tape they used is equivalent to the amount of love they have for their Uncle and Auntie…it's TONS! Ha! 

The next morning the boys were itching to go downstairs to greet Uncle T & Auntie Laura. Mark and I tried to hold them off to let T & L sleep in, but we were only successful until 7:30 a.m. We tried. But our boys love having guests and it's their little tradition that they run downstairs to the basement to wake up their fresh meat as early as possible! 

Of course, the first thing the boys wanted to do was to show Uncle T. and Auntie Laura their Perler Beads. They are always asking to make creations and they knew T & L would give them their undivided attention! Nolan and Heath made a few designs from the book and then Tyler and Laura stepped up the fun by creating some designs that were perfectly them! 

Tyler's Yoda and Laura's Opossum- her spirit animal! HA! 

After playing around the house for the morning, we headed to Kneaders for lunch. 

In true Nolan form, he scarfed down his meal in no time and was ready to tackle this adorable cookie! 

After lunch we were off to Castlewood Canyon for a little hiking. 

We love this place because, not only is it beautiful, but it is only 20 minutes from our house. 

And there are many different manageable hikes for our boys. 

They LOVE exploring! 

Everyone wanted a picture on this stump. 

Brooks liked crossing little bridges like this one. 

This kid is my climber! 

Look at the love birds on the top of that boulder. 

We loved doing something active and outdoorsy with these two fitness buffs. 

When we got back to the house that evening, Uncle T and Auntie Laura had gifts for the boys!

Lego mini figures and Baseball Chips for N & H...

new MLB sticker packs for Heath...

new baseball cards for Nolan...

and HULK hands for Brooks! 

These were a HIT! He loves The Incredible Hulk and has had his eyes on these for awhile. And now he has pretty much worn them non stop ever since! They even had to come to Chicago with us for vacation. Luckily we were driving! I'm not sure what T.S.A. would have thought about Brooks wearing the Hulk hands through Security. Ha! Thanks for spoiling the boys! 

We ate dinner out at a yummy Hamburger/Hot dog joint that Mark had heard about on Sports Talk Radio. It was enjoyed by all! 

After dinner, we put the boys to bed and enjoyed some drinks and adult conversation. 

Then the next morning it was time for a BALL FIGHT! (These aren't the best pictures, but you'll get the point.)

This is Brooks' favorite game. You basically play Dodge Ball in the house with 5 million balls. With 3 boys, you end up with a lot of balls in all shapes and sizes, which makes for a pretty fun game. 

Balls were flying everywhere and Uncle T and Auntie Laura were awesome players! They got way more into it than Mommy usually does! 

No shirts, Hulk hands, and Top Hats, isn't that how you play Ball Fight? 

For the rest of the morning we just hung around the house and played and chatted. And the boys showed their Uncle and Auntie just about everything possible in our house. 

Around lunch time it was time for them to say their goodbyes and continue on their Road Trip. And it was time for us to pack up our car and head out on our Chicago Road Trip as well. But of course, first, I needed a picture! 

Brooks was in his typical no picture mood, so we just snapped this photo with my two, compliant, and bribed with Smarties, oldest children! Smiles = Smarties! 

Brooks did allow me to take his picture later when saying goodbye to Uncle T. Hulk hand fist bumps! 

We had such a nice visit, short and sweet, but we are always thankful for anytime with my brother and new sister! They are such a good match and we are so happy for them and their fun new life together! We look forward to hopefully joining them in South Fork soon!