I Feel Sorry for You

Why? Because unless you are me (which you are not) or one of my 3 sisters, this man is not your grandpa:

And you are SO missing out.

My kids and my sisters' children come in a close second, having lucked into having him as a great grandpa, but I still think I am the luckiest of the bunch because I have known him the longest.

My grandpa is one of my absolute favorite people and we were lucky enough to have him come out to visit us on Keaton's birthday! Actually? Luck had nothing to do with it. It was more "conspiracy" than luck. My sister Tiffany and I just bought him tickets and then told him he was coming. He told us we were rude, spoiled brats with no respect for our elders. Sounds about right.





We spent most of his week here hanging out at the pool (counting "tats", right G'pa?), listening to stories, and stuffing our faces with ice cream and cinnamon rolls (thanks Jess!) to the point that he canceled an upcoming doctors appointment because he didn't want to do the weigh in:) That's my kind of man!

His visit also happened to coincide with Boone and I's 11th wedding anniversary, so we did the standard romantic anniversary celebration of driving with our 3 kids and my grandfather to Atlanta to watch a Braves game in 100 degree weather! And then turning around and driving 2 hours home right after the game with a car full of angry children until 2:00 am. Hello romance!


Can you feel the passion?

Really, though, it WAS a fun night, especially when we were sure we weren't going to have to drag G'pa's corpse back to the car. When you are from Idaho Falls and are used to 70 degree weather, 100 degrees of humid Georgia air can be a little much. You'll notice in the pictures that we marched him clear up to the second to last row of seats because we were too cheap to pay for better seats with 6 tickets to buy. Once we knew he was still conscious, we rewarded him with a big fat Diet Coke, a hot dog, and a bag of Cracker Jack. He forgave us after that.

Here's Gpa and Branik having a "weirdest mouth" contest. I think Branik won, because at least G'pa is eating.

Maybe he was just stunned at the sights and sounds of his very first major league game. It was actually the first for both of the boys, and Rylan doesn't remember the Indians games we took her to in Cleveland, so it was sort of a first for her too. They liked the baseball part alright, but were most excited for the fireworks after the game. It was good times in Hotlanta.

I need to insert the following disclaimer on the last set of pictures from Grandpa's visit:

I, Nicole, do solemnly swear, that I will never again for the remainder of my life post photographs of individuals playing Guitar Hero. For pictures of people playing video games are, in my totally perfect opinion, the stupidest pictures of all time (no disrespect). Watching people stare at a TV out of the shot with gaping mouths just is NOT interesting.

That is, of course, unless you happen to be playing with your grandfather. Amen.

Yeah, you only WISH your grandpa was this cool.

Seriously, I am so lucky to have this man in my life. We have been close since the day I was born, and I am really grateful he was able to come spend time with our family this summer! I love him a billion, and love introducing him to all my friends because I am just so proud that I am one of only 4 people in the world who get to claim him. Basically, I like to say "Isn't he the best?! You can't have him."

Happy Birthday G'pa. You're my favorite grandpa ever, and I've adored you from the beginning (proof below:)