My brother, Jake...

When my oldest brother, Jake said that he wanted to come to Idaho for a visit over Spring Break, I didn't think he really would at first, but as Spring Break got closer, I realized they were planning the trip and they were really going to come! We were all thrilled as we counted down the days and planned all the fun things we would do. Jake, April (his girlfriend, or "Aunt April") Avery (my neice) & Mariah (April's daughter or "our cousin") arrived on Monday around 4:30 PM. We visited for awhile and then went to Goodwood for dinner. All the kids ordered ribs except Grace and they were gone within minutes! April, Avery, Mariah & I went to Craft Warehouse afterwards, while Trav, Jake and the kids went to Toys R Us. Jake spoiled them with toys and then we met back at the house to get ready for bed. Everyone was tired after a long day of traveling, so after setting up 'camp' in the kids room and getting Jake & April set up on the couch, everyone went to bed. The next morning the boys took the kids to Cabela's, while April & I stayed home with Grace and the baby and did craft projects for hours. After everyone came home, Uncle Jake was pooped, so he took a nap and Trav & I took all the girls to the park for awhile. After that, we all went to the Y and took the kids swimming, They had a blast going off the diving board and down the water slide. Jake, April & I all watched from the side. After showering and getting dressed, we went out for pizza and had the whole back part of the resturant to ourselves. Thank goodness because there were 10 of us! We went home and got the kids ready for bed. I think we all slept well after a long day full of non stop fun. This moring we got ready, finished some projects and then did some more shopping. Uncle Jake & Aunt April spoiled us all with food and toys the entire time. We had lunch and then they were off to drive half of the way home. There were lots of tears saying goodbye, but we reminded each other we would see each other soon in May for Uncle Eli's wedding.
We had a great time and it meant the world to me to have my brother here. Jake & I never had enough time together growing up. He lived with my Dad for awhile, then with my Grandparents and then he was gone, so I never felt as close to him as my younger brothers that I helped raise. Jake is an incredible man, father, brother, son & friend. I am so thankful I had a few days to talk with him, joke around and have fun with. It was a great visit with eveyone. My favorite moment was watching him read: Barbie's Best Friend to Grace. It just melt my heart to watch him lay on her bed and read a silly book about sharing, to her. Jake is always so seroius,so I think a little Barbie did him a lot of good! What a great visit...

When Uncle Jake comes to town...

Jake brought his BB gun with him on his trip and he and Tristin had a blast turning the back yard into a shooting range. They had cans and targets and Tristin LOVED every second of it. I'm sure he will be asking for a gun for his birthday...

At the park...

Trav & I took the girls to the "peacock park" and everyone had a great time. Avery and Mariah thought it was really cool, and Grace and Daisy had fun chasing the birds.

Saying goodbye...

We had a relaxing morning before Jake & the girls had to go. We all slept in, ate breakfast, finished our craft projects, the boys played with the gun, we showered, cleaned up, played outside, went to WalMart, had lunch at Panda Express, and then said goodbye in the parking lot. There were lots of tears (Daisy started it, imagine that!) but we all survived, hugged, kissed and said, "I love you" a 100 times. We had such a wonderful visit with them and it meant the world to me that my big brother took time on his Spring Break, to travel to Idaho and spend time with us. I love hime so much and I am thankful for our time together.