More Fun With the Cousins

A few weeks ago Uncle Brent, Brenden and Emily made a trip to see Nana and Pop, and we were fortunate enough to host the band of merry travelers for a couple nights! Nicky was so excited to get to see his cousins again, and to finally get to meet his uncle. We all got up early Saturday morning and piled into the car after breakfast to head to the fire station to visit Daddy/Uncle Kris. The 3 munchkins had mixed emotions about the visit - they would've rather stayed home and played with toys, but we told them it would definitely be worth the trip. We were right...the second we got there, all of us developed huge silly grins on our faces when we were told a ride in the fire engine was in store for us! Don't know what it is about that big vehicle, but getting to ride in it is so cool!!! I mean, firemen get to do it every day, but when you're just an average Joe (or Joanne, like myself and Emily), it seems like a cool ride at a carnival! Kris drove us around the block and on our way back, he honked and turned on the siren, which elicited several "again!" comments from the back!

Emily testing out some oxygen...

All aboard!

There's just something about a man in uniform!

After our trip to the fire station, we had some lunch at a Taco Bell, which was situated directly across from another fire station in the city. The kids loved watching the fire engine and ambulance come and go. From there the 3 banshees took short naps in the car, on our way to a bounce house play place. Nicky had never had the pleasure of partaking in this type of activity, and was super excited to check it all out. He loved going down the slides and chased after Brenden as fast as his Fred Flintstones would take him...that Brenden is pretty quick! Although Nicky enjoyed himself, there were moments of intense frustration as he was unable to climb some of the things (thank you for showing up that day, Sensory Processing Disorder - to be explained in a future post).

The fun didn't end with that excursion. We got home, donned our swimsuits and jumped into our ghetto blow-up pool where Momma/Aunt Liese, Nicky, Brenden and Emily sang songs, chased and splashed each other, and had a down-right good time! We all got changed, then dined on some fine cuisine - McDonald's! The fun didn't stop there...outside in the sweltering heat we went, where Nicky, Brenden and Emily drove Nicky's fire engine. Then to the couch we all went, with Uncle Brent in tow, to watch the movie Aladdin. After we got the kids to bed, I couldn't believe that only one day had passed...haven't done that much in a single day since Kris and I did our European vacation a few years ago!

Alas, the fun had to come to an end. Sunday morning after breakfast, Uncle Brent, Brenden & Emily loaded up the car to continue their trip to see Nana and Pop. As we watched them drive away, waving and telling them we loved them and would miss them, Nicky broke down into tears. He kept calling for Brenden, and was only consoled by watching the Lion King. Good thing the rest of the day was spent swimming at our friend Gina's to cheer him up!

Thanks for coming to see us Uncle Brent, Brenden and Emily!!! We hope to see you all soon!!!