Day 1 already being started, we woke up late morning and enjoyed some coffee and Lisa's homemade bread. Because of this we now have a bread maker waiting for us at Rachel's parents. The weather was a tad dreary but Mike had a few landscape/yard concerns he wished for me to address while on our visit. There was still a fair amount of snow but with the rain and increasing temps, it was nothing to slow progress.
The issue at hand was the run-off from the back yard was running all the way into the doorway leading into their garage. The grade was in the wrong direction and needed altering, and this was something I indeed have some experience in. The other issue was the drainage needed modifying to get it away or around the garage foundation. I merely fixed what the previous homeowners had done. They just had a filter strip that silted shut.
After working on this for a couple of hours, Lisa took Rachel and I out to a spectacular cafe. We had unworldly cheese and some of the most exquisite wine we have consumed. It was like The Cafe in Ames, but on crack and east coast-y. Lisa had an afternoon appointment so I continued to work on the patio for awhile in the afternoon.
Once the boys got home from day care, I was done working! This was the first time Rachel and I met Jacob. I must say, I do like babies. It was fun to hang out with them while Lisa does what we do and that is be high strung and excessively stressed. I can honestly say I understand it. We tried watching the boys while she finished up at few work things. Gabe insisted that I "let him talk with mom". A lot of attitude with this little one. Dinner of a roasted chicken which was awesome!
The second day I continued my quest to move the water, while Rachel and Lisa went shopping. It was peaceful having the whole back yard to myself. I was able to get most of the project finished and was even able to salvage some lilies for future use that were in a planter on the patio.
I did not make it.
I called Lisa and informed her that the alarm was going off and that the police will likely be showing up shortly.
About that.
As I talked to Lisa, I was informed that her security company was sending over an officer anyway even though she told them everything was fine. . . . .
I waited near the front door and waited for the po-po to show up. It then dawned on me that when I open the front door the alarm was going to go off and we were going to have to do this all over again. I called Lisa back, and at this point she was wrecked and told me she was coming back. I requested that continue their shopping adventure and that I would deal.
When Officer Reed showed up, the alarm did indeed go off again. I already pulled out my ID knowing he would ask for it. He then asked for me to call Lisa so he could speak with her and verify that I was whom I said I was, and that I was allowed to be there. At this point, all that was going through my head was, "This is the moment Uncle Rick would have Literally exploded".
Once all of the details were ironed out, He left and I waited for someone to come home, because at this point if I opened a door for the third time, we would really push this whole scenario over the edge.
When someone did show up it was Mike. He opened the door, looked at me and laughed. In reality it was funny and it just figures that this would happen while I was there alone.
When the ladies came back, my beloved Rachel consoled my nerves with East Coast cupcakes. Big. Fat. Frosting-covered. Cupcakes. She felt this would be a welcome treat to cap off a productive, and noteworthy day.
This was the evening that I let my nephew, Gabe, have free reign with my camera. After some extensive thinning due to the vast majority of the pictures being Mike, Rachel, or the garbage can, These are some of his best:
On our final day, Lisa had a little bit more work to accomplished, and we thought about all of the fun things we could do with our time. It was decided that hanging out with the nephews is what we wanted most. When Lisa finally called it and decided she was done-done, we picked up the boys from day care early, and had lunch at the kid friendly Red Robin. It was beyond enjoyable! Lisa just let me do my thing with Gabe. I got to be "The Uncle". My goal in life has honestly been to be the uncle to my nieces and nephews that my uncles were to me. They have defined who I am and what I want to be. I love being an uncle more that most people, besides my wife, can understand.
After a wonderful outing with the boys, a nap was in order. Rachel and the boys slept off either the food coma, or jet-lag.
The afternoon was spent playing with the boys, and when the time was right, Gabe and I went out and planted the lilies I salvaged. We designated a 'shovel' (trowel) for Gabe, and I had him dig a hole, lay in the plugs, and tamp down the soil. We then marked each spot on the side hill that he hand picked. We collected odd shaped sticks in the yard and stuck them next to our newly planted lilies. After planting we played around in the yard for a awhile. I, doing what I always seem to do, managed to rip the rock climbing wall part off of the play set. I can fix almost anything but seriously...
When our time was up we headed back into the house so Rachel could put dinner together so Lisa and Mike didn't have to. It was a wonderful thing being able to spend a day just hanging out with Rachel and the boys.
Our flight left early the next morning and Mike was gracious enough to give us a ride to the airport. We waited in Baltimore for a little over an hour and we were off. A quick stop at Midway again, where we grabbed a bite, and back onto a packed flight to Des Moines. T'was a brutal flight this one. Rachel and I were 2 of the last 5 people to board. It wasn't a big deal that we couldn't sit together, but the plane was smaller, the turbulence was poor, and the landing was awful. We could easily say this was because we just wanted to be done traveling. Tired and more tired, we picked up our pup from one of Rachel's vet-school friends, and headed home.
This is not the kind of opportunity that comes easily or without glitch or expense and I cannot even say how much we appreciated Mike and Lisa's hospitality, and Gabe's attitude. ;) It was wonderful to be able to spend time with my wife that didn't involve splitting minutes with vet school. The adult conversation alone made it a wonderful trip. We don't get to see them often so we tried to make the best of every minute.
I can't wait to see them this summer.
Stay Tuned
