Great Weekend All Around

First of all I'm back on my desktop again thanks to our wonderful son-in-law, Brian. He's got to be the best computer guy EVER and we're so lucky to have him in the family. Don't be jealous. Really I wish everybody could have a Brian in their family. It would be such a good world.

Getting my desktop back was, of course, a highlight of the weekend but it wasn't the only one by a long shot.

Friday night, Amber and her family arrived. They live about 3 1/2 hours away so it was a weekend visit and, as everybody knows, there's nothing better than having family over for at least a weekend.

We didn't have a lot of time to visit, especially with the kids, on Friday because they arrived a little on the late side.

But we made up for it on Saturday and this morning. Jack who is twenty months old started his Saturday with Toaster Strudels for breakfast and I love that you can see by his face his great enthusiasm for them. That's how my face looks too when I eat them. I could go for one right now if I weren't trying to survive the Shrinkvivor challenge.

Dane who is just five weeks old posed patiently while his brother ate.

Later on Beth and her family came by and Noah and Jack proved that a pair of sunglasses doesn't have to be in perfect condition to be fun to play with.

Chris taught Jack to play his first musical instrument:

which required a lot of concentration from Jack but he did it!

Later, Dane showed off his physique for a couple of quick pictures before he went to bed.

Then, this morning Amber played with Dane

while Jack practiced smiling. He had been watching everybody else smile for pictures and he began to work on it too. His first effort looked a little more like a grimace

but then with the help of his hands, he began to get it down

Then, before I was ready, it was time to take that final family picture

before they drove cheerfully away, leaving me to wonder when they might hurry back for another awesome visit.

The only thing I know for sure is that it won't be soon enough.