A Weekend Away (okay, maybe only a 5 miles away...)

Last weekend, we had the FABULOUS opportunity to stay at my brother's house with my nephews while he and my SIL went on a much needed anniversary trip.  We LOVED it!  My brother kept thanking us for it, but honestly, it was a treat for us.  I can't even begin to tell you how much we love those boys.  And our girls adore them!  They each have a favorite.  Keara loves Jonathan, Taryn adores Nathan, and Joseph can't get enough of Avery. 

Susan runs the most crazy life with these three boys.  We woke up on Saturday, had breakfast, I ran out the door with Jonathan for piano lessons while Braden stayed home with everyone else.  They were supposed to do their homework while we were gone.  That didn't really happen, but oh well.  Anyway, after Jonathan's piano lesson, we went garbage picking.  Then we got home for lunch.  Right after, Joseph left for his track meet, Braden took Taryn and Avery home for naps, and Keara, Nathan, Jonathan, and I took Nathan to a bass recital rehearsal.  We dropped him off and K, J, and I went to a park to pass the time.  Then we ran back and picked up Nathan, drove across town, praying to get to Joseph's meet in time to see him run.  We arrived 45 minutes after his race time...but thankfully, the meet was running 45 minutes behind!  We pulled up just in time to see him running by on his second lap.  We jumped out of the car and were able to see him run the rest.  He did great!  We went home, dropped everyone off, then jumped back in the car to take Jonathan to soccer practice.  He got home a little later, we had dinner, and then, phew...We all went bowling.

Braden, Joseph, and Nathan had a bit of a competition going and they REALLY didn't want the bumpers up (it kind of messes up spins and curves they put on the balls), so Jonathan was a good sport and played, even though he mainly got gutter balls.  He still ended up with 80 points, so we were proud of him! 

I guess this is why you should warn people when you're going to take a picture.  Not one person in this picture looks like they are having a good time.  But believe me...it was fun!

Braden ended up winning, which was REALLY good because Joseph had been giving him a hard time about losing at everything.  Apparently either Braden has slacked on his skills or Joseph is getting better.  But at least there is one thing Braden can still beat him at...