The Other Side

Hi! It's Adam. You can probably tell by the curiously handsome writing and overly mediocre wit. I'm going to blog today about the time I was able to spend with my parents a couple of weeks ago. As some of you know (and most of you don't) my 'rents have had enough of America and are moving to a new and wondrous country full of opportunity and pineapples called Hawaii. I hear it's strange there; men wear skirts, women wear coconuts, and babies can hold their breath for an hour while riding dolphins in between surf lessons. It sounds amazing and maybe that is why they are choosing to abandon me and move to this strange land. Maybe the lure of long walks on beaches, dangerous volcanoes, and the set of "Lost" are all just too much for them to resist. Perhaps they will have the heart to at least fly us out there in a couple of years and watch our kids while Jess and I honeymoon on a totally different island.

In any case, on their drive to the island they decided to stop off at our place in Georgia and have one last hoorah. They were actually nice enough to fly me up there on Sunday night so that I could drive down with them from Indianapolis and just share some no-kid time with them - something we have not been able to do since I was like 5 or something. I know that 12 hours in the car and one night in a motel on a full bed (advertised as a queen) doesn't sound like a blast, but it was actually quite a lot of fun. I suppose that some people out there might not like their parents or have nothing to say to them, but I LOVE my parents and enjoy just about every minute with them. It was quite fabulous to just sit and talk to them for hours and hours. We did play a game or two and eat some food as well, but mostly it was just time in the car talking and laughing and crying - and then stopping to get gas. ( the fuel kind- though, that BBQ place was a little iffy.) I love that in a series of conversations with my parents we can laugh about memorable "natural gas leaks" (much like an oil leak, except the blowout-preventer usually works), and also share spiritual experiences and thoughts.

Well, we obviously made it down to Georgia without dying (thanks to my Mom's excellent driving skills). The next few days with them were a blur of wrestling, and trips to the pool. Unfortunately I had to work most of the days they were here so I wasn't able to spend that much time with them during the day, but after the kids went to bed we could play games and talk.

Let me just tell you this: in the mind of my little boys they have two Grandma's, one Grandpa, and one hairy jungle gym with gorilla hands. I have no idea where my Dad gets all the energy that he expends wrestling with Brody and Bridger. He must save it up during the year and store it in his...love handles. (Sorry Dad, I suppose that's a better explanation than reality, right?) The fact is Brody and Bridger loved being able to wrestle and play with their Grandpa Gym. They also loved that my Mom was patient enough to play Sorry with them for like three hours straight. Once again, she must save up patience all year. (And I don't know where she stores it. Since she is practically perfect in every way she probably has a magical purse full of it. And I'm not full of it.)

Luckily we also have a pool in our neighborhood that allowed us to take a break from wrestling...or at least move locations. It was a lot of fun to go to the pool each day and play sharks and pirates and monsters and blow water at each other and throw kids through the air. Good times. I'm sure you can tell from the pictures how much fun we had. Don't you wish you could have been there? And now a commercial break.

Hello Georgia friends! How are you? Fantastic! Does your pool look like my pool? No! Can your pool BE my pool? Yes! Should you come over and swim in our pool? I don't know! Do you like the
look of fresh cool water? Do you want to dive into clear deliciousness and lounge while your children splash and play? Of course you do! Swan Dive! - into the best pool friendship of your life. So Georgia friends, Should you come over and swim in our pool? You tell me!
(If you don't get why that is funny shame on you. Watch this!)

Now back to our regular programming. While the 'rents were here my Mom had her Birthday. Can you guess from the picture how old she is now? If you guessed 35 you are probably closest. Obviously! Look at that youthful smile! We had a simple celebration.
Also while they were here Jessica and I were able to go on a date without kids. The kind without kids are fun. We decided to go to Adventure Crossing and play some air hockey and a round of mini golf. Let me just say that I am way better at both of those things than Jessica. So how she won both of them is a mystery to me. However, losing has never been so much fun. I love being a loser. It was a lot of fun to act like teenagers again and laugh carelessly. It was also a lot of fun to look at the actual teenagers there and remember how nice it is to not be two of them.
I can't really remember what else happened during the week. It was fun. I will miss my parents A LOT. It's not like we lived very close when they lived in Indiana or Illinois, but Hawaii...well, its a totally different country. I wish them luck there and hope that they have tons of financial success and meet lots of great people who see how awesome my parents are.

This is Penny. "Hey Penny, Richard Simmons called. He wants his head band back."