Sunday, April 07, 2013

Grandpa Hallstrom and Uncle Ryan's Visit

My dad and youngest brother, Ryan came all the way from New York to visit us over spring break.
They arrived at our home on Easter afternoon.  My Grandma Hallstrom and Uncle Calvin joined us for a nice lasagna dinner that evening.  We had a nice time visiting and Ryan played the trumpet for us after we ate.  
The next day, we were planning on going to go to a nearby park, but it started raining.  My dad (Grandpa Hallstrom) totally spoiled us at The Fun Park and then lunch at McDonald's.   Later on, the kids showed their Uncle Ryan and grandpa how good they are jumping on the trampoline.  Our guests totally hopped on and jumped too!  My dad showed my kids some of the home videos he brought of him jumping on the trampoline as a kid.  My kids liked seeing the old silent home movies.
My boys loved the fact that Uncle Ryan is amazing at playing video games.  They'd wake Ryan up some mornings to play Super Mario Bros. with them on the Wii.  Ryan got all the way to the final level of the game by the time he left our house.

On Tuesday, my dad spent the day with his mom.  Katie had preschool in the morning.  We packed up a nice picnic lunch and planned on going up to a nice spot near the mouth of Logan Canyon to eat lunch and walked around.  But after picking up Katie and seeing what a beautiful day it was, I spontaneously decided to go to Bear Lake for a couple hours.  Ryan isn't use to seeing mountains, so the hour drive to the lake and back was fun for him.  We picnicked at the Scenic Overlook.
Then we drove down to Rendezvous Beach and played by the lake.  We even saw some people in the distance ice fishing or something.
Katie insisted on staying in her stroller.
The boys loved grabbing rocks and throwing them at the ice patches.
I have a nice rock throwing video to add soon!
Brian and Ryan became great buddies.  Brian totally looks up to his Uncle Ryan.
I love the relationship they are forming.
Sidenote:  Brian is 8 years younger than Ryan and I am 15 years older than Ryan.

Dad and Ryan were gone on Wednesday and Thursday, touring Salt Lake and Provo.  They went to several museums and walked around the BYU campus.  They stayed with Laura and Brant.
On Friday, this crew made homemade Mint Oreo ice cream.  
My boys' played their new favorite board game, Don't Feed the Gators with their grandpa.
(Thanks, Mom!)
I will add a video of them playing the game soon!
Ryan was great to babysit my kids for a couple hours late that afternoon so my dad and I could attend the Logan Temple together.  We completed the temple work for some of my dad's relatives.  We had a nice time.  My dad and brother had never had Jamba Juice before, so I treated them to their first taste of Jamba Juice.
Brian and I attended General Conference with my dad and Ryan on Saturday.  
On Sunday morning, the New Yorkers flew home.  We loved having them visit!

1 comment:

becky ward said...

what an abundance of company you have had. fun! and beautiful pictures.