we love Uncle Steve...

Although, he probably doesn't believe it after we sent him on a bus up to Dallas instead of driving him to catch his flight back to SLC (sorry SDC, we hope the rest of your trip home went okay).

We did have a great time with what was most positively our last Tyler visitor. He flew in on Thursday. TEC and R and TL picked him up from the airport in Dallas and caught a baseball game at Arlington--Rangers v. Mariners. I stayed home and enjoyed an almost-obstacle-free evening of cleaning (it's amazing how much you can accomplish around the house without kids undoing it all--SCC's messes were for the most part containable).

Thursday was also my turn to host book club (did I mention I was grateful to TEC for being willing to take the older two with him?). We discussed last month's book Marley & Me by John Grogan. I have to say that I never would have chosen the book on my own; even though we have a dog, I never have considered myself a real dog person. I was even a bit worried that the book would only remind me of that fact. But, I really did enjoy the book. What stood to be a book about a dog was just as much the story of Grogan and his family--I related much to his descriptions of life with young kids, career moves, etc., just not so much to the whole out-of-control-big-dog-part-of-the-family part.

TEC, SDC, and the kids got home late Thursday night. Friday morning, Sherrows came over for piano lessons, and then the kids played with Uncle S some in the back yard while TEC went in to work. We all met at Don Juan's for lunch (a favorite spot to take visitors) and then walked across the square and up to see the courtroom and to say "hi" to Miss Sandy. Then, after some afternoon naps, we picked TEC up from work and headed over to the zoo for a couple of hours. For anyone interested in seeing some impressive footage from the trip, SDC got some good clips on video [sorry, not included here].










overlooking the Caldwell Zoo African safari

Saturday was another fun day. We had arranged with Sherrows to watch our kids for the whole day (payback for when we "ma and pa"d for them while they were on pioneer trek) and we headed off for Houston. SDC wanted to see another baseball game and it just so happened that the Pirates were playing. We left early enough to go to the temple while we were down there, and we managed to squeeze in meal at Pappacitos (our last, perhaps?). We didn't quite make it to the game in time for batting practice, but we were able to see a lot of the stadium and get some pictures, and the best part of all...we were actually able to see the Pirates win!!! It really was a fun game.









After the game we spent the night in Houston at the home of some friends of ours who just moved down there from Tyler. It was good to see them again and catch up some. We left their place early Sunday morning so we could get back to relieve the Sherrows and then get everyone home and ready for church. Despite the crazy lead-in, Sunday was a quite peaceful day. After church we enjoyed some hog for dinner (one of the last bags!), a nice Family Home Evening (moved up a night so SDC could join us--RVC's suggestion), and, once the kiddos were in bed, a couple of games to wrap up the weekend.

TEC and I talked this morning about how laid back his brother is--he's a very fun guy to be around. We enjoyed having him here and look forward to hearing about his upcoming adventures as a missionary in Uruguay. We'll certainly miss him.