We were in Pennsylvania for six days, but we managed to squeeze a lot of adventures into our time. Robby was able to spend a lot of time with his cousins, filling the house with squeals of laughter and excited chatter. Timmy tried to join the Cousin Crew whenever possible, but he was just as content playing with his trains and my Mom. Thursday we enjoyed a full house as extended family converged at my Mom's for an energetic afternoon of eating and talking. While I don't get to see my cousins often, it is always wonderful when we are reunited.
Thursday night Scott, Robby, my niece Tiffany and I braved the crowds and went shopping. Robby and Tiffany were particularly excited by the energy of the store and the overwhelming deals in every aisle. Scott assumed his traditional role as line and merchandise holder. After so many years he doesn't even ask; he simply walks to the back of the meandering check out line as soon as we arrive and holds our place. We drop off our goodies and he moves them through the line until we reached check out. This year he was standing in the line for almost 90 minutes, allowing us ample time to scour the store for everything on our list. We planned, we shopped and we conquered!
Friday afternoon Scott and Robby packed up and headed out on a father/ son adventure. Robby was thrilled to be attending his first rock concert and Scott was as proud as a peacock to be the one taking him. They had third row tickets to see Night Ranger in a town about two hours from my Mom's house. (Because we didn't want Scott driving late at night on unfamiliar roads we booked a hotel room for the pair.)
At about 10:30 on Friday night my cell phone rang. I was startled by the late night call but immediately picked up when I realized it was Scott's number. As soon as I said "hello" Robby started talking. He was obviously excited and it took me a few moments to understand what he was trying to convey. The guitar player for Night Ranger (Brad Gillis) pointed to Robby during the concert and motioned for him to approach the stage where he was given the guitar pick that was being used. My little rock and roller was absolutely over the moon with this honor.
I'm honestly not sure who was more excited about receiving the guitar pick, Scott or Robby. Scott is still beaming when he talks about the concert and becomes just as giddy when recounting the adventure. I know that the two of them shared an experience that they will both remember fondly for a lifetime, and Robby is now definitely a lifelong Night Ranger fan. Thinking about the memories that were created makes my heart happy. After the concert goers arrived at my Mom's on Saturday we packed up to head back to Virginia, stopping first to cut down a Christmas tree. I was excited to revisit the farm that I used to go to as a child and the experience was just as I remembered. We selected a beautiful tree and Robby insisted on helping to cut it down despite his broken knuckle.
Copying his big brother, Timmy dove under a tree next to him and stayed in that position until the tree was cut and his brother stood up.
I spent Saturday night putting the lights on the tree and setting up the train. Sunday was spent doing laundry, finishing some paperwork and getting caught up around the house. Timmy was low maintenance because he was enthralled and fully entertained by the train under the fully illuminated Christmas tree.
After the fun adventures of the past few days, returning to reality is a bit of a jolt.
Making wonderful family holiday memories. Sounds like everyone enjoyed themselves. Kudos to Scott for being a way cool dad and taking Robby to see Night Ranger. Great post. I was visualizing every adventure while reading. 🙂
ReplyDelete