Uncle Nolan's fan club

Sorry for the blog slacking, but we've been busy this past week! We've had a day off of work, a 30th birthday to celebrate and, last but certainly not least, a visit from Uncle Nolan. It will take a few posts to catch up with everything, so stay tuned.

After much eager anticipation, Nolan arrived on Thursday afternoon -- just a week off his 6-month deployment to Iraq -- and immediately got down and dirty with his nephews.

Their first reaction was less than welcoming, but after a few tears of surprise were shed, they warmed right up and then wouldn't stop staring and smiling at him all weekend.

On Friday Ryan and Nolan went to the gun range to try out their new rifles and then, as we do with all our guests these days, we put him to work feeding and entertaining a baby. Here's Grant, thinking, "As long as he gives me my bottle, I will continue to be nice to him."

Success!

He also logged some quality time with Reid, including a little Air Force flight training.

And of course, Grant had to get in on the flying action too, thanks to his daddy.

Then the brothers loved on the brothers...

...and Reid even got the special privilege of playing with Uncle Nolan's phone. I'm pretty sure he's asking to call Aunt Lanie in this one:

Of course there were several hundred photos taken, because what would a day in the life of these boys be without a ridiculous amount of documentation. We worked hard to get a good one of Uncle Nolan with both boys, and after a few false starts...

...we finally got a keeper or two:

On Saturday I threw Ryan's 30th birthday party at our house, but more on that in an upcoming post. The boys spent the night at Honey and Big's, so we went to Dayton on Sunday morning to pick them up. And, as is our family birthday tradition, Ryan got the meal of his choosing: fried pork chops, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob and banana pudding. I'm pretty sure he'll be talking about that meal for months (and so will his arteries). 

R&G were a little ticked they didn't get to enjoy a pork chop:

Nolan and Lanie were among the boys' first visitors back in January. After both being deployed and not seeing each other for several months, they flew to Houston on Saturday, Jan. 22 -- the day after Reid and Grant got home from the hospital.

Although we were super sad that Lanie couldn't come this time since she's deployed again, we are so, so thankful that Nolan was able to make the trip. Like everyone who sees these kids, he was shocked by how much they've grown. He also couldn't get over how happy and content they are all the time; he kept commenting, "They seriously never cry."

Nolan, we love you... but no one thinks you're cooler than these two, your biggest fans.

We'll see you in Georgia in September, and we hope you and Aunt Lanie can come back for the big first birthday bash we're planning for January!