Oh Brother!

Last week I enjoyed a day that wouldn't have been possible a few years ago. It was a simple day spent with my brother, but until recently, it wouldn't have happened. When we were kids we got along as well as any brother and sister. As we got older, we grew apart. There were times we went months without even speaking to each other. My brother went through a phase where he was very unhappy with his life and as a result he was not a nice person to be around. About 3 years ago he moved to Orlando to go to golf pro school. He took a gamble at following his passion. He finally found something that made him happy, confident, and motivated. With the change in outlook, his whole personality changed. He took an interest in his family. He would randomly call me. He took time to skype with Doodle. If I came home to GA he would find a way to come up for a night or two to see us. I finally got to know my brother as an adult. Turns out he is a pretty cool person!

So, when he got offered the opportunity to work at a golf course in PA for a couple of months, I was thrilled to have him a little closer to us for a little while. For him it was a big leap of faith. He decided that since he had no obligations to anyone, and his boss was offering him a free place to stay, he would head north. So last week he hopped in the car and headed to the Pitty. He got here just in time to go with me to pick Doodle up from school.

Doodle was thrilled to see her Uncle Hank. The two of them have a special bond. Even though they see each other very rarely and for short visits at a time, Doodle loves him. I think they have a lot of personality traits in common and they just get each other. After school we headed for a quick lunch at Wendy's

and then made our way into the Pitty to go the Carnegie (pronounced by locals as car-nay-ge) Science Museum. We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the museum. Mostly I watched my brother and my daughter make memories together. It was fantastic.



Doodle loved playing with the balls in the fountain. Lucky for her Uncle Hank was tall enough and strong enough to help her out!

They spent a good hour playing with the ball factory stuff. There are all kinds of ways to move the balls around and get them to the top of the display.

Leave it to Unlce Hank to find the quiet spot in the back to check out the body puzzles. Leave it to Doodle to mix the pieces to the "blood flow body" with the "skeleton body".

Doodle had a lot of fun with this exhibit in the robot room. The robot is able to identify the color of the ball as it rolls down the chute. The computer displays the color word in the window by Doodle's hand. Doodle had lots of fun checking to make sure it was right by making sure the first letter of the word in the window matched the first sound in the color word when she said it.

Hank got to take a picture with C-3PO

Playing a little xylophone

Doodle playing the worlds largest guitar.

SJ even behaved herself and slept most of the day away! And even better, she was happy when she was awake!

By the time we got home there was time for a quick and hectic dinner and tubby. Doodle wanted her uncle to read her bedtime story and he was happy to do it for her. I snapped this picture after they were done reading.

And this is my favorite picture of the two of them! I love it!

I am so grateful for the relationship we are rebuilding. I am more grateful that my daughters get to know their uncle. Grateful that he has made great efforts to be a part of our lives. We love you!

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