Vacancy

This morning we sent Grandpa Bob back home to Utah which makes us sad, and you happy because my guest room has transformed back into my blogging room. I know you all missed me terribly over the last few days. You did notice I was gone, right? Good. Then imagine how I feel when you all take 5 weeks off between posts! Get blogging, y'all.

Alright, on to our visit with Grandpa Bob (Seth's dad).

Thursday: Grandpa has landed! Seth picked him up and we all met up for pizza. You know I don't love Chicago style pizza, but this one was actually pretty tasty. Don't worry New York, I still love you best.

Friday: Seth and Bob golfed in the morning. Grandpa took Alyssa and Alex to see Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs in the afternoon. After dinner, Seth and Bob were out on the lake fishing.

Saturday: Despite fishing until 11:00 PM the boys managed to roll out at 5:00 AM to go goose hunting, not successfully however. At 8:00 AM we were off on our annual apple picking outing. I know we already went once this year, but we had to hit our usual orchard where the Honey Crisp apples grow. It is crazy how much the group of people we go with has changed over the years. I miss the old faces, but it was fun to have lots of new faces with us this year. After our stint in the orchard we went home and let Grandpa and Chloe nap. Then Saturday night we suckered Bob in to taking us to Bob Chinn's. This place converted me to seafood a few years ago. It is the #7 restaurant in the country so if you haven't been there you really need to check it out...on Grandpa Bob if you can swing it. It was awesome, as always. Me and Seth shared big fat sweet crab legs dipped in butter and a spicy horseradish sauce, and a seared Ahi Tuna steak with caramelized mushrooms and onions. I know you don't care but I need to document this meal so that my brain can remind my taste buds in the future when I review this post.

Sunday: Of course we went to church on Sunday morning. Then we did our usual lounging around while Chloe napped. Then off to walk on the beach because it was a gorgeous day...only as soon as we got in the car the rain and wind started and the cool fall air blew in and pillaged summer in one fatal second. I can't complain though because September was basically perfect.

Monday: Seth worked and Alyssa went to school so it was up to me and Alex and Chloe to entertain Grandpa Bob. He wanted to go somewhere unique and local, so we took him to Frank's Diner. It is a diner in an old train car. It has actually been on Diners Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network. It is cram packed in there and the staff is really casual. As we were coming in the owner was telling a customer off for being rude to her employees. They also make no apologies about the obscene amount of time that it takes to get your order. I personally think the food and the staff were better a few years ago but it is still a fun place to go, even if they don't have high chairs and Chloe climbs on all the other patrons during the eternity that elapses while waiting to eat.After Frank's we headed over to the Civil War museum, which was interesting but not super kid friendly. So we hopped next door to the other museum that we go to all the time. After playing there we grabbed a trolley and rode around town, yes we do that often too. Then we had to get home to get Miss Alyssa from school. The only thing left for Grandpa to do this visit was hit the toy store. He promised the kids a toy the day he arrived and Alex reminded him every 47 seconds, on average.

Tuesday: After hugs and kisses for Grandpa, we sent him back to Utah. His heart may have been heavy, but... 3 restaurants and one toy store later, I am sure that his wallet felt much lighter.

Thanks for everything Grandpa Bob. Come back soon!!!

Chloe was not enjoying the haystack pose.

So we kicked her out

And sent her to eat the best donuts in the world. They were not quite up to par this year. They are usually piping hot but the rain scared away some of the crowds this year and the donut makers were actually able to keep up with demand, which means the donuts could actually sit and cool. They were still good but I may sneak out there again this weekend in hopes of getting one still hot and dripping with grease.

We took home 49 massive golden delicious apples

And 77 Honey Crisp...and those are just the ones that made it home. Plus, I still have a drawer full of McIntosh from picking a few weeks ago. I believe apple juice may be seeping out of my pores by now.

I don't know if Bob looks surprised because I called him back from the heaven that is those succulent crab legs, or because he just saw the check?

Let me explain the greasy hair for a second. I used baby oil for Chloe's cradle cap at a friend's recommendation. It worked like a charm but it took 4-5 washes to get the oil out of her hair.

We LOVE Grandpa Bob!

My guest room is now VACANT. Who is coming next?