So it's been a week or so since we've been back now, and we haven't been up to
Clare yet to visit with Dad and Cindy yet.
Not for lack of wanting to, mind you - that's my
hometown, I've been looking forward to going back - but rather the worldly barriers preventing us from doing so.
Remember how Dad had been bent over the wheel of the truck in pain on the last leg of our trip north? How we had been forced to stop in
Bumblef***, Ohio so that he could writhe in agony in a
Comfort Inn room for the night? Initially he had thought that he had some kind of plumbing issue, and that some high-powered antibiotics would right him out. Alas, after backing the Penske truck into the driveway of our new rental and having Cindy drive him back to Clare, his conditioned worsened severely, and ultimately he ended up having to go the emergency room at 4am.
With
kidney stones.
Kidney stones the size of
ping pong balls, one in each kidney.
Ta-Da.
He was in the Midland hospital for a few days, so we were able to check in on him there, but now that he was recovering at home (all is well as of right now) it was high time to swing up to Clare for a sunny, pool-soaked visit. . . and also a belated Cannonball birthday celebration to boot.
Let's do this. . .
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| Watson makes a new friend. Unlike Tucker (Chris' dog), who was deathly afraid of our loud, obnoxious dog, Dad's dog Bailey didn't seem to mind being dominated by a 17-pound dachshund mutt. |
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| They kept this up throughout the duration of the day, taking periodic naps before resuming. |
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| Great day for hanging out in someone else's pool. |
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| I'm so glad my yard isn't this big. . . |
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| The girls are introduced to pinball |
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| (They're not very good.) |
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| More dog shenanigans. After awhile you end up tuning it out. |
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| "You go first." |
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| McNeilly pond(s) |
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| Not swimming. |
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| Taking a break |
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| No, our kids can't swim. Yes, we should really get on that. |
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| No idea why she looks so pissed, here. |
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| I know I've said it before, but the beer up here has excellent taste in sports franchises. |
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| Lobsterclaw - my koozie of choice at Dad and Cindy's |
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| Thug life. |
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| My kids sure know how to trash a pool. |
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| Believe it or not, this thing used to be orange. |
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| Hanging out with Nana |
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| Cindy fends off a wild beast |
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| After a couple hours, the Whites came over, and Kris and the girls got to meet Jax, Brian and Jill's newest kid (I met him back in February, if you'll be so good to remember. . .) |
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| After a couple hours of screwing around in the pool, our kids' hair turned green. The chlorine levels weren't even that bad, either - our girls are ridiculously fair-complected. |
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| Worn out |
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| More pinball |
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| For dinner, Dad and Cindy treated us to the greatest pizza on the face of the Earth - Buccelli's (if you disagree with me, may you spend an eternity burning in the fiery pits of Hades.) |
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| Cannonball's 7th. Again. |
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| Any excuse to let Blake play with fire, really (. . .and Alayna's making a mentally-challenged dog face.) |
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| It took her awhile to think about what to wish for. . . no surprises there. |
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| Leave no frosting un-devoured. |
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| The one kid at the table whose table manners suck more than my kids'. |
- Brian
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