Ding-Dong

Gen and Chris visited us, but Shane and I were on the move Tuesday. We drove to Richmond to visit Kim and Ryan!

We caught them after they got back from a long, family trip to Ireland and before they hopped to the west coast. I'd warned Shane not to expect any gifts (since we often visit after Christmas), but they'd brought back a police (garda) car for him! Ryan helped him pull it out and told him the story behind it.

Then Shane was off to explore and see what had changed around the house.

And to hunt down the cats, of course. Buster was happy to play with toys, but Berry preferred to sit in the litter box in the dark until the fun died down.

Kim was working, but she took a lunch break and joined us at Chic Fil A. The CFA by their house is always hopping. Shane disappeared into the play area and we got to enjoy adult conversation. Everyone was happy!

When I went to check on Shane this is what I found.

He was playing as a gorilla. If the kids were loud and woke him up he'd chase them. Then they had to give him a banana and be quiet to calm him down.....or something like that. He spoke a mile a minute and a few other kids bounced and chirped in simultaneously. Shane was sad when it was finally time to go.

Ryan and I took Shane out to explore some while Kim drove back to work. We went into a Gamestop and then a Walmart. Shane wanted to buy something with his allowance, but he only had $5.

I sent this picture to Carrie. "Look! Shane can afford a knife with his allowance."

She sent this back.

Needless to say, I never mentioned it to Shane.

Ryan guided us to 2nd & Charles next. I was on a mission to find a cheap copy of Kingdom Hearts for Shane. I never played it as a kid, but Squaresoft meets Disney sounded like a good blend for him.

Ryan had a PS2, so he was kind enough to let us test the disc after our purchase. He coached Shane through the initial phases.

I fell asleep in a chair. I don't know for how long. I think it was around 15-20 minutes. It was one of those naps where you close your eyes, get comfortable, and wake up what feels like moments later only someone is saying, "Took a nap there, did you?"

Once I was awake and Shane had played a bit, I called it quits. We couldn't save, so I didn't want to get too far. We went back downstairs to bug Kim.

From there, we played Battle Kittens (I always bring card and board games with me when I travel!) Shane wanted to play, too.

By that point, it was dinner time. Shane and I said our goodbyes, picked up Wawa, and then braved a storm. It took longer to get home going 40 mph on stretches of the highway, but we made it through.