Patrick! (The Stretch!)

I took Shane with me to wrestling practice Tuesday. He was happy to randomly tackle people he didn't know and make them feel awkward.

That meant we were 20 minutes closer to the Interstate so we could visit Patrick!

Patrick showed Shane his Steam Deck and then we were free to talk!

He gave me a Christmas present, too: Reese's Pieces!

Nathan and Shelby were both asleep when we arrived. Shane hopping on video games was a strategic choice.

But Little Man woke up after a little!

Patrick's an involved dad. He retrieved the kid and got to feeding him to let Shelby continue sleeping.

Nathan's full of personality.

It started with food, but ended with Shane and Nathan throwing balls.

When Shelby woke up, we went out for lunch at Thai Staunton.

Patrick worked there as a delivery driver for a while and the family that runs it remembers him fondly. Nathan got ooh and aah'd over before lunch!

Nathan's got quick hands, btw. He was grabbing stuff left and right!

Shane ordered a peanut based curry while I ordered Pad Thai.

I purposely ordered the non-spicy Pad Thai for reasons. Shane decided he liked my plate better than his and we switched. 

Shane's aware enough now that he doesn't say outright if he doesn't like something. It's not hard to spot, though. He'll pick at the food and get "full" fast. Still, he's a 100x better eater than I was at his age. Patrick paid for lunch despite my protests. I felt like I should pay as the oldest, but I didn't want to be ungrateful for his generosity either.

We started on our way home after lunch. Carrie asked us to do a quick stop over at Home Depot to check out a muck cart. The wheels on our cart are breaking and there was a sale on a possible replacement.

After that, it was a quieter night. Shane had a Sunny lesson and Carrie and I played cards. Instead of complaining and giving any hints about my hand, I'll sometimes take a picture to show after the game!

Up to this point, I really hadn't done any work on the blog. That'd change....soon.