Rock Star Uncles

Everyone needs one or two of these.  I was blessed to have two.  No matter what these uncles did I still believed (or maybe it's believe) they walked on water, even when one ripped the head off my doll.

Honestly, I can't remember the specific incident, and that's probably a good thing ~:o)

But I digress.

The kiddos went ice fishing with Uncle Ben this weekend.  They had the time of their lives.  Like, they haven't quit talking about it.  

Who knew ice fishing was so fun.  

Not I.  

The only good thing I remember from ice fishing was Dad letting us skate and skate and skate...oh, and all the junk food!

Otherwise it was too blessed cold....and boring....and cold.

Apparently fishing with a creative uncle is a blast.  He has an enclosed trailer all rigged to stay warm and card games to keep even the most boring day rowdy.  They even built a snow mermaid to hold princess Annika's rod.  All the kiddos look up to Uncle Ben, like he is some sort of Roman god (not that we're Romans, but you get the picture.)  He can make anything, do anything, and he is always up for a  good time.
Now that my boys are hooked on ice fishing we may have to fish all year round.

And if that wasn't enough, Uncle Joey met us up skiing yesterday.  Now to say that a day skiing with all the kids is a bit of a chore may just possibly be a bit of an understatement. The gear that has to be schlepped up the mountain is immense. Then there is the ordeal of keeping track of them all day.
It is on ski days that I appreciate Mom & Dad  more than ever.
Holy buckets, I am pooped at the end of the day, but a good pooped, not like, you know, the pooped-from-cleaning-up-diapers kind of pooped.
It is in these instances Uncle Joey shines, I mean truly!  As I was running through the rental shop with a couple kids he was getting gear on, mitts on properly, helmets buckled and kids placed in the correct ski classes.  Then he grabs Dom and starts him down the hill.  His patience, coupled with the piles of praise, and his loud, exuberant nature spurred Dom to new heights in his skiing career that began a mere two weeks ago.  By the end of the day my little 4-year-old was hitting jumps ~ jumps I'm telling you!
He completely buried himself in the powder on the other side, but he got an inch or so of air first.

So there you have it.  Two guys who unselfishly gave of their time this weekend to help Shannon & I give our children experiences that they may or may not have been able to have.  At the very least they made it so much easier on us that we were actually able to share in our kiddos joy.
And what is better than that?!?