Robots Get a Surprise Visit

My brother Bill, or as I call him, Bud (or as my children call him, Uncle Bull), is in the Navy and is currently stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He spent a month with us in April of 2011 but we had not seen him since. Bud called me a few months ago to see if we'd be around in August because he was headed this way to visit a friend in Portland and wanted to visit us, too.  We couldn't make any firm plans with him because we had no idea if we'd still be out here.

A few weeks ago, when we realized we would indeed still be here, I called to my Buddy to make some plans. I was too late, he'd shortened his stay here by a week and was all booked up. I asked him if we could meet him in Seattle just for the day the Saturday he was flying out and he said that he could work that out.

This past Wednesday I was sitting in our dining room with my friend Sheryl, working on a project and telling her about our weekend plans. Imagine my surprise when Hana comes in and says, "Mom, there's someone here to see you!", and out of the hall walks my Buddy, "What time are we meeting on Saturday?". Woohoo! We were all so happy! Even Lilly gave him a big hug. John was just as surprised as I was when he came in from work. "Who's car is in the driveway?" , he asked. "I don't know, John.", says Bud, and laughter and big  back slapping hugs ensue.

We spent a lovely few days with Bud and took him for the best cheese steak we've found on this coast. (Noah's Ark on 6th in Bremerton)  Ria watched scary movies with him and drew his picture. Hana horsed around with him and cuddled next to him on the sofa during Ria's scary movies. Lilly sat with him on the sofa and pet his head and held his hand. John and I just enjoyed having him around. We stayed up late, talking and laughing, basking in the glow of how grown up my baby brother is.

Saturday Brandy (our respite care provider, and sixth member of our little family) came over at 10am to watch over Lilly.  Then Buddy, John, the girls and I all headed into Seattle. We visited the Experience Music Project (EMP) to see their exhibits on horror and science fiction, which were fantastic.  We saw the Alien, Robby the Robot, Captain Kirk's chair and Neo's coat.

We checked out the Pacific Science Center to see dinosaurs and walk through the butterfly garden, a truly magical experience.

We even hit the Seattle Tattoo Expo. Sadly, we did not have time for anyone to get a tattoo, but Ria loved the art and collected all the business cards she could.

 Then we headed back to our cars, said goodbye to Uncle Bull because he was headed to the airport, and headed home.

So here we are, Robots, missing Uncle Bull already.