My Big Bro

I am the second oldest in my family. I have an older brother, Conor, and while we couldn't be more different, I still enjoy spending time with him. During his 2 week R & R from Afghanistan he decided to take his daughter on a road trip to see some family. With my family all over the map I lucked out and was one of his stops.

Conor and Ashley got here Monday and just barely left ten minutes ago. We all had a fun time together. It was nice the first couple days so we were able to spend a lot of time outside at home or at the park. We had some cousins over to celebrate Ashley's 5th birthday (no comments on my horrible profile). Annabelle has the nicest ballet teacher and let Ashley come to class. I was amazed at how well Ashley knew the words to the songs and also was able to keep up with the dancing.

Conor and Ashley were able to come to Nathan's pack meeting and see the craziness that can sometimes (okay all the time) occur at such meetings.

The boys loved Conor. Ryan got to spend more time with him since he only goes to school half days, but they both loved rough housing with him. Conor tried to win Annabelle over the whole week. I definitely think she was getting there near the end, but she is a stinker when it comes to people other than mom and dad and maybe a choice others that she knows REALLY well. He tried candy, donuts, and more candy. I truly think she wanted to give him a hug at the end but is old enough to know that denying it was the stinker thing to do.

While Conor and I may not have always got along growing up, I love him and wish him the safest trip home and then back to Afghanistan. It is crazy to think that he gets shot at daily out there. It is crazy to think that many of his friends have been killed or injured. We pray for him all the time but after spending these past 4 days with him I think my prayers will have a little more life to them. We love you Conor and Ashley and can't wait to see you next time.