Uncle Jay Strikes Back!

There is no one on the planet who can make me laugh harder than my big brother Jay. So when he came to visit for the first time in a couple of years, I knew that we were all in for a great time...and boy did he deliver! First off, the title of this blog is a lie. Uncle Jay NEVER strikes back. In fact, he has mastered the art of taking a WWF looking blow to the head as if you had taken a folding chair during Summer Slam, walked to the top of a 20ft A frame ladder, and magnificently swan dived your body off hitting him precisely on the top of the head. He is the best. So after taking Cienna to the mall for her bi-annual birthday / Christmas shopping spree, he allowed both of the kids to manhandle him with a giant stuffed Narwhal like an absolute pro!

Bi-Annual Shopping Spree

Narwhal Bash Fest

The gifts just came on coming. After taking AJ on his bi-yearly shopping spree, he also bestowed the gift of purging on me. In addition to his amazing talent of theatrical beat downs, he is also somewhat of a savant when it comes to baseball cards. I expressed my anxiety over having several boxes of loose baseball cards that we had collected from hauling jobs over the years and the fact that I had resolved never to go through them for fear that I would accidentally throw out a Babe Ruth rookie card. My intention was to someday die and make the boxes my kid's problem. But alas, my brother Jay saved the day by staying up for hours every single night going through each and every card. He divided them into "binder quality" which we call "The Ultimate Freestyle Collection", categorized "box quality" which just means to hold on to them for future value, and "slops pile" which means they aren't worth the card stock they are printed on. I wish I had a video of how fast he went through the cards, because then you will realize how many years of my life he saved me in just a week. He is the Rainman of baseball cards.

AJ's Shopping Spree

He also bestowed upon us a gift for our game room. Vintage 49ers pendants that I remembered hung in his room growing up. This was truly a gift from the heart, as I know it was probably painful for him to part with them knowing that he would not be able to look at them on the daily anymore. But it was much appreciated and I will treasure them forever!

Bringing the Bay Area to ABQ

I also bestowed some gifts on my brother during his trip. The first was the gift of Wienerschnitzel. Man does my brother love him some chili cheese dogs. And chili cheese burgers. And chili cheese fries. Another blast from the past of our childhood and I am happy to report that they went down quickly and without a fight.

In His Happy Place

I also gifted him the experience of country club living. We went down to ACC where we floated in the pool, cocktails in hand, living our best lives. A long way from Cape Cod Village!

Living The Dream

Lastly, I shared with him everything New Mexico that I could find in my house for one epic picture to take home and share with his friends.

#turquoiselyfe

My stomach still hurts from laughing so much. I look forward to our next reunion (hopefully in the near future!)