While sitting in LaGuardia Airport on Saturday waiting for my flight, I began to think about what I was going to do during these last two weeks before shipping off to South Sudan. I decided to spend some one-on-one time with all of my seven siblings since I'm not going to see them for a year+. So while they were at school yesterday I put together some days where they could signup to go somewhere, along with a few ideas such as Putt-Putt, Go Karts, or a Mud Hens Game. Once they got home from school I showed them my plan.
Audrey (9) was the first to show interest, and after telling her about my ideas, she said "Or maybe the mall?" Although I didn't really know what we would do there, I said we could go, and thus the first date was set. When dinner was finished, we set off to the mall. While there we walked around to a couple different stores (Build-a-bear and Disney), lost at the crane game a few times, and chatted about her summer. One of my favorite moments came after several minutes of her dominating the conversation when she asked, "Tom, do you think I talk too much?"
After the Disney store, we saw the Bungee-Trampoline outside of Macy's and walked towards it. I asked Audrey if she wanted to try it, and after a few seconds of thought she said, "Yes!" with a big smile. I knew I was being the cool older brother when while waiting in line she turned to me and said, "I don't think Mom would ever let me do this." Once Audrey got strapped in, she began jumping, with the bungee pulling her higher and higher (probably 15-20 feet). After getting the hang of it, she began to experiment with different tricks. First came the back flip, then the front flip, and on her last jump she eventually pulled off the double back flip!
When the jumping was done, we decided to get some Cinnamon Sticks at Auntie Anne’s, and then finished at the mall with a rollercoaster simulator. Once getting in the car she noticed that we didn’t have to be home for another 45 minutes, so we ventured across the street to Barnes and Noble. While browsing through the books, she asked if I had a good birthday, and I told her I sure did. She said, "Good. Because during prayer this morning I said a special intention for you to have a good birthday, and it came true." Nothing feels better than to know your little sister is praying for you!
Audrey (9) was the first to show interest, and after telling her about my ideas, she said "Or maybe the mall?" Although I didn't really know what we would do there, I said we could go, and thus the first date was set. When dinner was finished, we set off to the mall. While there we walked around to a couple different stores (Build-a-bear and Disney), lost at the crane game a few times, and chatted about her summer. One of my favorite moments came after several minutes of her dominating the conversation when she asked, "Tom, do you think I talk too much?"
After the Disney store, we saw the Bungee-Trampoline outside of Macy's and walked towards it. I asked Audrey if she wanted to try it, and after a few seconds of thought she said, "Yes!" with a big smile. I knew I was being the cool older brother when while waiting in line she turned to me and said, "I don't think Mom would ever let me do this." Once Audrey got strapped in, she began jumping, with the bungee pulling her higher and higher (probably 15-20 feet). After getting the hang of it, she began to experiment with different tricks. First came the back flip, then the front flip, and on her last jump she eventually pulled off the double back flip!
When the jumping was done, we decided to get some Cinnamon Sticks at Auntie Anne’s, and then finished at the mall with a rollercoaster simulator. Once getting in the car she noticed that we didn’t have to be home for another 45 minutes, so we ventured across the street to Barnes and Noble. While browsing through the books, she asked if I had a good birthday, and I told her I sure did. She said, "Good. Because during prayer this morning I said a special intention for you to have a good birthday, and it came true." Nothing feels better than to know your little sister is praying for you!
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