End of May/June: More Company

We didn't know this would be the case but in the last couple months we have had the most company at our house we have ever had in all our three years living here. You already know all about my sibling's visit. Then at the end of May my grandparents Burkhart flew into Saint Louis. We picked them up and they stayed the night at our house. The next day we took them to the Cathedral Basilica to see and enjoy its beauty. Then we headed to Normal, Illinois so that they could see their granddaughter (my cousin) Jessica's graduation. We all stayed with her parents, my Aunt Lynda and Uncle Dan. If you are ever in Normal stay with them. Even if there are ten other people staying in their house you'll still get top-notch hospitality and some tasty eats. It was a relaxing weekend in which we ate a lot of food and did a lot of sitting around talking and/or doing nothing. It was also nice to see my grandparents and get to have them visit me in Saint Louis.

Then a couple weeks later I was stalking people on Facebook when I get an instant message from an old friend named Tim. Tim and his family are long-time friends with Jonathan and Jonathan's family. Since Jonathan dropped off the face of the earth when he married me he didn't stay much in contact with Tim or any other old friends. (Tim did run off to Scotland for a few years though so Jonathan has a partial excuse.) Anywho, turns out Tim and his younger brother Nate and Nate's two friends are doing every guy's dream- traveling all around the country in an old motor home with no jobs, no responsibilities, for as long as they want (they plan to return in the fall) and playing music in the streets to earn some cash. After a Boise send-off concert they hit Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Salt Lake, and Denver. Kansas City then St. Louis were next on their list. Tim, knowing we were in St. Louis, asked me if he could come see us on their way through. So long story short, the Great Northwest Secession (yes, they named their trip) spent some time with the Nelsons. We let them park their motor home in the back of the house. They came on a Thursday night and left Sunday morning.They pretty much entertained themselves. They walked from our house to the Arch, rode their bikes to the Zoo, and took late night bike rides around downtown. Friday night I made them dinner and then we hung out, talked, and watched Flight of the Concords. Saturday was my birthday (that will be separate post- shouldn't my birthday deserve a separate post after all?) but I had to work so Jonathan entertained them by taking them Frisbee golfing and then playing video games. It was fun to catch up with Tim and Nate and meet their friends- Ben and Sam. They claimed that they play music but I never did hear any from them. ( I did, however, get a free copy of Nate's CD) But I guess it's our own fault. They didn't need to wander around downtown playing music for food money because we fed them. I at least got a picture so I can prove they were in my house if they ever do get famous.
From Left to Right: Sam, Tim, Nate, Ben, pretending to be a "band"

If you would like to read Ben's perspective on their time here and more about The Great Northwest Secession you can click here.