Shuffle Off to Buffalo

At this time last week, my dear, sweet, elderly parents were in Buffalo, NY, visiting my brother Moose (a.k.a. Goose, a.k.a. Spence, a.k.a. Spencer, a.k.a. my only brother who wasn't a band nerd) and his lovely wife Brianna (a.k.a. Beej, a.k.a. The Super Hero, a.k.a. the prettiest girl at my sister' Jenny's wedding) and their beautiful children Brady and Mia (a.k.a. the puppies) .

They came home with a lot of photos that they were very excited to share. But, because...

1) they don't have a blog of their own,

2) they have friends who read this blog (Hi Patrice!),

3) I am their kindest, most giving child (except for the kids who, you know, bought them the trip to Buffalo),
... I decided to put together a post for them.

My beloved, amiable, and aged parents hooked me up with plenty of wonderful pictures, but were a bit chintzy with the details. So, because I am their 2nd or 3rd most kind and giving child, I decided to add in some extra details for them.

Mom, Dad --- You can thank me later.

According to Homely and Joyce: One of the first things they did after touching down in New York was to spend time with their adorable furry grand-puppies.

Bonus Mindyesque Details: This was a priority because Joyce has always favored Spencer and Brianna's younglings over all of her other grandchildren. Especially the half-dog/half-bunny-rabbit-mutant-Mia. Her preference may have something to do with her life-long desire to be a natural blond. Homely likes Brady and Mia best because they bark less-frequently and bathe more-frequently than the other grandkids.

According to Homely and Joyce: They ate at Tim Horton's twice in honor of one of Mindy's favorite mission memories.
Bonus Mindyesque Details: My parents have a mean-streak and found a twisted, sadistic pleasure in eating Timbits and then torturing me via text messages. Many cruel, taunting, glazed text messages.

According to Homely and Joyce: Visiting the Palmyra Temple and the Hill Cumorah was one of the best parts of the whole trip... Even though Joyce firmly believes that getting to the top of the hill should be left to teenage prophets and angels.

Bonus Mindyesque Details: One of the highlights of this leg of the Church history excursion was finally finding a Book of Mormon with print large enough to read without bifocals.

According to Homely and Joyce: Visiting the Sacred Grove was amazing! And it was a doubly spiritual experience because they were there with Spencer and Brianna.

Super-Special Bonus SPENCER-esque Details: Homely took a time out, either to attempt a blasphemous kneeling in the grove photo or to get a rock out of his sandal. Either way, Joyce's catcalls and whistles directed at her hubby's hiney added some inappropriate flavor to the outing. According to Homely and Joyce: It was so sweet of Spencer and Brianna to get tickets to the Zac Brown concert. The delightful cultural event was a beautiful way to end such a special day.

Bonus Mindyesque Details: Both Homely and Joyce astounded their fellow concert-goers (including Spencer and Brianna) with their knowledge of song lyrics like, "I've got my toes in the water, a## in the sand..." and "..."Cheater, cheater, where'd you meet that no good white trash ho?"

According to Homely and Joyce: They had a blast visiting Brianna and Spencer's places of work. Brianna is so brave to go flying around saving lives.

Also According to Homely and Joyce: Spencer's job with the NFL is also pretty darn cool. Both Homely and Joyce were so impressed with how hard Spencer and Brianna work!

Bonus Mindyesque Details: Big screen TVs, leather recliners, free travel to NFL games across the country. Yeah. What a rough life Spencer has.

According to Homely and Joyce: Visiting Canada was wonderful! Everyone was really friendly and one very nice man let them follow/stalk him all the way to their destination.

Bonus Mindyesque Details: They probably wouldn't have gotten lost if they would have taken a Canadian-to-English dictionary with them to translate the directions given to them by the nice man on the train.

According to Homely and Joyce: Spencer and Brianna are the best host and hostess on the planet. They hooked Homely and Joyce up with Blue Jays tickets for a Saturday evening game.

Bonus Mindyesque Details: The really impressive part was how Spence and Brianna arranged for the Blue Jays to win the game. That must have taken some serious string-pulling.

According to Homely and Joyce: Niagara Falls was awesome! Witnessing the power and majesty of the wonder of the world from both above and below was life changing.

Bonus Mindyesque Details: The fact that Spencer overcame his fear of boarder crossing guards and his unfortunate tendency to sound like he is an evil terrorist whenever questioned by law enforcement personnel was almost as astonishing as the water falls they crossed the boarder to visit.
According to Homely and Joyce: Spencer and Brianna gave these old folks a trip that is sure stand out as one of the choicest experiences of their golden years. Both Homely and Joyce would love to visit them again before Spence and Beej's time in NY is over.

Bonus Mindyesque Details: Joyce may be headed back sooner than later if her tryout with the Bills goes well. Apparently she would like to be a tight end instead of just whistling at them.
Welcome home, Mom and Dad!