The Utah Shenks snuck into Orlando last week for a very special visit. Chris’s brother,
Matt Shenk, is an outstanding musician in the Orlando area and was having a launch party for his new album,
This Is Water (available for purchase on iTunes
here and on CD
here). We flew into town secretly and showed up at the venue during sound check to surprise Matt. He was completely thrilled and seemed very touched that we had come just for him.
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| You should all go see Matt live. He’s fantastic! |
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Aunt Elin gave James an “all-access pass” from
the show and he wore it for 3 straight days. |
The Kramer family was nice enough to keep James for us so we could go to the party (adults only), which we are so appreciative of, and James was thrilled to get to play with Sam and his awesome train table.
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| Sam is all about Mater and James is in love with that train table. |
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Leave it to James to find the toy that makes the
most possible noise. |
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| Me and my dear friend, Heather. Love you, girl. |
Our weekend in Orlando coincided with the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway and you know those Shenks love their auto racing events. We spent Friday at the track and got to visit with Uncle Dan who was in town from Virginia, which is always a treat.
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| Dan, Richard, Chris, and James. Happy Shenks. |
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| James with his Mimi & Papa |
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| James and his cousin, Kodey |
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Uncle Dan being a sport and hanging out
in James’ “fort” |
Saturday marked six years since my mom died and we spent the day enjoying friends and family at Richard and Cindy’s house. Thanks again for taking such great care of us, Cindy! We took the opportunity to celebrate Pop’s birthday which was a few days earlier, but served as my excuse to eat Publix cake while in town.
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| James and his GrandPoppa |
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| Matt and Chris |
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| Jen, and her boyfriend, Steve, came to spend the day. Thanks! xoxo |
James loved having time with his cousins, Hope and Jackson, and got to experience his first sleepover with Jackson. They were actually holding hands before they went to sleep. So cute!
Taylor and Kodey, we missed you and wished you were there!
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| Two little boys playing with Barbies and a dollhouse. Love it! |
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| Off on an adventure! |
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| Hope reads a goodnight story to the boys. She is just the best! |
Sunday, we headed home. It was short visit but a great one. We will be back in May for a week-long visit and hope to see so many of you then!
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| Pirates having lunch before our flight. |
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| One sleepy pirate… |
