A Little Bit of Everything Under the Roof of 3 Boys: Surprise!

Brothers share a special bond and as hard as it is on me having my son 1500 miles away its just as hard on the brothers. The were the three musketeers or the three stooges. Whatever it was they were doing it was usually together. It's been strange not having the three of them together. It is a different vibe. They are each others best friend and it has been an adjustment for them. Sometimes I catch one of them in his room laying in his bed or just coming out of it. They don't want to talk about it and sometimes on verge of tears, they walk back to their own bedroom. I am left there standing in the hallway staring at an empty room wishing he was there too. Thank goodness for FaceTime calls and technology to keep them close. They miss being a part of his everyday life too. The day we left Minnesota in August they cried just as much as I did. They are his biggest fans and have travelled with him and cheered him on. We are always together. They cheer each other on. They push each other to be better. It is always a competition around here. When you live in the country growing up it's not like you can just run over to the neighbors house. They were always together.

ALWAYS!!

In January, for his 17th birthday he just wanted to go spend time with his brother in Minnesota by himself. His first solo flight. So he did and he kept it a surprise. It was going to be the first hockey game of the season. He wanted to be there. He was so excited to be flying all by himself but a bit nervous. He's always has been and will always be the most cautious kid of them all. I knew he would be ok. I dropped him off at the airport and we said goodbye. Grandpa picked him at the cold airport in Minnesota. They had it all planned out to surprise him at the door and it worked! It was a sweet surprise and Cooper was smiling from ear to ear and Braedyn gave him a huge hug. "What are you doing here, " Cooper said. They both are sensitive kids and have always been pretty tight so it was sweet to see. He was able to drive Cooper around so that was nice to be able to help, since he was looking forward to doing that here and that isn't happening. They always were looking forward to just taking a drive and leaving the house on their own....Go run errands, go to the mall or just go for a drive to get out of the house. They were able to do that a little over Christmas break before he headed back and that was great. But this is what I still see when they took off...