The Boys are Back in Town Part 1

I'm 5 years old, it is the night before christmas and I have to go to bed.  I lie down but I can't go to sleep.  I close my eyes but they pop back open.  I try and count sheep but they turn into presents and stockings and christmas food.  My mind is running at a million miles an hour...








Man I can't wait till tomorrow morning...
















Fast forward 17 years and the same feeling has recaptured me once again.  Only this time it's not for Christmas, my brother and best friend from home are coming to visit me in Sweden!!!  I have to go to bed.  I lie down but I can't go to sleep.  I close my eyes but they pop back open.  I try counting sheep but they turn into Paul and Maxwell and the food we are gonna cook.  My mind is running at a million miles an hour....











Man I can't wait till tomorrow morning.
















Alarm blaring.  I shoot out of bed, start breakfast and put my shoes on.  Then I realize that not only is it not time to go but I also haven't put pants on either.  Calm down dude, you're an adult.
















I get to the airport and anxiously await there arrival.  I thought about bringing a sign to the airport to hold it above everyone so they could see it when they walked out but I remembered that not only am I an average 40 centimeters (15 inches) taller than everyone here, but also the chocolate to their marshmallow.





I should be ok.











Even though they were on separate flights they landed within 20 minutes of each other and they both walked out at the same time.  After months of only seeing them on a computer screen I was elated to see them in person.















After being on a plane for most of the day for them they were ready to sleep immediately.














Big No-No.

Did make them Pan!cakes when they got here

I made them stay up until that night because in order for them to get on the right sleep schedule they couldn't take a nap....

Not a happy camper

dude the Pan!cakes weren't that bad

That day went by fairly painlessly...for me.  Maxwell gets a little hostile when he is tired and Paul, well imagine how angry a grizzly bear that is starving and hasn't slept for a week would be, and then imagine how tough a person would have to be to kill that grizzly bear with his bare hands.  Now imagine THAT person hasn't slept for a week.  Well that person still wouldn't try and keep Paul from sleeping when he is tired.








And that was my job...













Sweet.
















The highlight of Sunday was definitely dinner.  BBQ chicken with vegetables and mashed potatoes will cheer up anyones mood.

That -itis hit them harder than a fully juiced Barry Bonds.

(for my dear swedes and lighter skinned americans who dont know what the "-itis" is its when you have a really really good meal and feel the need to go to sleep right after.  If you haven't had this feeling please give me a call and I will personally cook you a guaranteed -itis meal)












And with that there first day in sweden drew to a close.















Monday:




The next morning they were well rested and basically on the right sleep schedule.  I joked with Paul aren't you glad that I kept you up??
















His stare and lack of smile told me to move on.
















Now monday was a game day so we took it easy and headed out to Upsalla for the fellas to see me play in a professional basketball game for the first time.

Wasn't exactly the best game for them to see.














We weren't clicking as a team and we ended up with a loss.  Fortunately they would still be in town for another game on Friday, but lets not get ahead of ourselves.

After the game we needed to eat.  I got the guys some food but wanted to give it to them discreetly because I wasn't sure if food was allowed in the gym.  I put it under my jacket and decided to try and be slick with it.  This is how that transpired....











I walk out to Maxwell and Paul.  I turn to Max and say, can you take my JACKET out to the car for me please??  I think you will need it out there..... (*wink*)














He looks at me for a second then replies, "Why would I wanna carry your jacket? Carry it yourself."














...clearly he isn't getting it....

















I try again...















Hey max I know you're HUNGRY but can you take my JACKET out to the car I think it will help your HUNGER.....(*stare*) (*wink*)

















How is your jacket gonna help me with my hunger?? Am I supposed to eat your jacket??













.....somebody come pick this dude up and take him home....














Finally Paul says "Dude he has our food under the jacket...."
















"well why didn't you just say that?"















After reading this the CIA just sent me a letter saying they have declined my application to be a covert operative.



















We head back to Stockholm and conclude our 2nd day in sweden.  They hadn't seen too much of Sweden and Tuesday would be a great day to make sure we saw some real parts of Sweden.

















Tuesday:





We wake up and eat another great breakfast and decide to head out to Gamla Stan which means Old Town in swedish...(Hej guys aren't you proud?  I'm not just a dumb jock using your culture for basketball I'm learning something too!)  Since I had no idea how to get there by car we decided to take the train....















Now I must pause and stress two important points.





The first is that Paul, Maxwell and I  are very smart individuals and separately we can figure out anything.





The second is that we have ridden on trains numerous times and separately we all know how to blend in with the surroundings.















The keyword in both of those sentences is "separately."















First we almost miss it so we have to sprint to get to the nearly full train.  We squeeze inconspicuously into the train car.  When I say inconspicuously I mean three giant African-American males barged into the car laughing and talking loudly.  We look around and see everyone staring at us like we were that guy at the party that wasn't invited but came anyways.










But we don't let that dampen our spirits we still decide to talk and act silly in spite of the stares.  We are in control and we know it.
















Then the train starts to move.  















For some reason ALL OF US forget to hold on and the movement sends us crashing back into some lady who EXTREMELY upset.  I wish I could explain to you how upset...well imagine how angry a grizzly bear that is starving...















We finally make it to Old Town, and have one of the best days of my life.  I'll let the pictures show you a glimpse of what we saw...

After a full day of tourism we called it a night.














Wednesday:


We watched Slumdog Millionaire which is an AMAZING movie and decided to tour downtown Stockholm.  My point guard Oli was our guide and he showed us around the city.  No where near the extravagant adventure that Old Town was but it was what we needed.


















Thursday:



Since I had two practices that were pretty close together in time we just stayed at home and watched Slumdog Millionaire for the second time.  It was even better.  They helped me film part of The Bachelor's life (shameless plug) and we watched Transformers 2 after an amazing Mexican style dinner. Glorious.





















Friday:




To be continued....



;)

Until then.