Loot!

I won't name any names but I have a relative.  So what, we all have relatives right?  Well, this particular relative of mine is notorious for bringing us JUNK!  No joke, every time he comes to visit, he brings us either a shoe box or a bag full of..... garbage.  95% of what he brings to us and the kids, ends up in the garbage.  He gets this junk at trade shows in Vegas and such.  It's just expected that when he comes, we get the garbage can ready for another load.  He means well, he really does.  But if we kept everything he brings to us, we would be drowning in stress balls, hotel napkins, miscellaneous magazines, and Snapple lids. 

This sounds silly but it's true.  About a year ago, he brought us a small box full of Snapple lids.  There were probably 50-75 of them.  Why?  Because they had "fun facts that (we) could use for homeschool."  Don't get me wrong, useless trivia has it's place but Snapple lids?  Really?  In that same visit, he brought a mess load of hotel napkins.  "The kids can use them to learn to read."  Ok, the kids need to learn to read, yes, but do they really need to learn to read "The Tropicana, The Palms Resort, Bellagio, etc?"  OH!  And plastic cups from all these hotels as well. 

Before I go on much further, I must say that the kids think it's Christmas every time he comes!  You know how kids are.  Anything that is a gift is awesome, right?  They know when he comes he'll have a box full of surprises for them.  Anything from watch faces that he's found in the gutter (no joke), to old beat up cell phones he found in parking lots, to pieces of ribbon about 3 inches long (what would I do with that?), or even toys that he finds in miscellaneous places.  Broken frisbees, action figures, etc.  I've never taken pictures of our loot before but I thought what the heck!  Now, mind you, this is actually a "good" run. 

• 2 Vegas mousepads
• Chinese (or maybe Japanese?) "green" bag
• Utah magazine of events going on around the area (expired)
• stress ball (only one pictured but there were probably about 12)
• Deal or No Deal Bag
• back of a cereal box
• dirty white hat
• National Geographic paper (I don't know what it is for)
• action figure (found in shuttle he drives for work)
• spoon from a box of cereal
• 5 more Snapple lids
• 2 very large t-shirts that we will never wear (Anthony has plenty, trust me)

I really hope this does not sound like a bash to this relative of mine.  He really does mean well and all.  It's just so interesting to see what he is going to bring each time.  The kids get to have a good time with all of it while he's here and the rest of the evening.  After they go to bed, I gather it all up and it either goes in the DI box or in the garbage.  We really do appreciate the gesture.  It's the thought that counts, right?  What is your opinion?  Should we ask him not to bring junk anymore or do we let him continue, let the kids have their fun, then throw it away? 

Not everything he brings is junk, mind you.  About 5% is actually worth keeping.  Sometimes he brings a hat that Anthony will wear or a cool keychain once in a while.  One time he brought a Nike football that he found while running at the local high school track there in Vegas.  It's now Anthony's favorite!!