Weekend in Review

Last weekend, we attended a family reunion. When I was a kid I dreaded these get-togethers, bu when you get to a "certain" age, it seems like reunions are the only times big families get together besides funerals. My grandmother Mary, my father's mother, passed away many years ago but two of her brothers and one sister are still alive. Since I never knew Grandma Mary, I have talked to Aunt Janet about her in the past. I wish I'd had the time to talk to her brothers at the reunion but I was a little busy watching monkeys run around with their second cousins and one little monkey wanted to keep going where he shouldn't go.

Could it be this little monkey? He can't sit still, although he has been more cuddly lately. Those darn one year vaccinations and teething - not a good combination for a baby. Liam's hair looks really light in this picture. And his eyes - red. :)

Too bad the boys aren't old enough to help Grandpa with some heavy farm work. It would help if this was a real gator too.

Ali's Birthday!

Last weekend, we celebrated the first birthday of our niece, Ali. She wasn't too thrilled with the cake or maybe it was the crowd of people watching and taking pictures of the big moment.

Here are a couple of other pictures from that weekend.

Miss Meaghan and Jack rode bikes together.

Look at that determination.

And then there's Liam, just a big bundle of cuteness.

Weekend in Review

Crickey, it's Liam, the snake charmer.

We had a wonderful weekend down home. We attended a reunion for my dad's side of the family. Of course, we talked so much, we didn't take many pictures. This photo shows my dad (second from the right) and his siblings. Two brothers have passed in recent years, Slim and Buck. My uncle on the left, Junior, got in a fight with a porch swing and lost. :) His black eye almost looks fake.

We had a great time at the reunion. It's nice to see family at a get-together other than a funeral.

Liam cut his fourth tooth! He also landed his first big bruise on Saturday. Right on his forehead. You can see it on the top picture. Poor little guy. He is always on the go, go, go. I guess it's a miracle that this is his first one.

And here I am, being tackled. I'm going to be in big trouble when Liam gets to be Jack's age and they both tackle me. Liam already tries to tackle Jack. Ugh! I'd better start building some back muscles.

Happy Memorial Day!

We had a fabulous time with family this weekend. We did spend Saturday at home where we showed an early interest in the guitar. Maybe Liam will take after one of his uncles. We hope so.

Then we had a short lesson in turtles when this little guy came for a visit.

Mike released him into the wild.

On Sunday, we celebrated Mike's parents' 40th wedding anniversary. Since Mike was driving I had a small margarita - probably one of the most powerful I've had in a long time. I don't drink very often so halfway through this glass I realized there was more alcohol than fruity flavor. Whoo.

Liam hung out with cousin Allie.

Jack hung out with his best friend cousin Dalton. Dalton calls him Jacque.

On Monday, we went to a small town Memorial Day parade. Besides the heat, it was lovely.

The reason we were there.

Jack stashes away his candy.

Liam had a front row seat on my lap. Look at how curly his hair is.

This nice man let the boys get up close with his horse.

Still waving the red, white and blue on the ride to Grandpa's and Grandma's house.

Mike, the Cicada Hunter. He actually loves messing with those silly things.

RIP Cicadas.

Garrett is doing great! It's amazing how fast children can bounce back from surgeries.

Me and my baby.

Meaghan and Jack work on a bike.

My heart runneth over. I had such a great time this weekend. I hope you did too.

Weekend in Review

Garrett is home. His surgery went great on Friday. The doctors think they have everything out this time. Hopefully, he won't be back except for regular check-ups.

Our weekend was busy and lots of fun. On Saturday, we attended the Parents as Teachers end-of-the-year luncheon.

We also attended a graduation party for a young man I babysat while in college. Boy, that made me feel old. Of course, it was hard to recognize the five-year-old in the 18-year-old's face. He is going into international studies. Very exciting!

And we attended Aunt Jay's graduation ceremony and party on Sunday. She is on her way to big things. We are very happy for her.

The party was so much fun!

We even managed to get a smile out of Liam who is suffering big-time teeth cutting pain. All the seniors who attended the party were thrown in the pool. I hear it was nice and cold. They were all good sports.

Eli and Liam liked feeling the water on their feet. Looks like Liam wanted to go swimming!

Got a picture of cousin Chris "diving" in.

Grandpa and Eli.

Weekend in Review

We've had a nice but too short weekend. Yesterday, we attended a Domestic/International Adoption picnic. It was nice to see friends and meet new ones at this unique event that brought people together who have adopted from the United States, Guatemala, Thailand, Taiwan, Ethiopia, China and Korea. I feel blessed to be a part of this group of friends. Adoption has enriched our lives in many ways.

We spent today at my parents' house. It was a quiet day since the weather was so miserable outside. It looks like the weather will be better by the middle/end of this week. Fingers crossed!

Grandpa played a game with Liam called "Place Pink Donut on Baby Liam's Head and Then It Falls Off.". He loved it! When Grandpa recovered the donut he'd hand it to Liam. Then Liam would drop it on the floor and get excited when Grandpa put it back on his head.

Silly squirrel! (BTW: Liam borrowed a shirt from the future Miss Maggie today. Notice the frilly sleeves.)

Grandpa showed Jack how to put together a couple of chains.

"Patty cake. Patty cake. Baker's man. Roll it up. Roll it up. And throw it in the pan!"

Happy Mother's Day!

We spent a relaxing day with my folks today. With Grandpa standing nearby, Jack was finally able to feed the baby calf.

We took a walk to the creek which made me a little nostalgic and reminded me of fun childhood days. After a rain, while the creek was still running, we would go swimming bringing along a tractor inner tube. We (all four kids) would get on the tube then slowly work our way to the same area then flip! Today, the creek was running and even smelled (not bad) like it did when I was a child. We saw little minnows but they wouldn't nibble Meaghan's or Jack's feet. I'm doing my best to convince mom and dad to buy a swimming pool so we can all have some fun and keep Meaghan from swimming in the creek this summer.

The kids had a blast soaking their feet.

Good thing Grandma had three umbrellas at the house because the kids all decided they needed one today.

My nephew Garrett (below) is headed to Children's Hospital for brain surgery this month. More than a year ago, doctors removed growth near his left ear but they missed some of it. During a recent visit, an MRI detected the area had grown bigger. Please say a prayer for my nephew and all children who have to undergo scary stuff at such a young age. This big boy will not be happy when he wakes up in the hospital with an IV stuck in his arm. 

Squirrel!

We hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day!