Fun with family

Over our vacation we spent lots of time with family, some that we haven't seen in years. We had a great time catching up with so many of my cousins and their families. One such occasion was the celebration of my Nana's 80th birthday (my dad's mom).

We had a wonderful time playing in the pool and chatting up my very wonderful cousins, Jason, and his wife, Janet, and Marnie, and her husband, Dave. Gavin and I got really close with Jason and Janet when we lived in Cary, just before Roo was born. They are wonderful friends. Jason and Gavin have a lot in common and share a very sweet bond - the Carolina fanatic bond....;) So, it was great to see them and really catch up. I loved being able to spend time with Marnie and Dave's adorable little Jack, and Jason and Janet's cutie pie, little Anna.

Of course, we spent lots of time with my brother and his family, too, which was really fantastic. I love my brother very much and we've become much closer since getting married and having children. I still vividly remember the first serious conversation I ever had with my brother. Gavin and I were living in Boone, having just left Boston the first time, and were celebrating our sister's graduation, when he asked me how I knew Gavin was the one. He then began to describe a very beautiful, and strong woman, who I now know as my sister-in-law, Stephanie:) His girls and mine are about the same age. Macy and Rae are two weeks apart. Abbi and Roo are more like a year apart, but still play great together. (their son Hayes is the oldest grandchild and we had a great time with him, too. He is a very talented musician and he got to show off a little for Gavin and myself while we were home. We were both extremely impressed!)

They were at the party, too. We had so much fun being all together, and seeing our little ones play together. We did, however, greatly miss our little sister Jenny. It's the first time we've all been together in years and we all greatly missed her presence. (She's away on a year long mission trip)

The girls and I also got to spend several days with my cousin Elizabeth. She also has three girls. Hannah and Rae are three years apart. Roo and her second little girl, Mckenzie, are only two months apart in age, and her most recent little one, London, and Elle are only two weeks apart in age. Everywhere we went we got SO much attention. I guess it was quite a site to see the two of us girls, who look young for our age anyway, being followed by six little girls! We felt very "girl power"-y when we were together! They all played so great together and it was the most time I've ever spent with her precious little girls. We even got to spend the night one night!!! We had such a great time.

I am very blessed. I love my cousins, dearly. We never spent that much time together growing up, but it is wonderful to be friends with them now. My sister and I have always been friends, but it's also a special blessing to be friends with my brother and sister-in-law. We talked about real things on this trip, shared some of our dreams, went out on a double date. It was wonderful! We all have children and are coming into our own. It is a special kind of friendship, unique to my other relationships. I'm very thankful for each one.