Family Time

The long awaited visit has finally arrived. With it comes a few extra bonuses. Adam, Olea, & Lavendar flew into town to visit the family for a couple of weeks. It must be hard to be so popular and in demand. Lucky for us they picked our house as one of the places to park for a few days. I must say the cousins are thrilled. We were thrilled to have Aunt Shirley, a.k.a., Uhmah, fly in from sunny California as well as Steve, Tori and their family drive up from South Carolina. With Jeremy, Glenn and Betsy rounding out the group it was a Friday night party to remember. The last time all the siblings were together was around Christmas about 6 or 7 years ago. The best we can do lately is about 1/2 so getting 5 out of 6 people here was pretty amazing.
Cameron and Ashton seem to fight over who gets to sleep or snuggle LaLa first. It is rather fun to hear her, touch her and laugh at her 2 year old determination. She even has Sirius under her spell. He will sit and let her give him a bath without protest. Perhaps she should visit more often.
It is difficult to think the kids will get much homework done this week with weather in the upper 70s and family ready and willing to romp in the yard. I ask you, how can homework possibly compete with a scooter, hoola hoops and basketball in the front yard on such a beautiful day? I can hear the conversation with Ashton's teacher already, "You mean you actually wanted me to finish that math worksheet instead of counting the free throws against Uncle Adam?" If only the weather could lure them back to NC for awhile. I mean, I understand, we just can't compete with Washington's blustery winds, short summers, and lengthy winters. After all, we only have Indian summers in October, the NC State Fair and cousins that ride you on their scooters. Oh well, return to Washington if they must. But I promise you this. . . come Christmas when we are singing "Jingle Bells" in our bermuda shorts and tank tops they will think twice about where the party is. We love them and they know we will miss them terribly when they leave.

Scooter mama

The time seems to slip so quickly by, just like watching our children grow up. One minute you watch them take their first step and the next day you watch them step out of the car into middle school. I am so grateful that families can be eternal. This gives us more time to work on ours. Memories are the photographs of our hearts. We hold them close and view them often.
We are struggling to fit as much into a day as possible and fill the album. That is one of the great things about being a kid, you blissfully live in the moment. That is just one more reason it is so fun to kick off our shoes and run in the yard with the children. For a few short moments we can forget the phone ringing, the calls we need to return, the bills to pay, the report due to that "favorite" client or the dinner that is not cooking itself and just have FUN.
Right now, take 10 minutes and go have some fun with your kids. If you don't have kids, borrow a couple and play like a kid. It is amazing how much fun you will have. It may even help a kid have a better day. And to all my family, I don't want to miss the opportunity to let you all know how much I love you.