Miss Jae and Grammy

My mother got the privilege of babysitting with her 

youngest two granddaughters today.

My SIL took her older daughter to see the new Harry Potter movie 

today and didn't think it was appropriate for a 3 year old and a toddler.

  

They had some good cuddling time while waiting for Jae 

to settle down and quit fighting sleep.

Just look at those rolls!  Love the rolly-polly look of babies this age.

I wish that chubby thighs was a good look on 40-somethings. 

Oh well.

*grainy pics from my iPhone.  Not sure what I am doing wrong with it.  If all else fails I guess I should read the manual.  :)

Haiti Comes To Huntsville

When my mission team goes to Haiti we stay in the guesthouse of Michelle and Greg Roberts.

They are full-time missionaries in Port au Prince, Haiti.

Today Hubs, Allison and I got to see the Roberts as they were passing through town

 on their whirlwind vacation.  When missionaries come home everyone 

wants to see them and they have a long list of to-do's, 

so I feel honored that we had a chance to sit down have have a good visit with them.

This is Michelle Roberts and her son Dustin.

Luke Doiron spent some time talking with Greg Roberts.

The Robert's daughter, Ashton, and Allison enjoyed playing with the younger girls.

Are you ever too old to play with Barbies?

Michelle and Jenny looking lovely getting dinner ready to go at the Chapman's home.

It was nice for everyone to see everyone when we were actually not 

sweaty, hot, and nasty from a day of working.

Sweaty and hot is the norm in Haiti.  

You really do get used to it.  Even me - and I hate to sweat.

Cousins

 The following pictures are what happens when you get Bruce to help with photos.

The first photo - fine.  Kinda boring but fine.

But then Bruce started calling out a quick succession of poses.

And this is what happened.  

What you don't see is that off-camera Bruce is modeling the pose he wants for them to do.

My hubs has a silly streak that comes out at strange times.

Kinda wish now that I had snapped a pic or two or two of those sweet moves. 

Now that would have been funny.

The Northern Family

It was good to get to see the "other" grandparents and aunt.

My kids are fortunate to live in the same city as one set of their grandparents.

Getting to see the other side of the family is a treat that only happens once or twice a year.

We are hoping to get back again this year around the holidays.

Over the River and Through the Woods

It's time once again to travel 700 miles north to see the other side of the family.  

The big change this trip is that Ben got to help with driving.

He needed some interstate practice.

I am still not used to this picture.

Wasn't it just last week that he was riding in the backseat?

In a booster seat?

Yikes, time flies!

Allison and I held down the fort in the backseat.  

Lots of chatting and sleeping.

As a trip should be - ideally you should load up the car, get buckled in, 

and then have someone gently wake you when you arrive at said destination.  

Right?

This trip we decided to take Miss Peaches.

Although she pretty much had run of the back end of the van 

she spend most of the trip between Allison and me.  

We girls gotta stick together.

Blackbeary looks kind of lonely back there.

By hour 10 or so of the trip Peaches did go back and sleep in her bed.

I will be glad when beaming places gets perfected.

You know, like in the old Star Trek episodes.  

That would be my favorite way to travel.

But in the meantime, having uninterrupted car time 

with my hubs and kids isn't too bad.

Happy 235th Birthday America!

Someone I know gets very excited about family gatherings.

Especially when they involve fireworks.

Whenever my family gets together there is silliness

and a lot of laughs.

My brother's yard has lots of room for a rowdy game of horseshoes.

That's right people, horseshoes can be downright rowdy.

At least it can with my family.

Such form...

Such skill.

Poetry in motion. 

What's a family gathering without food.

So much food that to try it all might make someone very full.

Not that this happened to me.

Ha!

I also made a discovery at this party.

My mom is quite the cut-throat Croquet player.

She sent her granddaughter's ball flying!

Of course she did it to show Allison how to knock her opponent's ball. 

That's her story and she's sticking to it.

The evening ended with a very nice fireworks display.

Ben had a blast helping his uncles shoot the fireworks.

He managed to keep all of his fingers and eyebrows.

When will I ever get over being nervous about such things?

All in all, a very nice Independence Day Celebration.

Too bad it only comes around once a year.

On The Road Again

Getting ready to go to Wisconsin to visit the other side of the family. 

Nothing like some love in a ziploc or two to make the reunion a little sweeter.