Family time in NY

This weekend was our big family summertime get-together in upstate NY. Everyone was able to make it but Aunt Karen and Uncle Larry. They were missed! Here's a few of my favorite photos from the weekend.

We caught up with everyone and the cousins had a blast playing together while Aunt Allison hung out on the couch, overtaken with morning sickness. I'm sorry Allison! Keep taking the unisom! Seth and Mary and their 3 beautiful little girls were in from IN. The girls never cease to amaze me with the funny things they conjure up to say. "Aunt Jessica, her beautiful... (looking at lydia). her has a butt." And Mr. Owen - Allison told a story about how he coined the phrase "beep it up" after hearing big trucks beep as they backed up. It was great to see Josh and Allison too and share in the happiness of their baby-to-be. Aunt Sarah helped to entertain the kids and took lots of her infamous "self-portraits + 1" with her nieces and nephew. Mom and dad kept busy keeping us laden with lots of amazingly homemade food, dripping with calories and cholesterol, and worth every bite. Late night and early morning chats catching up out on the screened in porch were lovely.

We had a large family photo -- complete with all the drama that goes with those pressure-filled moments in between Lydia crying, Ellie cheesing it up for the promise of more candy, and Mom and Dad looking down at the grandkids instead of up at the camera...it all paid off for a halfway decent photo to remember 2008.

Dad's big party was on Saturday and a big success! Lots of friends came up for BBQ pork, fun, and fellowship to help celebrate 60 years. Mary made a fabulous dvd of photos from Dad as a child all the way up to recent photos with all the grandkids. Yes, we cried.

The trip out and back were pretty rough this time, due to a new upright-sitting carseat, and a big old molar coming in for Lydia. The trip back home this way was better, thanks to infant motrin, but the trip out was really rough. Probably because we didn't know that the tooth was on its way! I checked a day or two before we left, and didn't feel anything poking through. Leave it to a long car drive to bring out the best. Hooray for Aunt Mary for noticing it and saving the day. Maybe the next baby around we'll learn to look for things more intuitively. At least we can hope.

And now we're back home. Home at last where Lydia reached for her crib tonight when we put her down, and sweetly snuggled in, happy to be home sleeping flat instead of in her carseat. Another summer family-time in NY is done. We'll look forward to Christmas!