Road Trip March 2010!

Grandma...

Grandpa...

Cousin Owen...

KayLynn and Kimber!

We just got back from a crazy road trip vacation! We all had a blast visiting family... truly it was good for the heart to see everyone. I only wish it hadn't been such a whirlwind trip and we could have spent longer with each family member. As it is, we stayed in five different homes during the week and a half we were gone.

First I went to my cousin Katie's wedding shower. It was fun to see all my relatives, and of course, I love wedding-related stuff. It's so exciting because Katie is my youngest cousin and here she is getting married!

Then we went to visit my sister Erin and my cousin Kelly, Kelly's husband Ricky, and her son Owen. Owen is only 4 months older than Emery and they had lots of fun playing... well... near each other. They haven't quite figured out how to play together yet... but it was fun for us adults! :)

Then we went to see Jimmy's mom and sister and their respective families. Again, Emery had a baby about her age, her cousin Kimber to play... around. Kimber is adorable, but she was going through a stage where she would walk up to whatever Emery was playing with and take it away forcefully saying "MINE!" This would make Emery cry, but if we forced Kimber to let Emery play with her toys then Kimber would cry... so that was fun! :) My favorite was when Kimber's mom (Jimmy's sister) Tracy would hold Emery then Kimber would fuss and cry and cling to her mama's leg and say over and over "MINE! MINE!" I don't think poor Kimber was sad to see us leave.

On the upside, Kimber's older sister KayLynn gave me a FABULOUS pedicure... she's hired! and it was really fun to see Tracy (Jimmy's sister) and her husband Josh. We even went on this crazy outing trying to catch little calves! When we finally caught one I learned a whole new respect for mama cows... who knew that cows could be agressive??

It was really good to see Jimmy's mom too, although Emery had to sleep in the bathroom because the temporary house they're living in while they build their house is all one room... except the bathroom. So in order to avoid the lights and sound and people milling around, we put her inthe bathroom. She didn't seem to mind at all! :)

Next we went to see Jimmy's dad and stepmom, Jim and Rene. I think Emery struck fear into their hearts because she was "cruising" the furniture and basically tearing their house apart. We spent the whole time following her around saying... No Emery don't tear up the magazines... No Emery, stop pushing buttons on the DVD player... No Emery, Don't poke your cousin Shielle (who's only 6 months old) in the eye... No Emery, don't pull all the books out of the bookcase... No Emery, don't eat the cat food...

Jim and Rene watch Shielle 5 days a week while her parents are at work. She has been a difficult colicky baby and she always sleeps best in grandma Rene's arms. When she's not hanging out on grandma's lap, she sits and plays with her toys in a little "house stroller" they have for her. Having Emery there was a reminder that their days of having an un-babyproofed house are nearing an end and soon Shielle will be tearing around just like Emery is!

On our drive home we stopped at my grandma's house for the night. It was nice to see her too but by that time we really just wanted to get home! So we only visited for a few minutes over breakfast and then headed on home.

You know that commercial where this couple gets back from a vacation and she falls face-first onto her bed and says (it's subtitled so you can understand her muffled words) "I love you... I missed you... I'll never leave you again!" That's how Jimmy and I felt sleeping in our own bed. and I'm sure Emery would agree when she was back in her own crib again!