There is Nothing Like Weddings and Funerals to Bring People Together

Unfortunately, it was the latter that brought all of our family together...

Elizabeth and I were in the DC area for business at the end of February and made our rounds through Pennsylvania to visit with family. Little did we know that we would be back two weeks later for my grandmother's funeral. It was a sad reason to have to make the trip, but it was truly wonderful to be able to take all the kids with me to meet aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, extended family and friends that we don't get to see as often as we would like. (I also have to mention that is possible to fly solo with 3 kids and car seats. ) I feel especially fortunate to get to see my sister, her husband and two boys again, as they just found out they will be packing up in the next two months and moving to Germany for the next 3 years. Lizzy really enjoys playing with her 3 year old cousin Sam, and says that when she has a baby she is going to name him Baby Cole. We were able to get all of the cousins to sit together for 3.4 seconds and snap a couple of group photos. Grammy of course was happy to have all her grand babies all in one place, but I am also sure she was equally glad when we all left and she had some piece and quiet again.

Casey staring at my mom's crazy dogs in the back yard.

Ryan's father passed as soon as we returned from Pennsylvania, which then brought together the other side of the family. Elizabeth, Ava, and Casey were once again reunited with their other cousins Reina and Milo. New baby Liam was not in attendance, being only 6 days old. With the weather being much warmer in TX than in PA, we were able to take some of the chaos that five children bring outside.It was wonderful to see so much family in such a short time span. Now without all the travel and company, life seems kind of boring. We are back to the daily grind of work, school, eating, and sleeping.

P.S. Somewhere in that month of chaos, I celebrated my birthday. Now, I can really say that I am in my 30's.