Cousins, Brothers, Sisters, Family

A few weeks ago, John, Sarah, Emma and Johnny made a pit stop in Grand Forks.  We had so much fun and were very sad to see them continue on their journey West.  It was really entertaining to see the cousins interact.  This was the first visit they were old enough to play creatively and come up with some crazy antics.  It reminded me of how much I loved getting together with my cousins when we were all half our current size.  Being an aunt is really awesome! 

The first evening John got to be a sub in Tim's tennis league.  I'm pretty sure this was the first time they played together competitively in over ten years.

 

If Johnny had his way, he and Uncle Tim would have been doing this the whole evening:

 

Emma introduced Luke and Jack to some of the finer things in life.

Like tea parties.

Luke, Jack and Johnny were also perfectly happy playing the role of the minions to Emma the Queen.  

It was perfect harmony.

 

Emma and Jack were also pretty much inseparable.  Each night they slept together in the same bed.  We also heard a lot of, "I need to go downstairs with Jack because HE'S scared." or "I need Emma to come outside with me."

 We got to introduce them to some Midwest things like taco in a bag, chippers (chocolate covered potato chips) and there was even a fun thunderstorm.  No tornadoes this time, maybe next visit.

Johnny was not a fan of the thunder so I got to snuggle with him on the front porch until Luke, Jack and Emma wanted to take over.

Boy do we miss them like crazy.

 

All the pictures are of the kids, but don't you worry, the adults had all sorts of fun.

Think sisterly runs on the Greenway, Pinochle and Dutch Blitz.

See ya later Aligator

In the midst of moving, we were able to spend some quality time with friends and family.  It was kind of a last hurrah before leaving, knowing it would be way too long before we saw them again.  I captured some of this on camera, some of it I did not (you know who you are).

The more we move, the more I realize how small our world is.  We always meet (or re-meet, in some cases) good quality friends wherever we live.  They become like family to us and community is what this life is all about, right?  It makes life's downs more bearable and it's ups way more fun.  The downside to making friends and having family relatively close by is it makes it harder to move away.  We miss them terribly.  To put it plainly: it sucks and it's lonely.  Phone calls, skype dates and visits are all the more sweeter though.

Our gallivanting around the country has been great in the sense that we have friends and family all over the country.  Aaaaaaand, if anybody wants to check out the greatness that is Grand Forks, North Dakota, you always have a place to stay.  I'll feed you too.

Transformer Party

 

Party Time Prep

Luke had an awesome 5th birthday party,

if I do say so myself.

Okay, okay, I planned it, so of course I'm going to say that.

The prep:
A little pre gift opening practice courtesy of Nana, Papa and Auntie Ryna.

Pre party boxing

 

with an audience:

 

The building of the cake with my Mom and Jenn's help.

 

The finished project

 

A little pre party relaxing

 

Decorations and food

 

 

And now just waiting for the guests to come

Are they here yet?