Family Reunion, 2008

We headed up to West Virginia on September 11 for our annual family reunion. It's usually the 1st Saturday in August, but with Maggie due any moment, we postponed it this year. It was nice to get to go when it was a little cooler. We headed straight for my dad & stepmom's place in Elkins where we introduced Martin to their kitty, Casper. They did really, really well with each other - which we were really excited about. We wanted to see how they did with each other in hopes that they would get along so we could bring Martin with us when we head up for Christmas. Since we'll be gone for almost 2 weeks during Christmas & New Years, as always, and this will be Martin's first alone, we wanted to see if we could bring him along to WV for the first week so he'd get some attention and only fly solo while were with David's family in LA (that's Lower Alabama). It was such beautiful weather, we got to sleep with the windows open and listen to the crick, which Martin (who spent the night in the open window sill) loved. It was such great weather, a beautiful weekend to be in West Virginia.

So Friday morning, we all headed up to Fairmont to meet my brother Mark & his wife Kayla at Att's, the super yummy hot dog place for lunch. After David had his fill of dogs, we all headed over to my Aunt's place to meet up with my cousin Jennifer and her new baby Maggie. What a cutie! Jenn had an appointment, so we even got to babysit for a little while.

My step-mom Linda and Maggie

Before Dad & Linda headed home, we went up to my Great Aunt Ruby's house to visit with my Great Grandmother Haddix- she's a real hoot. She's been saying that she's going to die since as long as I can remember...she's never been a real positive person. She is getting older though, she's 92 now and she can barely hear so a visit with her is always interesting. Here's a picture of us together before we headed off.

Here's David & I, my brother Mark & his wife Kayla with our Great Grandmother

That night, Jenn, Kayla & I headed out to the grocery store for our moms and to get pizzas. It was Uncle Wally's birthday and since David & I are so close as well, we had a big combined birthday party. The funniest part is the cake. Neither Aunt Reta nor I had time to make one, so we bought one. This girl who looked about 16 wrote on the cake and oh my... Jenn said that it was only fitting for 2 cake designers to get a cake that looks like this...

Saturday we got up and started cooking before heading up to the cabin to meet the rest of the family. This was a fun reunion because there were 2 little ones in quite some time. Maggie and Ashlyn - my 3rd cousin's daughter. Ashlyn is 9 months so she was a bit more active than Maggie, but they were both sweet and it was nice to see the next generation starting. I know it excited my grandparents and Great Aunt & Uncle. I took lots of pictures, but somehow missed Volleyball & fishing. You'll see Bocce though. Here you go:

JP, silly as usual. Wouldn't be a family function without a silly picture of him.

We set up this teddy bear in the rocking chair to get some pictures of Maggie. She kept fussing every time we got out there, so we snapped some of Ashlyn and this one was by far my favorite.

Ashlyn taking her 2nd nap of the day...kids really can sleep anywhere!!

My great Aunt Annie & Uncle Bud

My brother Mark and sister-in-law Kayla

My grandparents with Maggie - this was so cute. They have been asking for a great-grandbaby forever. They are just head over heals for little Maggie.

Here's my favorite picture of Susan playing Bocce. I love the willow branches in the background. I remember when that tree was planted...it's so pretty now.

My mom with Maggie

We finally got a few pictures of Maggie. This one was cute, I love her little fingers.

Proud Mama!

My 3rd cousin Daniel & his family - wife Emily & daughter Ashlyn.

My 3rd cousin Devon & his girlfriend Andrea

My 2nd cousin Rodney, his wife Kim and their son Russell

Susan's ever expanding family!

This one was just for my mom. She wanted a picture of the 4 of us. Somehow we always take a picture to the end of the day when we are a little "less than fresh". I told her we'd take a better one when we're all home at Christmas.

It was such a great trip, we can't wait until Christmas. I told Maggie not to change to much, but I'm sure she'll be a completely different little girl by the time we see her again.

Labor Day Adventures

On August 28th, my mom & step dad came down for a visit - their first trip to Atlanta. From their place in West Virginia it's a good 9 - 10 hr drive. I think it's safe to say it was definitely one of the longer car trips they have ever taken. Despite being tired from the drive, we had a lovely weekend together.

Friday I had to go into work for a bit and process the payroll, so everyone enjoyed omelets from my favorite deli while I worked. Afterwards, we shopped a bit then headed to Red Robin (mom's favorite place they don't have in WV) for lunch. Then we headed across the top end to the other side of Atlanta to go to the Bass Pro Shop. At lunch we had decided to go to the IMAX to see the Dark Knight (for those of you keeping count - that would be #4 for us...yes we're nerds) so we stopped and got tickets on the way since it's still selling out. After a brief stop at Fry's (which Mike loved and David was impressed with "but Newegg.com is better") we headed to Bass Pro where Mike was like a kid in a candy store and he stocked up on all kinds of fishing gear. We made it back to the theater with time to spare and as soon as the first scene starts, the sound stops and they cannot fix it. Bummer! It was frustrating, but the Regal did a great job of compensating us for the inconvenience.

Anyway, Saturday was filled with much relaxing and good food, and Sunday morning they packed up and headed out after lunch. So, Sunday evening we met up with our friends Paul & Bethany at Chipotle for dinner and then back to our place. Bethany is a photographer too, so we geeked out looking at pictures while the boys played the Wii and made plans to spend Monday hanging out.

So, we got up bright and early and they picked us up with their dog Winston to go hiking through the Kennesaw battlefield near our houses. We had such a great time - it was a beautiful day! 4 hours, a few snacks, and over 2000 calories later we arrived back at our place to shower and change into our football team gear for a free lunch at Chick-fil-a...can you ask for more? I think not! That night Paul grilled up a mean Pork Tenderloin while Bethany & I once again geeked out over pictures and we enjoyed a lovely dinner at their place before heading home early (and exhausted) to catch up on some zzz's before the week began.

It was such a nice long weekend. I don't have any pics from our time with my folks (despite my best efforts to get them to pose with the Red Robin mascot at lunch), but I do have a few from our hike that aren't just beautiful scenery. There is a picture of Bethany & I, but the ones on my camera were blurry, so I'll have to get one from her. Enjoy!