This weekend we went to a extended family reunion in Northern Missouri. It's a tiny little town that holds many fond memories for me of weekends spent at my Grandparents house. It was a 8 hour drive round trip for us but well worth it.
I really enjoyed seeing some of my cousins I hadn't seen in probably 15 years or so. Some of them were just little kids themselves when I last saw them now have children of their own! It was so much fun catching up with everyone. It's so wonderful to be able to get every one's email addresses, look at their family websites, etc. It will be so much easier keeping in touch with everyone now. I've never been much for letter writing in spite of my best intentions.
Two of my cousins had babies within 3 weeks of Jayden. I thought that was pretty interesting. Another cousin had a son who is about 4 months younger than Trevor. It really put Trevor's size into perspective. He was quite a big bigger than Trevor, in height but especially in weight. He looked so tiny compared to Wes!
Jayden was so smiley all weekend. Everyone asked if she was always so good and happy. I only wish. She was only happy because she was held the entire time. She seems to need constant interaction whereas Trevor was for the most part content with either hanging out watching a mobile or in his bouncy. She gets mad if left alone for more than a few minutes most days. She was fine with all the "pass the baby" until we stopped in Washington for a visit with a friend and she wanted none of being held by her. Mom really enjoyed holding her pretty much nonstop and didn't want to put her down even when she was sleeping. She sat in the back of the van all the way there and back so her and Jayden could "chat."
Anyway... It was a fabulous weekend. We even stopped at a small ice cream shop in a tiny little town that we always stopped at when I was a kid taking the same trip down the same roads. It's next to a playground beside a river. It was nice to get out and stretch our legs. Trevor enjoyed swinging and climbing up the slide with a little assistance from daddy. I think the playground equipment was the same as what I played on when I was a kid. I wish we had pictures of me as a kid at that park. It would make for a nice scrapbook page. I don't think I've ever seen one though. I'm a little more camera happy than my mom was. This weekend did make me think of my dad alot and I really miss him sometimes. :o( Good times were always had when we "went down south"
While in Washington we stopped to visit my grandparents. My grandpa is in the nursing home. He's always been a prankster and in good spirits. It's hard to see him like he is now. He's really sad sometimes. He did say something funny though... not sure where this comes from. He was in his wheelchair by the nurses station and he said he was waiting for someone to come pick him up because they were kicking him out because of his denomination. I guess now that I look back even that is kind of sad because he's kind of lost his grip on reality. But it was funny how he said it. Maybe he got in a discussion over religion with another patient? I dunno. He's always been a devout Catholic and regular church goer so I suppose it's possible.
My grandmother on the other hand is doing very well. She is recovering from an aneurysm that she was stricken with over a month ago. She doesn't hear very well because the University hospital lost her hearing aid and her glasses. I'm getting her a free pair of glasses via the Gift of Sight* since she's really not able to get new glasses on her own. It's a blessing that I work in the career that I do that I'm able to help. She hasn't had an exam since 1997. So I guess this is a example of why people should have regular eye exams and keep their prescription up to date. She was very happy to see Jayden and Trevor. Trevor was extremely cranky as he was on the tail end of a very long weekend and hadn't had much to eat in about 2 days. He's soooo picky! Grandma recognized everyone, even Travis from across the room. It was hard to carry on a conversation though with her because of her lack of hearing. I was so happy to see her in better shape than she was the last time when I saw her at the Surgical ICU at the University.
I think Trevor's ice-cream-face is hilarious. These are just a tiny sampling of the pictures I took this weekend. If you want to see the rest you'll have to ask me for the link to the Kodak gallery. :o)
* Gift of sight is a non profit organization organized by the company I work for. I encourage you to donate your old eyeglasses to your local optical shop. When collected by retail shops in my organization the get directly to the foundation. Others are collected by Lions club and still get there in a more round about way. My charity work these days are many hours spent cleaning and repairing glasses on my kitchen counter and reading/labelling the glasses to be inventoried by RX by the company. Someday hopefully I'll be able to go on an international mission to be able to make a huge impact in the lives of thousands of people. :o)
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