To the brim......with special people

Summer vacation. Yep, love it. Ours has been taken in SD at grandma and grandpa's house for the last 5 years (maybe even longer)! I occasionally yearn for the days we can vacation elsewhere or even without kids (dare I imagine). But for now, I'm trying to really cherish the years of sharing my homeland with our kids. There's MUCH to see and as the kids age the schedule seems to get a little more packed! Our trip was jam packed FULL of time with special people. This year it seemed like there was so many highlights. It may have something to do with it being my first visit home that I wasn't pregnant, lactating, or with a newborn attached to my hip in almost 4.5 years (yea wow, I feel the same way). So, it was somewhat like appearing from beneath a rock for me (which I feel is a theme in my life the last few months)! We were also blessed to overlap our trip with several other family visits.......here's how it went down. We traveled early morning this time (on the road @ 5am). Worked great! It provided an "extra" morning nap, less stops yet daytime freedom to stretch our legs, and our quickest time to arrive traveling with the kiddos yet! We arrived to connect with my Aunt Tracey, whom I haven't seen for 12 years! Everyone but me was meeting her for the first time. It was pretty wild but good to see her after sooooo long. We also planned our trip to overlap with Uncle Kyle visiting from Louisiana. Here he's "roughing" Eli up a bit. Eli's diggin' it. As always, the kids were most excited for grandma and grandpa. The plans are always super hyped before we arrive for added excitement.....special snacks, a few hot spots, like Storybook Island, Old McDonald's Farm, a bike ride, etc. This trip we added: - a ride on the 1880 Train -a track race Kai entered with kids his age hosted by high school track coaches -a trip to the public pool for Kai with his second cousins, Henry and Frankie -Eli's 1st birthday party! Here's some shots with some of our special faces: Addie, Grandma, Shelbie, Grandpa Addie was sick the first few days of the trip until her antibiotic kicked in.....Grandma held her LOTS. Thanks mom. That smile you see was VERY rare the first few days. Grandma also stayed with Eli during our train ride. She was our ride home at the end of the line. Thanks again mom. Grandpa and Kai on the train. Grandpa taking his turn cuddlin' Addie Kelly (my bro's girlfriend) and Reid, Derrick and I, and Kyle at Eli's 1st b-day party. Uncle Reido snuggling Addie during the thunderstorm. Great Grandpa Ernie and Shelbie. Love this guy! Kai and Henry (my cousin's son) becoming better buds each visit. Kai protecting Bridget (Kyle's girlfriend) with a flashlight from the thunderstorm. Great Grandma Joyce meeting Eli for the first time. Got to see my friend Ashley (who was a fellow intern at UVA and now happens to be stationed at Ellsworth in RC) and her new baby! Kai holding 2 wk old Zachary. A few more pics from the week to come, but altogether a very fun, BUSY trip and lots of people whom we love to share it.