Annie graduates!

My youngest cousin, Annie, graduated from Trinity University last month. I do still love her even though she went to Southwestern's rival college. It's not exactly a mean rivalry anyway. We small schools have to stick together among the giants in the state of Texas.

The graduate and her wonderful parents

I left the boys on Saturday morning to celebrate her graduation in San Antonio. I missed the actual ceremony, but that's OK because I wasn't invited (no hard feelings - there were only four tickets per graduate!). I roomed with Mimi at the swanky hotel, which meant that I got to enjoy a couple of hours in our room while they did the graduation thing. I have to say it was pretty swell. After that, we did a late lunch/early dinner and gorged ourselves on some tasty Mexican food.

Annie had a big group of cheerleaders supporting her! Annie's boyfriend, Waynne, received a graduate degree that same day, so there was a lot to celebrate.

We headed back to the hotel and spent most of the night chatting. I did join some of the McKruegers for a boat ride on the Riverwalk that evening. It was fun! I know it's touristy, but I'm a tourist in San Antonio. I only get there about once every four years.
The next morning, I took Mimi out for a Mother's Day brunch. I'm not sure we have ever spent Mother's Day together, so that was a special treat for both of us.

Happy Mother's Day!

Visitors

May was a fun month of visitors for us. First, Abbey came for a weekend. It was so nice to see her and to watch her bond with the boys. There is something so touching about seeing your old (length of friendship, not age!) friends love on your kids.

We took this opportunity to have a park playdate so Abbey could catch up with some old MHS'ers. The woman who took the picture asked if we were a playgroup. I guess you could say that. We were "playing" at parks together long before we had kids!

See statement above about watching old friends with your kids. :) Petro and William seemed to enjoy each other's company quite a bit.

I probably have this same picture from 14 years ago.

I wonder if Emily and JP remember much about life before baby! It all seems like a dream when you are in that newborn haze.

Ryan loves being around people...and snacks. Emily brought some delicious Goldfish-like snacks, but they were way better than Goldfish. Ryan kept sneaking a handful.

I don't think we have changed much over the last 20 years. We do have better control over our hair, thank goodness.

Two weeks later, we welcomed Ken, Virginia, and Christopher for a whole weekend! This is monumental, people. They are usually here for about 18 hours at a time. I felt spoiled getting to spend so much time with them. Virginia and I used to live together (which meant Ken was always around too). I have missed them!..Anyway, we took Sophia and the rest of the kids to the park Saturday morning. It was HOT, so we didn't last very long.

The three little ones. There are about five months separating them. It will be fun to watch them grow together.

Such good dads! We need to get one with baby Colin next time.

I can't believe these two had never met, and their parents hadn't seen each other since they were born. It was about time!

Ken and Virginia came to town to throw JP and Emily a baby shower. I totally slacked on pictures during the actual shower, but I do enjoy this picture of the party after the party. We were reminiscing about the first shower this group ever threw...let's just say we have gotten much more tame!

That's a great-looking group of guys.

As usual, I pestered our guests for pictures right before they headed out. That's how I roll.

The old roomies

That is some serious cuteness.

Christopher was such a trooper on his first big trip as a toddler. I'm sure he was tired of all the schedule disruptions, but he was a model house guest!

Best pool ever

Our MOPS table scheduled a playdate at Taylor's pool, but only a couple of us were able to make it that particular day. Unfortunately, Michelle left before I went crazy with the camera. This meant I got lots of pictures of Carter and William (Ryan was with Grammy)! Keep in mind this little man is a full year younger than William. He's so big that I sometimes forget he isn't even three yet.

This little spot is off the main lazy river. That's right - the pool has a lazy river! It is so much fun.

This "beach entry" to the pool is so wonderful for little kids. We have been back since this trip, and even Ryan does great with it.

There is abundant shallow water for the kids to enjoy. Carter prefers to spend his time in water that is just slightly at or over his head. He thinks it's funny. Time for swim lessons, Taylor!

Such a joyful boy!

I love this picture of them. Taylor gave me the ultimate compliment - last I checked, it was the wallpaper on her cell phone.

Soaking up the sun on a beautiful day by the pool!

We are Family

Every other year, my extended family gets together for a reunion in Salado, Texas. My great-great-grandparents had a bunch of children (nine? eight? Mom?), and this reunion is intended to reunite all of their descendants. Of course some of the siblings had no kids, and a lot of the branches have fallen off the radar, but we still have several dozen family members who show up year after year. Fact of the day - I was born during the 1980 family reunion. I was the last addition to the family tree that was put together that year.

I was on the reunion planning team in 2006, and the reunion was about a month before our wedding. Talk about crazy planning mode that spring. Since that year, I am always so delighted to just show up at the reunion and not be in charge! My mom and aunt volunteered for the next reunion, so I have a feeling my days of having zero responsibility are numbered.

My mom decided to come this year, which was exciting for a number of reasons. She got a suite in our motel, which made the biggest difference in the quality of our stay! Mom, William and I stayed in the suite, while Ryan and Mikey had a regular room. And after not having my mom at the previous reunion, I sure appreciated all the help with the boys. 

We picked Mom up at the airport in Houston and then drove to Salado. We let the boys play on the playground for a few minutes before loading up in the car and going to Walburg for dinner.

So began my love affair with Instagram! I love the original picture, but the colors in this version are just stunning.

Look how peaceful and quiet they are. 

As usual, one of them notices that the other one is doing something that is WAY more interesting. 

Look how close Ryan got to William! From what I remember, William was pretty patient with him. This is how it usually starts, and it tends to end in someone pushing, crying, or throwing a toy. These boys challenge us every day! 

I sure do love that big guy.

I just don't get the obsession with throwing rocks. He could have done this all day. 

The horseshoe tournament started out slowly, but family members started streaming in and filling up the brackets. Uncle Mike (the guy with the excellent form) was the runner-up. We were so proud!  

For some reason the tournament is always male-dominated. There is no reason women can't play horseshoes! Leave it to my mom to jump right in and blaze a trail. 

William was dying to try his hand at horseshoes. Mom found some kind family members who let him butt in and throw a horseshoe so he could say he played. I think this kid is on a mission to play every sport that has ever been a twinkle in someone's eye.

Annie and Ryan have a very special friendship. While Ryan was napping, she decided to try and win William over. They have a mutual love of baseball, so that's a great place to start!

William stood like this for a good five minutes. He was in the middle of playing baseball with CC and Annie, when a few little girls jumped in the pool nearby. He clearly could not even think straight. It was hilarious.

Mom and Annie went and sat down on the steps because William was distracted for so long!

They are playing with a stomp rocket. You usually step on it, and the rocket flies in the air. Aunt Lisa thought it would be fun for William to sit on it and and make it go.

It didn't work at ALL! William was cracking up, but this is as high as the rocket went from being sat on.

Annie's little buddy is awake!

The annual volleyball game. Our branch of the family pretty much never participates, but it seems like fun for those who enjoy such athletic endeavors!

Generations of family members have done this exact same thing at the Stagecoach Inn while waiting for the rest of their family to get ready for dinner.

Ryan and I spent some time outside the restaurant while everyone waited for the food to come. He was not thrilled to be back in a high chair. We actually had a nice time exploring outside.

This was the result of William's big day with no nap. This has never happened before, but he was just that tired. I knew something was up when he told me not to put food on his plate. He looked really out of it. I scooted his high chair over to me, and he was instantly asleep. I must have kept him there for 15 minutes or so.

At this point, my mom realized he was taking a serious nap, and she insisted on taking him. I think this may have been the highlight of her trip. He is not Mr. Cuddly, so she enjoyed it quite a bit. Because of this super late nap, he ate pie for dinner and was wide awake until well after 11. That's what vacation is all about, I suppose!

The actual reunion meeting moved locations this year, and this lovely lady greeted us at the door. I said something along the lines of, "How long do you think it will be until someone takes a picture with her?" Aunt Lisa replied "about five seconds" and sat right down.

There's Mimi in the middle of the esteemed elder family members.

It must have been nearly 10 pm at this point. See how wired William looks?

We all went to bed late but rallied for Jones family church, always a highlight for me. Too bad it wasn't a highlight for Ryan because I spent about half of the service outside with all the other moms of small children who wouldn't sit still. It was actually a nice time for all of us to chat. In the picture above, Aunt Lisa took William to the front for the children's portion of the service. He didn't participate in the Q&A part with Bob, but it sure was cute to see him up there with all the big kids.

This was the scene as everyone was packing up to head home. I had this revelation that this is what it's all about. My cousins were watching William and Ryan, and various aunts/grandparents/other relatives were keeping track of the other kids. It warms my heart to see all the generations interacting, and especially to see them with their eyes on the young ones. I love it that there were so many people there that Mikey and I can trust with our boys. We are blessed!

I know I took a lot of pictures, but I also have a lot of shots in mind that I should have taken but didn't. Thankfully, someone else with a fancy camera took a few more that I will share once they make their way to me.