Making myself feel better

The day after Christmas on my calendar has long been claimed for Ft. Worth. Mom, Michael, the boys and I were going to drive up today and back tomorrow to visit with Mimi and the rest of the group. Even Waynne, the latest person to say he would like to voluntarily join our family (brave man), is there! I woke up this morning, showered, packed for all three of us, ate some Shipley's...and promptly felt sick. What on earth? It felt like a hangover that could go either way (note: I have not had a drop to drink in days). I didn't feel like I would make it for four-plus hours in the car without puking. I decided to stay home. The next decision was whether the boys would go. I was hesitant to send them because they are a lot of work (although much less so than in previous years). My mom looked THRILLED at the idea of taking her grandsons on a road trip with her and Uncle Michael. They left. I was sad. I felt totally fine after they left. I was mad at myself for not sucking it up and going, but I made the best decision I could at that time. If I had felt like crapola an hour earlier or later, I would be in Ft. Worth right now.

I decided to make lemonade out of today's lemons. More than a day for Mikey and me to do whatever we want! Woo-hoo! Except he is down for the count with a cold or something else that has been nagging him for a week. I have suggested going to a movie, picked a time, asked him to get up and shower so we can take advantage of a kid-free day. Not so much. He has been in bed for many hours (to be fair, I spent time in bed as well, but my hours in bed ended hours ago), and I am ready to get going. So here I am! Time to blog and make myself feel better since the next blog due to be written is more about Mimipalooza. If I can't be with everyone in Ft. Worth right now, the next best thing is to rehash some of the fun we had this summer!

After scheduling and rescheduling our family photo shoot, we managed to squeeze it in right before Annie had to head back home. Whew!

The cousins - not a bad shot

Oh how I love this picture of when she told us to get closer. 

We love our Mimi!

I know it was torture for some (most) of you, but I am so glad we did this!

This is one for the ages. 

She captured his sweetness!

We squeezed in a senior portrait session. A boy and his truck.

One of my favorite pictures ever. Thanks to Kim Tyler for convincing him to grab the balloons. :)

Such joy! 

After the photo session, some of us decided to venture to the Mystic Aquarium. We left Ryan with CC so he could get a good nap. Think our group likes to take pictures of the beluga whales?? 

The last time William was here, he was a year old. He loved it now that he really understood what he was seeing.

You know Aunt Sallie loves me because she agreed to be in a picture.

It warms my heart to see my entire family enjoy spending time with the boys. So far, all of the guys who have married into the family (or are about to) are great with kids. Keep it up, cousins!

It's hard to beat watermelon by the fire pit. Don't tell him we had s'mores around the fire pit several times after they went to bed. He thinks watermelon is as good as it gets. 

Finally! The time has come to ride the Essex Steam Train. William had so much fun sitting next to Katie on the first leg of the trip that he insisted on sitting with her on the way back too. See what I mean about my family being great with the kids?

CC enjoyed some snuggle time with Ryan on the train. 

We rode on a paddleboat. Ryan enjoyed the available snacks.

More fun with food.