Family Reunion

(Photo by Kelli)

We had a great time getting together with Jason's parents, siblings and their spouses, and all the nieces and nephews the last week of August. I didn't unpack my camera the whole week, but luckily my in-laws documented the trip. We met up in Montauk, New York, at the very tip of Long Island and stayed in a house a few blocks from the beach. We had a great time, and really appreciate all the time and effort Ann and Randy put in to planning, baking, organizing, cooking, packing, shopping, unpacking, and more that made the trip run so smoothly. I ate my weight in miniature banana bread loaves. Thanks, Grammy!

(Photo by me...but I used Ann's camera)
We were very lucky to avoid a stomach bug that quickly passed through the house. Others were not so fortunate. We didn't see Ethan for the first 3 days of the trip except to feed him or force him to bed. He loved playing at the beach and running around with his cousins. I love this cute picture of all of them together. There's a good chance if you're born into this family you're going to be blond and a boy. (Photo by Kelli)

One of our favorite memories from the trip was a fun party Grammy threw on the beach for Colin's 1st birthday, complete with the fire on the beach and 'smores and chocolate cake and all.

(Photo by Ann)

Our favorite Ethan quotes of the week:

• Our plane was descending into New York when Jason told Ethan to look out his window. He did, and dramatically yelled, "Land ho!" About 12 rows of passengers cracked up, because my kids don't have "inside" voices.
• We did a little devotional on Sunday morning in lieu of church services, with a lesson from Papa and some primary songs. Ethan said the closing prayer, which included this line: "...and I'm glad we went to pretend church, because I've never been to pretend church before..." I love his prayers. The other day in "real" church he said the closing prayer in primary. They had played a game about the temple, and he said, "...and I'm glad we got to learn about the temple even though I only got one turn..." The adults loved that.
• On the drive back to the airport, Ethan unplugged his headphones from his DVD player (while still on his ears) and "plugged" them into the box of milk he was drinking from and said, "Hmm. I hear a cow."

There aren't a lot of pictures of Ethan, and the ones we do have, he's in motion. That's not unusual.

(Photos by Ann)

It was wonderful to spend time with everyone and to watch our kids make and renew friendships. We're looking forward to the beach house in So. Cal. in 2010! Maybe I'll actually have gotten all the sand out of my dryer by then.

(Photo by Megan)