road trippin'

i come from a fairly small family.  two parents, one brother, one sister, two grandmothers, two sets of aunts and uncles and four cousins.  that's it.  but growing up, we always did everything together.  my sister and aunts were second mothers.  my cousins were best friends.  i have plenty of fond memories of my childhood.  laughter.  good food.  songs and plays.  holidays.  smiles.  and to this day, i become a little girl on christmas morning when i know we're getting together.

last june, my cousin david proposed to his girlfriend, and the wedding was set for this june.  late 2011, we learned my cousin katie (david's sister) was expecting her second baby due this june.  the events were a mere 10 days apart, and they both happen to live in the same city.  the lightbulb went on.  it was time for a road trip and all of my family was going to be together.  jump for christmas-morning-joy!

school got out for summer, and we used the week off to pack up for our trip.  friday night was uncle jeff's wedding, and we burned the midnight oil, but i excitedly hopped out of bed saturday morning and spent a couple hours on last minute prep.  by 10 am, harper, crosby, nana and i were all packed up and ready to hit the road.



when nana took a turn behind the wheel, i took a chance to snap up the landscape that enveloped us.





and the happenings inside.



with two young girls, we had to make frequent stops.  we found grass to stretch out on, refueled bellies with meals, milks and coffees, and stopped to breathe in and enjoy.





just after 9 pm, after 11 hours in the car, with only a few whines and cries and many stops, we rolled into my brother and sister-in-law's house and into a week i knew was going to be chockfull of family.  of laughter.  of catching up.  of relaxing.  of celebrating.  of enjoying each other and being together.



we played with little dogs.  we got beautified.  we ate good food.  we lazed around on the front lawn in the sunshine and warmth.  we all chipped in with chores and the everyday.  the rest of the family- papa, tim, heather, ethan and griffin- arrived at dinner time.  and we family-fied a whole bunch more.




and thankfully, it's only been one day.  we have an entire week lying before us.  and i can't wipe the smile from my face.

family means the world to me.  i crave it.  i love it.  as i write this, i'm sitting at the kitchen island on my laptop.  heather and stephanie are doing hair.  chris is sitting on the floor with nike, the parrot.  tim is at the kitchen table.  my nephew, ethan, is reading over my shoulder.  (hi ethan.)  and we're all sharing several conversations in between us.  and i'm happy.

the week of family has only just begun.  we have a new baby to meet.  a wedding to celebrate.  some exploring to do.  michael is flying in on thursday.  more to come.

our roadtrip instagram photo dump...