Family Visit

Be forewarned: I've posted several pictures from our recent family visitors!! Brode had kept talking about his "Boo, Nena, Ree" for so long. We kept the surprise until the day of their arrival. He was taking his nap when they arrived... He was so excited to see his little friends in his very own house!

Their first night was filled with baths, "movie time" and popcorn! Brode had picked out the Cinderella cups for his cousins all by himself! I believe they watched Tinkerbell... (yes, Brode enjoyed it, too)! :)
Makylee aka "Ree" was such a sport with Brode Bear. She played with him constantly and made him laugh harder than I've heard him laugh... He adores his Ree-Ree.
Brode is completely at home with his cousins. I literally didn't have to do a thing for Brode while his cousins were here! They would play with him, eat with him, and he'd even say, "Come get me, Ree!!!!" after every nap time (and in the mornings too)!Little Ashlynn aka "Booga" would play that recorder almost every day. I have to admit, it was a tad "too much" but now that she's gone, I miss hearing her songs!! :) I hope your practicing at home, Booga!
Oh, let me tell you... these little girls LOVED baby Bryson! They absolutely cherished and "babied" him!  I think he loved the extra attention, too!
Little Kenadee aka "Nena" would have loved another baby brother or sister!! At least she gets to practice with her cousins... 
Makylee Rae... already 8 years old... I can't believe how time flies! She's holding my second baby!! She's such a great helper!
Okay, so while my family was in town, we took a visit to a nearby park, near the Colorado River. I decided to bring leftover bread for the kids to feed the geese. After venturing near the water, we quickly turned back around (practically throwing the entire loaf of bread at the attacking geese just to get away)! They seriously must not have eaten all weekend... we were attacked by dozens of geese!! (Now I know why there's a fence around the entire playscape).Brode LOVES this thing at the park! Four people can ride on a different animal and they basically just bounce back and forth! This time he got to do it with three friends!!

Brode and Kenadee became good friends this trip, he being two and her being three. They quickly learned how to play, chase, and even tease each other... 

Although Brode would sometimes run away from his "Nena" he absolutely loved her! The day my family left, he kept finding toys Kena was playing with and would say, "No, no Bryson. That's Nena's toy!" :(

Ah, best of friends... Brode flying the airplane while Kenadee was on the lookout for alligators!!Bryson also swang for the very first time while his cousins were in town!  Although a tad wobbly, he seemed to enjoy being free & feeling the wind in his fuzzy hair! 
Yeah! Thanks to my big sis, I finally got a picture taken with my baby boy!! I can't believe how big he is already. Where does the time go?
Well, while my family was in town, a good friend of mine offered us two tickets to the UT vs NU volleyball match! So Jamie and I quickly jumped on board and headed to Austin for an exciting volleyball game (thanks Daddies for baby-sitting for us)!! 
Andrew had his homecoming game the last night my family was in town, so we took all the kids to the big football game. Now, all of the kids liked this eagle, but little miss Kena was obsessive with this thing! I couldn't count how many times I heard her yell, "EAGLE!!" at the top of her lungs, and then, "What's your name???" Well, we found out the Eagle's name was Ruth... and she was quite a sport for stopping by our kids several times throughout the night.

I can't thank you enough for taking the time (and money) to come visit us, my precious family. It was especially hard to say goodbye this time. I think seeing our babies get along so well and having to say goodbye really brought me to tears this time around... We love you all so much and miss you like crazy. Brode hasn't stopped asking if "Boo, Nena, and Ree" are coming back over. It makes me sad to keep him from his best friends. I know God has a plan for us while we are in Texas, but my heart is desperately missing home this week, especially after having a houseful of familiar noises. I'm so thankful Christmas isn't too far away... We will look forward to making more memories with you then. Thank you for coming down south!!!