I'm Happy To See You Here

When my sisters and I got up this morning, my aunt (who went to bed after us) had already gone out to get a selection of bagels and cream cheese for breakfast. Cynthia and I had just eaten when Melisaa came out all dressed for a workout. She wanted to go for a walk. Cynthia and I were both a little reluctant, but we wanted a chance to see the neighborhood and get a little fresh air and exercise.

At first we were laughing so hard for various reasons. I joked about how I didn't have the bladder control I used to after having four children. Cynthia and Ialso didn't want to really exert ourselves since we had just eaten. Melissa started jogging just to get her heart rate up, even though she wasn't going very fast. We probably walked for around an hour with a stop for me to go to the bathroom. We enjoyed looking at all of the different types of houses and all the beautiful, tall trees. We especially enjoyed the cooler weather (low to mid 70s and cloudy).

Meanwhile, my Uncle Boy started cooking and kept cooking for a couple of hours. We heard that people were coming over, but we had no idea how many.

We counted about 28 people total, including small children. There were five small children that really added to the chaos. This is a picture of a mere few of the photographers. These were the ones that took pictures of my mom, sisters, grandmother, and I. My cousin Matt took the big family photo that I'll share later when I get home. It was hilarious watching him piecing together a "tripod" to support the camera so everyone could be in the picture. It was chaotic but this is the type of thing that makes me want to live closer to all of them so that we can get together more often. My family is just FUN to be around.

I knew that I did the right thing in coming here this weekend when my grandmother said several times, "I'm happy to see you here."

Throughout the day, Patrick texted updates on Anthony's (1-1) and Alex's (0-6) soccer games. He was especially upset about how badly Alex's teammates played today. As of this writing, Alex is at his friend's sleepover birthday party, and Anthony is at the Homecoming Dance. Natalie and Eric should be in bed sound asleep. It's been fun here, but I'm really looking forward to seeing my family again.