In times of test, family is best.

It was wonderful to be able to visit with so much family during our trip. My Grandma, the cheeriest cancer patient you'll ever meet, had us over to her apartment several times and always had delicious comfort food waiting for us. If you've never had her Yorkshire Pudding, you've never lived. I don't know many people my age whose Grandma will compete in lawnmower races, but mine will. She tried her best to let the kids win, shifting down and all that, but the speed demon in her couldn't help itself. She played Peek-a-Boo with Teagan, shared many a treat, helped her shred a bunch of old documents (for some reason T loved this?) and played with her enough that instead of calling her "Grandma Great", Teagan just started calling her "Great." She really is Grrrrreat. It was so special for me to see she and Teagan building a relationship and playing together. Teagan's the eldest girl of the eldest girl of the eldest girl :) Because I'm the eldest, I remember her giving me horsey rides and swimming with me and being all sorts of fun and it's amazing that she hasn't changed (although I don't believe her doctor permits horsey rides anymore). I love this woman so much. Grandad's pretty awesome too - we visited with him, but no photo opportunities presented themselves. He was very generous with his candy supply when it came to Teagan and she knew just where to go.

We were fortunate enough for our visit to overlap with Uncle Gary, James & Emma from England. We all usually visit in August, so it was a wonderful surprise to hear that they were coming. Of course, it would have been nicer if we'd overlapped for longer than a few hours, but I'll take what I can get. They were staying with Auntie Heather and Uncle Steve who welcomed us over several times and we always had fun. Teagan loved playing my little cousin, Stephen, almost as much as she enjoyed playing with all his toys when we visited and he wasn't there. He was incredibly sweet to her and shared everything. But good thing he had two Spiderman costumes, because those were a hit. We won't talk about the other costumes that other family members enjoyed...I think he's excited for a boy.

We celebrated Father's Day while we were there, and while poor Brandon got neglected (though it was agreed upon beforehand) we sat Dad down to give him a few tokens of appreciation. He received a Victoria's Secret bag...with sensible sandals in it. His Before and After faces pre and post opening the giant pink bag were hilarious. We wanted to catch a picture of Dad with his 4 kids and after taking the first one, noticed that we children looked entirely too happy. Fixed that the second time around.

Thrown in a couple of son-in-laws and a granddaughter and the smiles came back out. Happy Father's Day, father!

Speaking of children, the 4 of us siblings had a sleepover one night and intended to stay up much later than we did. For night owls, we didn't last as long as we thought we would, but perhaps that's because there was too much fun crammed into the few hours we were awake together. Of the myriad of games my parents have to choose from, I insisted we play Hedbanz - the last of the games any of the kids wanted to play. Kristina made no secret of her distaste for my choice and mocked me incessantly when my turn took infinitely longer than anyone else's. It's harder than I remembered. She condemned me to going twice and insisted she only had to go once, because it wasn't her "stupid idea." We did end up having some fun, between Daniel posing the question "Am I annoying?" and us asking whether he meant the thing on his card or if he was just taking a general poll. Bless him. It's always funnier for those not in the hot seat, as evidenced by us giggling non-stop at some of Kristina's questions. She ended up being "Love Handles" and asked if I had any would I share them with her. Absolutely I would, but sadly, the world doesn't work that way.
I don't want to say that we rival the von Trapps, but if there were 4 more of us, I've no doubt we would. We love sitting around and singing hymns or other songs in 4 part harmony...yes, I've been demoted to tenor. Nicola and I sang in church with an old friend of mine while Mum played the piano and it brought back fun memories of all 4 of us standing in front of a congregation and singing our little hearts out. In our old age, some of us are less inclined to perform, but in the comfort of our own home, we don't hold back. Perhaps some of us should - Dad sends the message loud and clear when he's had enough.

We had a wonderful visit and loved spending so much time with family. I don't appreciate how much I miss them until I see them and have to say goodbye. Teagan recognized everyone better than I thought, running up and giving hugs immediately and knowing everyone's names. It warmed my heart. In spite of GG collecting a ton of children's toys and setting up a little Teagan Tent in the living room, the ungrateful sass spent a lot of time holed up in Auntie Nicola's room. If ever I lost track of her (which was never!) she could usually be found lying in bed, half-naked, watching TV (having turned it on herself)...with at least one finger up her nose...sometimes two. Mum joked that we'd have to install a TV in her room - things sure were peaceful. I didn't get a photo of her surrounded by "her guys" but wherever she went, her "guys" were never far behind. She wandered around with no less than 6 stuffed animals and insisted on making sure they were all present at bedtime.

Teagan flew like a champ, yet again. Practice makes perfect, I guess. It really helped that G-Pop sent her home with a Snoopy doll that she explained the flying process to once we got on the plane - she forgot to tell him where the emergency exits were, but we'll let it slide. She helped him fasten his seatbelt, get settled and gave him a hug and kiss to help him not be scared. She buckled herself in, tapped the seatbelt, looked up at me and said "I ready fly, Mummy. I ready fly." Where did my baby go?

{Post Date: 6.25.13}