In Memory

We learned late last week that Omar's mom's oldest brother, Don, passed away.  We had such fun with him at the reunion last month and are so glad we got to spend that time with him.  Our thoughts are with his wonderful wife, Margaret, and all the rest of his family.  He will be missed!

Father's Day!

For Father's Day, my step-mom thought it would be fun if we surprised my dad with a visit to Charleston.  I thought that was a fantastic idea, so EJ and I drove over for the weekend.  

We got in a day early so we could spend some time with the Tufts family.  They were the bestest hosts, per usual.  It is so much fun to watch our kids play together, not to mention I cherish getting to know my BFFs kids any chance I get.  EJ, Brayden, and Peyton had a lot of fun together!

Ok, first of all, how freaking tall/grown up does EJ look here?

Second of all, how freaking cute is Peyton???

 EJ had a blast in the Tufts Family Water Park.

 This picture makes me flash forward 15 years and then I get nauseous. 

Kristen and her adorable daughter Peyton.

 BFFs right from the start. Just like their moms.  =)

The rest of the weekend was spent with my dad, Jan, and sister.  We had a wonderful time catching up, going out on the boat, and enjoying the sun & sand of Charleston!

World's Cutest Boater

 Captain Pop-E steers us straight through the Charleston Harbor

Aunt Merrill helps EJ navigate the tidal pools.

 

So thrilled to be able to spend this very special weekend with some of my favorite people!

 I love my family and miss them every day!

Mama-J showed Everett the proper way to build a sandcastle!

Our last morning there, we went to see the Madagascar exhibit at the aquarium. It was fantastic!

 EJ loved the big tank!

Of course we booked it back to Atlanta in time for EJ to spend Father's Day with her father. Omar had a great weekend celebrating being the best dad ever by playing golf every day, sleeping in, and getting to snuggle the world's best daughter at the end of the day.  

It was a wonderful weekend all around!!!

Kicking off Summer

At the beginning of summer, Kristen came into town so we could attend The Greatest Country Concert Of All Time (aka Jake Owen/Tim McGraw/Kenny Chesney/Zac Brown).  Of course that meant two things: my daughter got in touch with her country roots, and our kids got to play together. Both of those events were picture ops, of course.

My little cowgirl

Funtime at the park with Brayden!

 EJ loves swinging!

 ....aaaaand, she's off

 Brayden is king of the world!

 Typical EJ:  She finds the tallest, twistiest slide (which has clear signs stating this is only for kids over the age of five) and climbs right up there and demands she slides down on her own. Over and over again. 

 So proud of herself.

 The betrothed.

Getting in touch with her roots

At the beginning of June we flew to Missouri for Omar's mom's family reunion. For those of you that don't know, Pat is one of 13 children and is originally from a farm in Missouri.  How she got to Atlanta & met Omar's dad is a great story for another post. Most of her family still lives in Missouri and they have a reunion every year which can literally have hundreds of people, all of whom Omar is related to and very few of whom he actually knows their names. But don't feel bad, half the time he can't remember my name either. 

So me, Omar, EJ, Pat, Stephanie, and Erik flew out for a long weekend to visit with her family and we had a wonderful time.  We joke that EJ was going to meet "her people" since she blends right in with the Heitholds and their blond hair & blue eyes.  I honestly think she gets her eyes from Omar's mom (I know mine aren't that blue!).

We stayed with Pat's sister Cathy, who was such a wonderful hostess and made us feel right at home and so welcome from the minute we arrived!  Our first day we went to the park with Pat's other sister, Janet, and her two grandkids Jackson & Presley.  It was a great park with a fun playground, a lake with ducks to feed, and a cave to explore!

EJ and her great Aunt Cathy

Swinging with Aunt Steph, great-aunt Janet, and cousin Presley.

OF COURSE my child honed in on the biggest, tallest, rickety-est (is that a word?) slide in the entire park and demanded to go down it. No other child was using this slide, not even the 10-year-olds who were there. But that didn't stop my little daredevil.

 Feeding the ducks! 

 Jackson shows us how it's done.

 Sweet girl.

 Aunt Janet & Presley

On our way to explore the cave.

 EJ, Jackson, & Presley chillin' in the cave.

Being silly.

 Photo-op!

 EJ & Presley had a great time together!

That afternoon we went to visit another of Pat's sisters, where EJ met another cousin (Lily) who she had a blast with and even got to ride on a tractor with!  

Then we went to the Heithold family cafe, located in Halfway, Missouri. Yep, that's the name of the town. It is - wait for it - half way between two other towns you have never heard of.  But it was a lot of fun and the food was great.  The Heitholds took over the place and EJ entertained them all. 

The day of the reunion we gathered with about 100 of Omar's family at a local church, where everyone brought something yummy to eat. Mmmmmmm, that food was GOOD! EJ got to meet a bunch of her extended family and had a good time playing with the short ones on the church playground.

 Fun on the playground!

 With Omar's cousin Amy's youngest son, Braxton.

She had a good time on the tricycle.

 

 Sliding with her second cousin once removed. Or something like that. 

Tired girl after a busy day.

 All the living Heithold siblings!

 Thanks to the extended Heithold family for making us feel so welcome and feeding us so well!  We had a wonderful time and hope to be able to come back again soon.  If you are ever in Georgia, please stop in and let us return the favor!