Family Reunion

Last weekend we headed North for Scott's mom's family reunion.  It was a long car ride for such a short trip, but it was so much fun we were really glad we made it.  We left Friday after work and stopped in West Branch for the night.  As usual, Carys was a great traveler.  She is getting a little more difficult to keep entertained though, so I usually have to resort to some pretty ridiculous antics.  I'm guessing we aren't going to be this lucky traveling for much longer.  For now though, thankfully she loves practicing her 'high fives'! 

Saturday morning, after stopping for a yummy breakfast at Lumberjack's, we picked up Uncle Dave and finished the rest of our drive.  After crossing the Mackinac Bridge, we take US 2 the rest of the way to Escanaba.  This follows the Lake Michigan coast, so it's an amazing drive.  I love when we can stop at the beach along the way to stretch our legs, and it was a beautiful day, so we decided to stop and let Carys check it out.  She loved it.  

Rockin' her shades

The water was pretty cold, but she didn't mind at all.  She was fascinated when she finally reached down and discovered the sand.  She took two fist's full and we couldn't get her to let go even when I tried to rinse it away. And of course she eventually tried to eat it!

We finally made it to Scott's mom and dad's house and spent the afternoon hanging out with family.  Carys got to spend some quality time with Grandpa.

That night Grandpa and Grandma kept Carys for us, so we could head out to Uncle Rich's for the party before the reunion.  This was the first night Scott and I had out together in a really long time and we had a blast!

 

 Brittany, Nicky and Me - love these girls

Uncle Rich, Scott and David

Twinkies - ha! Let's go Irish!

 Auntie Beth with the Crew!

 Love this girl - Wish we lived closer

I love spending time with this guy...

And this guy's always fun too!

Sunday was Father's Day and the reunion.  It was a beautiful day and we had such a good time.  In the morning we went to church.  It took me, Scott and a LOT of puffs to keep Carys from melting down during Mass! She was a handful!  (Grandma called me yesterday to say that Grandpa was ushering for Sat night mass and spyed a couple of C's puffs on the floor!  Oops - I really did try to pick them all up!)

This girl loves her daddy and I love seeing her face light up when she sees him!

Checking out the ants

Chillin' with Dad 

Happy girl = Happy mom

I know these two will be BFF's!

We headed to the reunion early that afternoon.  It was so wonderful to have so many family members together at once.  Scott's mom is 1 of 8 and all but 1 was able to make it to the reunion.  Here they are with Grandpa Mo!

We had tons of good food - I'm not going to say how many rounds I made at the food tables!  We also had some super fun entertainment with Karaoke - there is some talent in this family.  Unfortunately for Carys - it doesn't include me or Scott!  It was a long day for Carys and she refused to go down for a nap, but she was great all day!  We stayed past her bedtime (something we NEVER do) and she was an angel!

We were dancing to the music and she did finally fall asleep and squeeze in a little snooze!  It was super hot, but this Momma didn't mind some extra sweet cuddle time!

Grandma & Grandpa are so much fun, and such a great inspiration on what a marriage should be!

Uncle Dave showing Carys how to shake it!

Grandma sharing her teaching skills with a very special student. Carys already loves to read - just like Mom & Grandma.

Love this face!

It was pretty much a whirlwind trip.  We left Monday morning and made it home Tuesday afternoon after an overnight stop in Brighton.  It's a 10 hour drive total, but with C we've learned not to push it.  We all have a much better time if we stick to her routine!