Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Each day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the twenty-eighth day of the month is "Meaning."
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My youngest nephew is obsessed with my oldest nephew. It's so gratifying to hear the older one being so patient and kind with him. It's so clear that the youngest sees the older boy as his friend, someone he can really share things with.
Young one: There's a kid in my class who has a new iPhone and he's always on his phone during class and it's distracting.
Older one: Wow! He shouldn't have it in class, should he?
Young one: I think I should have a phone, too. It's not fair.
Older one: You don't need a phone, dude. You need to just ignore that guy.
Backyard games are all the rage. Can Jam and spike ball were on tap yesterday. I was so proud that no adult intervention was necessary at any point for refereeing, although an adult was asked to provide scorekeeping duties.
Meanwhile, the two dogs, Hannah and Ginger the Terrier, alternated between running around like absolute lunatics and trying to get as much as sun as they could possibly get.
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| I'm not going to say a word about my neck, Nicole. Not a word. |
Honestly, I find these gatherings so much more fun than I did I before the pandemic. Being away from my family for so long took its toll and I don't take for granted the time we spend together now. The beautiful weather, the crazy dogs, the boys screaming bloody murder, the excessive celebration of my sister-in-law when she scored a goal in Can Jam - these are all things that I reveled in yesterday. Because this is my life and it's fun and it's wonderful and it's happy.
Why can't the whole year be like the end of May?
My family has lived far apart ever since I left for university, so I always treasured the times we could get together - the cousins on my side are close in age and were adorably besotted with each other, and on Matt's side they're far apart in age and the younger ones adore my kids and it's also adorable. Luckily we have a close friend group with kids the same age, and I agree, hanging out outside with all the chaos is such a gift. We had an amazing family long week-end last week and I am so grateful.
ReplyDeleteYes! Being outside with the chaos is delightful. And I love seeing how my nieces and nephews interact with each other.
DeleteAnd nice to see you guys! You look happy! And your neck is flawless!
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely the happiest time of the year in our house!
DeleteAw, this sounds amazing! I love how the dogs got their playtime as well. i'm guessing that another reason you enjoy these gatherings more now is that the kids are older. Toddlers are great in their own way, but it's a little more fun when they get to this age.
ReplyDeleteYes, the toddler years were very stressful. It's nice that they don't need nearly the adult supervision these days.
DeleteLOOK AT YOUR BEAUTIFUL NECK!
ReplyDeleteIN ALL ITS GLORY!
DeleteYou had a good weekend, and you look good doing it.
ReplyDeleteThanks much! We had a great time.
DeleteHow fun! And another lovely picture of you and the Prof!
ReplyDeleteI love that I've been able to convince him to take photos with me!
DeleteAs a "family person", you know how much I love this! <3
ReplyDeleteI love it, too! I have to convince my SIL to have more gatherings at her house because it was fun to be able to bring the dog.
DeleteYOUR NECK IS PERFECT!
ReplyDeleteThis looks like such a sweet family time for you and your people. I absolutely love seeing kids playing outside. Ginger is such a cutie pie too; so nice that Hannah was in on the family visit.
Ginger is such a nice dog! This SIL has had other Jack Russels before who were not as friendly as Ginger, so we're exciting that she and Hannah play nicely together. It makes family visits a lot more chill.
DeleteSounds like a wonderful day! I think the pandemic has made all of us really appreciate things we might have taken for granted before! I'm glad the weather worked out. We had gorgeous weather in Minneapolis, too. I want to know what books you ended up getting your niece and nephew!
ReplyDeleteYes, I think pre-pandemic some of the kids were still pretty little and I found them to be challenging. Now they're all growing up and they need less supervision and the things that they ask for are fun, so I'm definitely enjoying them more and more.
DeleteYour life is wonderful and happy! Yay! Isn't there just so much joy in seeing the kids running around having a blast outside? There was a lot of that this weekend where I was too and I loved it!
ReplyDeleteWe Midwesterners really need to be outside whenever the weather is perfect. It's what makes the winter worth it!
DeleteThis post just made me happy overall! :) I'm so glad you got to have some good family time AND that the weather was beautiful. What a joy!
ReplyDeleteIt felt so luxurious and was such a great start to summer. May the rest of summer live up to the gloriousness of Memorial Day weekend.
DeleteThis post has prompted me to make my next post about my visit to see my family out East. Because I totally get what you are saying here. My (extended) family is in a very different developmental stage, for various reasons, but I see a lot of similarities here. Although no dogs at our gatherings, which makes me sad. Also? Ginger and Hannah make me smile. Also also? Your older nephew is kind of awesome, advising younger nephew to ignore the other kid and his (eyeroll) phone. :)
ReplyDeleteHonestly, now that the kids are older, these things are so much more enjoyable for me. I kind of wish we had more of these types of events lined up for the summer!
DeleteAlso, this family just got a new dog! A pit mix named Hank who looks like he might be Hannah-sized or a bit bigger. I can't wait for them to meet!