Road Trip 2009 Part Two

Once we arrived in Indiana, it was all about family. The kids had such a great time seeing all the Aunts and Uncles, cousins, Dopadop, and Mamaw. Here's Aunt Erin and Sophie at Meme's house. We weren't scheduled to come here, but kinda just dropped in since Erin was going to be there with Robin to get her hair done. How great is our family that we just ask, "I know we didn't tell you we were coming, but can all 15 of us just show up at your house around lunch time?" It's awesome. I love the chaos of a big family dynamic.
Here is about 1/3 of my family. These are Popa George's kids and grandkids, well, some of them...
Here's my Dad's side of the family. I'd say this is roughly half of my "immediate family" plus their kids. Rob is particularly fond of the beer neons in the background. It is, after all, a game room. ;)
A little more "sophisticated" in the family room.
Here are most of the cousins sharing cupcakes to celebrate the summer birthdays. Thanks, Mamaw! It's so funny. After this, Suzy thinks we always get to celebrate a birthday at Mamaw's since hers was the last time we visited. Although, with all these cousins, it may actually be a long term reality.
She and Sophie really hit it off this trip. I can remember sneaking these same little orange slice candies at Amaw's when I was a little girl. So sweet.
Jimmy used to be the "Mini Marti". Looks like now I have two little boy clones. Jimmy LOVES the fact that Andy is so much like him. He's so great with the little cousins.
I just had to sneak this shot before pulling the boys (and Sophie) off of some of the workout equipment. Andrew already has a broken arm. How much more risk is it, anyhow? ;)
A big favorite of all the wee ones is the sunken trampoline. This room used to house an indoor pool when I was a little kid. It has since been converted into a game room. However, the trampoline still sits in the shallow end so it is flush with the floor and tons of fun. I wanted to give Lyn a hard time, however, at being so cautious with the mats on the edges for the grandkids. I can remember as a kid jumping on trampolines that were way high up without any matting at all. ;) Although, I do appreciate the extra caution since my kids don't have the chance to do this every day and probably aren't as cautious as we were.

The raquetball court was also a big hit. It was so fun to re-live some of my own weekend childhood activities with my kids.

The pool was crazy. What were us Aunts thinking about tossing so many toddlers into a large pool? Poor Emily is all wet with her clothes because little Sophie actually started to spin in her life jacket and scared us all pretty good. Ummm... remember the last time Emmy and I got a great idea for fun with the cousins? Sled ride, anyone? Seriously, next year - we should NOT be in charge of child watching.
Praise God, Sophie was fine and Suzy gave her some extra cuddles afterwards. They really are so cute together.
Aunt Emmy's house was another highlight with her two boys that are just on either side of Suzy. She had lots of toddler stuff and fun games. And Anthony and Andrew to show Suzy new tricks!
The tickle game was a hit.
Andy is learning to tackle - or at least be tackled. Lane has tried to prepare him, so he's getting a little more tolerant.
Uncle Tom got his fireman start here in Greencastle so we took the men some snacks. The kids really enjoyed it.
We did a Wendy's run with many of the cousins. What were we thinking? It was completely last minute.
We managed to coax Amaw to come out and she didn't disappoint with some iced Amaw cookies. A treasured prize in my family. Suzy and I actually baked these before we came in hopes of icing some with her. She surprised us and iced some for our lunch date.
So Excited!
Andy got his first Amaw Cookie that day.
I think he's a fan.

We got some cute photos with Amaw at her apartment.

This is probably one of my favorites. Amaw loved Andy's "little" thighs.
I think I like this photo so much because it reminds me of my Grandma Carolyn (Amaw). She used to love to smack my big Black (my maiden name) butt or thighs and say, "mmmm mmmm mmmm, look at that but. My, my. Here, I made you some cookies." It just rolled off her tongue. I don't know that she'll ever see the irony in it. First of all, We get that fat Black Butt from her. Second, I think her cookies were a primary culprit. Regardless, I will continue to love the cookies, and Amaw.

We had such a great time with all the cousins. The kids were fabulous the entire time and I couldn't be more grateful for all the prayers and help from family.