Where do I begin.....

I sit here wondering where to begin.   Lori and Ali are home now.  My house has that empty nest feeling that I hate so much.   There is something to be said about having a houseful of laughter, family, love, craziness and a mess.   My house is clean now, but I'd rather have a dirty house and all the fun we had....

Ok, I think my pity party is over.   Instead of being sad, I will make myself be HAPPY for all the fun and memories we made.   Lori and Ali come to visit almost every summer (for the last 4 or 5 yrs or so) and each year it's a very special time.  And with each passing year, I appreciate our too little time together so  much more.   Lori and I are first cousins, our mothers are sisters.   We have had a close sister-like bond since we were kids.  And we never let the miles between us affect that.   I'm so thankful that I have her in my life.  She is a strong woman, who is beautiful, creative and always a ray of sunshine.  And her daughter is becoming like her, which is so beautiful to see. 

Our kids are only 3 weeks apart.  When I found out I was pregnant with the boys, a few weeks later she called me to tell me she was pregnant too.  It was so nice to share that with her.  And now our kids are growing up making the bonds that we made as children!

We had two weeks of fun, laughter, good food, game playing, and SHOPPING!!!  Did I mention that Lori loves to feather her nest like I do?  If not MORE than I do?  And we are both suckers for "family day" at the thrift store.  

We took the kids and our other cousin to the lake where our grandpa had a camp in the 70's.   It brought back so many great memories.  And reminded us how time just flies by.   I remember summers there with everyone like it was yesterday.   Staying on the beach all day, no sunscreen, no constant adult supervision and running around until it was dark out.  Then the inside fun of hide and seek or playing in grandpa's workshop while the adults played cards.  My grandpa worked at GE his whole life and this was his little slice of heaven and he deserved it.   And I'm so thankful he had this place for all of us to come together as family.
While it looks very different from when we were kids.  SO SMALL compared to the huge ocean it looked like to us.  It was still familiar and "our" place.   And our kids were now swimming in this lake that we once were. 

Here we are all grown up.  And knowing that our next "generation" are forming these same bonds is what makes this so beautiful.

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  And in true crazy style, we hit one HECK of an estate sale on the way home.  Perfect ending to a perfect day!

This is Lori trying to stuff some stuff in the back of my truck!

Is this sign cool or what?  Our kids told us we could be on American Picker's.  Then another one chimed in to say "or Hoarder's" LOL!

I thought this was so pretty and photo related to boot!

Here is our clan at my oldest nephew's graduation party.  I simply cannot believe this boy is 18 and going to college.  It just blows my mind how fast time goes by!  How blessed we all are.

And I'm ashamed to say this, but I gave this child a dum dums lollipop so she would WEAR THIS OUTFIT!   There, I said it!  That cupcake is yummy!

Here is our clan with my nephew Louie.   His mother passed away almost 3 years ago. You can read her story here.  It's hard to imagine she has been gone that long.  And she is missed and loved by us all.

Ali, just being her beautiful self.  So I took the chance to snap some pictures of her.

Thank you for reading and taking this emotional walk with me.  I love my family and feel so blessed to have these times to share with them!

I am linking up to Home and Family Friday, come and join the fun! :)

And don't worry, I'll be back to the regularly scheduled posts of "help me decide" in no time at all! ;)

XOXO