an ideal welcome... because it involved pizza.

Let's begin with an emotionally infused mathematical equation. It's appropriate because such things exist in my world.

Spending time with family + great food + my parent's backyard on a summer evening =

what I've longed for most since moving away.

Lucky for me, we didn't waste much time in planning such an event. First order of business... round up all available cousins.

Next, make sure that Uncle Matt invites his soon to be fiance, Miss Allison (more on her later!). The actual proposal happened a few days later while we were in Lake Powell. It's okay if you're a little bit jealous that Matthew's hair is similarly matched to Will Shuester's.

I know Sue Sylvester is.
''I thought I smelled cookies wafting from the ovens of the little elves that live in your hair.'' Moving on.

To the delight of the children and those of us with properly functioning taste buds (and a blatant disregard for our caloric intake), pizza was on the menu.
The boys made sure to keep their distance from those crazy girls ;) They may be few in numbers, but their presence is strong.
Uncle Mike quickly won Eliza over as he patiently played baseball with her. Cousin Emilee wowed us all when she took to the plate. She is definitely an athlete.

Dress-ups, a treasure hunt, time on the swing set and a pregnant lady's personal emotional meltdown ensued. I'm not sure what it was, but I suddenly felt weepy as I chose to take a leave of absence from the adults. I nominated myself to stay outside with the kids as I did my best to quit those, "I wish my kids had this all the time" tears. Thank goodness for sunglasses and a Mother who patiently listened.

It was a joy watching our family get to know Eliza and Henry. I should acknowledge that on some level it's disappointing to have to begin a thought with a sentence of that nature; but it's totally true. One of the highlights for me came during those first moments of interaction between my siblings and my children. Being accustomed to Eliza's verbose personality, I enjoyed watching the look of surprise and delight on their faces as she prattled on. *Side note: Eliza sat back and visited with the flight attendants for 15+ minutes following a trip to the bathroom. After using the restroom she said,

"I want to keep talking with those nice ladies." And so she did. She invited them to next year's birthday party, recounted her Lake Powell experience, stated her address, shared her astrological sign (kidding), etc.

Henry was in and out of his "shell" those first few days, but likewise demonstrated throughout the trip that he has grown up. His ability to communicate, throw a fit and be a part of the crowd has definitely increased since our last visit at Christmas.

(Imagining myself doing a commercial voice over:) With Andrew's arrival only days away, it was time to prepare for Lake Powell. That's coming up next.