A "Great" Week

So, we have been very busy the past week. Last Saturday, my maternal grandparents were able to come to my house for the first time. Actually, it was their first time to Atlanta since my Grandma's stroke almost four years ago. The last time they were here was to see Brice after he was born. My wonderful Aunt Deb flew up to St. Louis to pick them up, flew with the 'ole folks down to Charlotte and then drove them down to Atlanta! Are you tired yet? This is NOT an easy task given that Grandma is in a wheelchair and Grandpa is well...just Grandpa! You'd have to know him to understand. Anyway, she picked them up on a Wednesday and they all came to my house the following Saturday. We had a fun time introducing them to Anna for the first time and giving them a tour of my house. I am so thankful they were able to come. Below is a picture of my cousin Kristen feeding Anna with Grandpa watching.

And here is poor Anna with an audience; Grandma, Brice, Aunt Deb and Great Grandma.


After Saturday's lunch, Aunt Deb and my Mom drove back to Charlotte with my grandparents to finish out their ten day visit there. Brice, Anna and I followed on Monday morning. My sweet children were just that the whole way to Charlotte. Absolutely perfect! We had a great, great time with the great-grandparents, Grandma, Aunt Deb, Uncle Ron, Aunt Blaire and Josh. We missed Daddy a whole lot though. Unfortunately, he had to stay behind in order to work and fund our summer travels!

Brice managed to get my Mom in the lake water, no easy feat! They had a great time singing songs and being silly in the water. Mom slowly made her way down the ladder step by step in order to get used to the water, slowly. Brice then asked me if I would go in with him. I knew I could catch him off guard by throwing a life jacket on and jumping right in! His face was priceless and he said, "I wasn't expecting that!". He then proceeded to follow and jump right in off the dock!

This is Brice playing the bugle. It was/is my Grandpa's. When they had their house in St. Louis, it used to hang on a coat/hat rack as soon as you walked into their house. Grandpa used to play it for us every time we would visit them. So, I love that Brice likes to play with it.

I think these are everyone's favorite pictures. Grandpa, who will be 87 years old in August, somehow made his way down to the floor to play with his little girlfriend. Anna loved it as much as he did, reaching for his face and "talking" to him.



Below is a picture of Aunt Blaire with Brice playing Connect Four. This is a Lake Norman tradition where we actually don't play the game. Brice just likes to make designs with the checkers. He talks about this game whenever we talk about being at Aunt Deb's house.


Brice and Aunt Deb making brownies. They were delicious!

Four generations of women! Shirley Mueller Holster, Jill Holster Ruffin, Jennifer Ruffin Reynolds and Anna Reynolds ???. I can't tell you how much it meant to me to have my Grandma meet Anna, her great-granddaughter. Anna just lit up every time Grandma talked to her and it melted me. I come from a predominantly female family. My great-grandmother had two girls, my grandmother had two girls and my mom had two girls. So adding Anna to the family was very special for me.

What is it about Grandma's? They are just adored by their grandkids and Anna proved no different.

Brice is such a lake kid just like Justin. He went for a boat ride everyday and loved every minute of it. He had no problem living in his life jacket just so he could be on the dock or outside near the lake. As you can see, it was a wonderful week spent with people who mean so much to me. Thank you to all who were involved in making it happen!