When are you moving in?

Last week our little house was filled to the brim with visitors. My dad was here Monday and Tuesday, then my cousin Amanda and her daughter Sadie came on Wednesday night, Grandma Amy stopped by on her way through town on Thursday, Aunt Beth and my mom (and Luna) got in Friday night, and my cousin Mary arrived on Saturday!

Here we are – Aunt Beth and Sadie, Amanda, Mary, Me and Charlotte, Luna, and my mom!

I am so happy that Charlotte has a cousin close in age. I have a lot of cousins around my age, and I grew up very close to most of them, which pretty much made my childhood. Actually, it’s kind of making my adulthood, too.

One of the main reasons I sometimes struggle with living “out of town,” or away from family, is because I want Charlotte to be able to grow up living close to her relatives. I know that facebook and skype and cellphones all make living apart much easier these days, but it’s not the same as being able to walk to your grandma’s house…and your cousins’ house….and your other cousins’ house. I consider myself very lucky for having that experience, and while I don’t expect to live quite that close to my family, I’ll be happy if we’re close enough that we don’t have to make every trip an overnight!

And now for some sweet moments from our weekend…

Whoops! How’d that one get in there? 🙂

Of course, we had to put Charlotte and Sadie in the crib together….

…and the tub…

And, yeah, there is a video! (of course)

By the time everyone left late Sunday afternoon, the house felt eerily quiet. To all the other wordpress users out there – I have a drafted post on my dashboard that I never published written the day Amanda and Sadie left after their visit last year. It starts, “It’s quiet around here with Amanda and Sadie gone.” Yep, that again.

This better happen again next year!