Wednesday, October 17, 2012

We Are Family

I'm still recovering from a weekend full of family fun. 

In a good way!

The bulk of my recovery comes from rushing to get the million-and-one house projects done before guests arrived on Thursday.  All of which, I can proudly say, GOT DONE.  But before I reveal all the blood, sweat and tears related to the house, here are highlights of the family...

First of all, no Wysocki gathering is complete without a full bar.  

Stock Up

And then my mom added her wine picks from the US.  Just saying!

Once we completed stockpiling the liquor cabinet, focus was completely on the kids.

Cousins

My George and my brother's Charlie are 2 months apart.  Could it get any better than that?  Yes, it could.  How about same temperament, motor skills, food likes, food dislikes and haircuts. 

Slide!

We got out to the park a couple of times for fun.  Charlie loved hanging with George in a big city park. 

Teamwork

Charlie especially loved the sand...as his park at home has woodchips.  He got busy digging, dumping, pouring, scooping, eating.  That last one wasn't his favorite.

Loving It.

We finally left once naptime came around.  But it was hard to go.



Can you say no to those eyes?

After the big kids finished school for the week, full-on family time kicked in.

Game Time

Mimi always comes loaded with games.  Does she know my boys, or what?

Laura & Dad

My sister and dad got caught up on her life in Indiana.

Chef Stevio

And Steve spent time in the place he shines the most.  The kitchen.  His passion is my crack.  Literally.  He made "crack pasta" (aka: jamie oliver's sausage fusilli) and we all licked our plates.

On to the weekend spotlight: Henry's 5th Family Birthday Party.

Totally Excited

I suck at taking party pictures.  Especially at present opening time.  I use my little point and shoot, take hundreds of shots, but none turn out very well. 

The only one I ended up liking was this single shot I grabbed with my iPhone.  The look on Jake's face is priceless because he couldn't keep himself less than 2 inches away from Henry the.  entire.  time.  But hey, who could blame him?

Once candles were blown and presents were opened, the adults had some coffee and the kids had a photo shoot.

Joe + 4 Boys

I love this shot of my brother and all the boys.  My guys especially love hanging with their Uncle Joe.  To see them all together makes me forget how far apart we live.

Peg + The Monkeys

As much as I love my brother, I might love his wife more.  She brings out the best in my boys.  She's always willing to listen to their loooong stories, fold hundreds of paper airplanes or put together one last puzzle.

Just look at Henry.  That's joy.

Peg + 4 Boys

And the look on Peg's face here...that's joy, too.

As the weekend came to an end, we took a couple last shots.

Mimi & Her Toddlers

There couldn't be a better grandma for Charlie & George.  At one point, Charlie would cry because George was in Mimi's arms.  Then George would cry because of Charlie.  So I grabbed George to make it easier on Mimi, but he screamed even louder.  Sorry Mimi - must be hard to be so loved.

Then it was time to say goodbye to Charlie.  But only after breakfast.



And Raffi.  No table time is complete without Raffi. 

(I think we turned Charlie into a convert.  Almost.)

All in all, our weekend was a success.  Stay tuned for posts showing projects I completed before everyone's arrival.  It was down to the wire - as in minutes before they walked in the door.  But those always turn out the best, don't they?  You'll see...!!!!

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