As soon as Keslee and Kenyon got home from camp we had just a few hours to get ready for another trip. I had to do do some laundry because, as expected, Kenyon once again did not use his "wet clothes" bag and just dropped his wet towels and swimsuit in his suitcase with everything else.
Monty's sister, Latrese, is in the air force and lives in Virginia. She flew in for the 4th of July weekend. His father, Kenneth, lives in Houston and he drove up for the weekend as well. As soon as Monty got home from work, we headed to his mother's house (about an hour away) to spend the weekend with them all.

LET THE SPOILING BEGIN!!


Aunt Latrese has not been home in 3 years and she definitely made up for missed birthdays and Christmas. She had one entire suitcase full of nothing but new clothes for her very excited nieces and nephew(of course there were a few things for her brother and his wife as well☺).

Once it was all said and done, we had an entire box full of new clothes, shoes, purses, nail polish, head bands, and a few souvenirs from her trip to Brazil.

Of course she could not leave out her only brother! Yes, technically this is a huge dog bed but because it has the cowboys logo she could not resist bringing it home to their biggest fan. It is actually quit comfortable to throw on the floor and watch tv or use to prop up in bed to read a book.

Of course new clothes are always a good thing but Latrese knows that the true desires of a kid's heart is really in the toys and games. You should have seen Kenyon's face when she came back from a quick trip to the store with this X-box!

Knowing that a boy and his new x-box are not easily parted, Latrese was sure to get the girls their own new toy. A Pink Nintendo DS complete with a a game that is all about caring for baby animals until they grow up-that's right up their alley!

Of course, no 4th of July weekend would be complete without a cookout. There were plenty of helpers but Joyce (aka Nana) really did all the work in the kitchen. Homemade potato salad, baked beans, hot dogs, chicken and of course....

RIBS! The girls and I are really not huge rib eaters but Kenyon and Monty were in rib heaven.

Kalysa and Keslee were more excited about the cold watermelon!

The weekend was not all gifts and fun. The guys got together and did a few things around the house that needed done. My mother in law just bought her first house in March and she is still settling in. There were shelves that needed to be hung,

New bar stools to put together, old chairs that needed tightened up and even some yard work.

After some work time, the guys just had to get a little domino play in there

Between the new toys, great food, a little work and a little rest we made time for lots of family time!

I am so glad that Monty's parents are good enough friends that his dad is welcome to stay at his mom's house and truly have family time. Kenneth was not involved in most on Monty's growing up years but has been a great grandpa.

He lives about 8 hours away so we don't get to see him often but he is always the first to call on birthdays and holidays. Monty and his dad pretty much spend the entire football season on the phone with each other. Kenneth is such a great guy and I wish that he had been a much bigger influence in Monty's life before he was grown. Although I can't change the past, I am thankful that he has been a great grandpa to our kids.

It was so good for all of us to have the opportunity to catch up. We don't get that chance nearly enough with Monty's family. With everybody living in different parts of the country and each with our own schedules and commitments, time together is not always easy to arrange.

As you can see, the distance and time between us does not affect the love we have for each other.

Even Kenyon tolerated a few hugs-even outside-where somebody might see it!

We had a great weekend with lots of family time!

None of us really wanted it to come, but the end of the weekend inevitably arrived.

Hugs were given all around

and the goodbyes were drug out as long as possible-until next time!