I know today is Friday, but it feels like it should be last Friday. This was one of the fastest weeks of my lifetime! It was a week of amazing family-ness.

We traveled from our Massachusetts home on Thursday last week so we could be there when CJ and Lauren came to stay. They were coming from Utah to Buffalo then driving to us so CJ could participate in a wedding 18 minutes from our northern NY home. Yay for us!!! On the way from Mass. to NY, we popped in on my aunt and uncle and one of their daughters for lunch and a yak.

Yeah, they look young because they are. Linda, my aunt, is a month younger than me. My family is funky like that. My dad is his own cousin, but that’s a story for another time… 😉 It always cracks me up, though. Linda and Kevin are CJ’s godparents and he calls Hannah, Cassie and Emily his god-sisters. Love that!

We got home a few hrs. before CJ and Lauren. Mom was at camp with relatives, and Hudi and Mollie had come to pick up Star and take her to their home so the house was strangely quiet.

Before the trip, we understood that the wedding was the main event, and we couldn’t expect much time with the kiddos. It was okay. We remember being young like that. So much to do!!! And we get to spend lots of time with them when we travel west. CJ and Lauren showed up around 11 pm, and we yakked until 3:30am. Thank goodness I was afk and well-rested!!!

The next day we got up and headed to camp to see family and the children’s end-of-week program at camp. Lauren met my nephews and their wives and kids for the first time there. I love those grown-up kiddos so much. We don’t see them often, but their parents raised them right. My nephews are the best, and their spouses only make them better.

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I will admit that one of my favorite parts of our time together was being able to play with play-dough with kids again. Kids are so smart. I wish you could see how amazing my little relative is!!! (What do you call the child of a nephew? A great niece?) She is 2.5 and knows a ton of animals — even a playdough octopus. Little Christoper (just over one) was napping at this point, but maybe next year he can join.

We left camp in time for CJ to get to his rehearsal dinner and bachelor party with his friends. At home we had the rare treat of spending solo time with our daughter-in-law. After a few games of Chaos, I got to splay Scrabble with her. Nobody plays that with me live (although I’m thankful for my Words With Friends buddies) so it was a super treat 🙂 We topped off the night by finding a perfect dress for Lauren to wear. My sister-in-law, Heidi, has impeccable taste and had given me a dress for her son’s wedding, and it fit Lauren perfectly. Along with a scarf we had from our time in Lisbon and some jewelry my mom had given me.

Is it just me, or is there something super special about an outfit pulled together from random threads of happy memories?

The next morning the kids slept in. According to CJ the wedding was at 4 pm, although he had to be there by 1 pm to get ready. So we had a leisurely morning. They slept in, and I had an excuse to make Norwegian pancakes (I really miss that. There is nobody left to make them for — so sad). It was delightful.

CJ left and Lauren and I got ready for some serious girl time. We were gonna do the makeup and nails — things moms and daughters do, but moms of sons rarely do. Both of us were quite excited about it. Then we got a call from CJ informing us the wedding was at 2, not 4. ACK!!!!!!! Poor Lauren had a literal 20 minutes to get ready. Thank goodness she is naturally gorgeous. She did some of the final makeup touch-ups in the car, but look how amazing she was, even before that:

Sunday was our time with CJ and Lauren. The young adult kids got in quite late so they slept in again, and we headed to the beach. Lauren is a country girl and is not very used to sand on beaches. We had a small picnic and some swim time. She and Chris have artistic eyes, so they were scavenging for cool driftwood and other natural wonders.

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Chris and I were determined to get an ice cream at least once this season. We decided this was the time to do it so it wouldn’t get too late in the season. Southwick Beach has some of the best ice cream around. It comes with happy memories of camping with our kids and friends. Here is a pic of Hudi from 2011:

It’s still the same:

Thank goodness we did that! While we enjoyed the ice cream on Sunday, on Monday we were informed the season was over. Whew! In just under the wire! Let this be a lesson. Always grab the opportunity while it’s in front of you.

We topped off the day with games with Grandma, who returned from camp. She is truly the Chaos queen.

The kiddos left around 6 am Monday morning to go visit Lauren’s relatives. And Chris and I went back to work. In all honesty the week and a half AFK made me ready for work. I kind of missed talking with people about WordPress. It was a good work-week. Then before I knew it, it was my “weekend” (Thursdays and Fridays).

We were feeling good, and the magnet of knowing our progeny were in close proximity pulled hard enough we couldn’t ignore it. In short, we crashed their party. CJ and Lauren were going to spend time with Hudi and Mollie in Rochester before heading back Buffalo to fly back to Utah, and we couldn’t stay away from them all, knowing they were only two hrs away. Fortunately for us, they were okay with it, and we all gathered for pizza and chicken wings and bonding time. It was fun seeing Star thriving in Rochester for a bit. And dang it, I love these people! We missed Zeb, but understood work and life circumstances kept him in Utah. He was in our hearts and in our text messaging, though.

Sadly, yet beautifully, the week ended. We left so the kids could spend time together without parents invading, and in the wee hrs, CJ and Lauren headed home to Utah. Thanks to text messaging, we know they made it safely to their abode.

Today Chris and I hit the beach for relaxation time. And the beach we love so much due to fond memories of camping, winter hikes, etc., is now all the more enhanced with memories from the visit this week. Life is so amazing.