You see older bro and his hubby right here???
Welp.
Poor younger bro and his wife (parents to my little niece) were actually out of town the first 36 hours we were there. But they were so generous in loaning cars and lodging until they returned and could join the mass chaos of their home that we’d invaded, ha.
The weather was crisp (yes, crisp!) and lovely, so we made it a point to get outdoors on Saturday for some afternoon zoo time. Woohoo!
Chica was so excited to see some cheetahs at this zoo! We were able to visit a cheetah named Windspear at the zoo when we lived in DFW, but there aren’t any cheetahs currently in San Antonio.
I lurv this shot of the coyote eying the little nugget, ha.
Grrrrrr. Triple trouble, I tell ya. ;)
Nanna and her granddaughters. :) Nicely coordinated in blue, I might add.
How stinking adorable is this head-through-hole pic???
I’m so grateful for so many sweet cousin and family pics during this visit. We really lucked out with happy temperaments! Of course, souvenirs helped. ;)
Also. When my sister-in-law mentioned she needed some mums for her porch, we were more than happy to oblige—along with some other unapproved decorations, ha.
Sunday we spent more quality time just being together—and then we got out in the gorgeous evening light for dinner and play at an outdoor location with lots of dining and shops and a fun turf hill for the kiddos to roll down, tehe.
The light was so beautiful.
It was worth it to force Nanna up the hill to get a sunset shot with all her grandbabies.
I mean, could this sunset sky and pumpkin scenery be any more perfect??
We actually haven’t ventured to a pumpkin patch this year, so…nailed it! Mark that one off the list. ;)
Now.
And then I look at this one. Me and my siblings:
It’s a beautiful thing, people.
Welp.
They’re about to move from Wisconsin to Switzerland.
Yup, SWITZERLAND.
An opportunity presented itself within older bro’s current company, and, obviously, the lure of an adventure was hard to ignore!
So.
They’re set to officially move on November 1st, and this was the final chance for all of us on my side of the fam to convene and have an in-person hoopla before it’s much more difficult to get together.
Needless to say, I have so many emotions surrounding this move of theirs. Obviously, it’s an incredible adventure, and on generous days, I’m so darn happy for them.
But the selfish side of me gets so sad thinking about them being so far away—not to mention all of us living within the communication constraints of vastly different time zones. It’s much harder to connect when they’re in Europe, but I know we’ll settle in to a new normal before long.
And if we’re very fortunate, we’ll be able to plan a family trip out their way in 2023.
Anywho.
We set all that aside for the weekend and I was just so happy to get some face time all together, as they won’t be returning stateside for the holidays.
And the visit had the added bonus of a lot of quality time with my little niece, who’s pretty much the cutest nugget on the planet. Shocker: my kiddos were all over her, and actually really sweet little playmates and babysitters. :)
Poor younger bro and his wife (parents to my little niece) were actually out of town the first 36 hours we were there. But they were so generous in loaning cars and lodging until they returned and could join the mass chaos of their home that we’d invaded, ha.
The weather was crisp (yes, crisp!) and lovely, so we made it a point to get outdoors on Saturday for some afternoon zoo time. Woohoo!
Chica was so excited to see some cheetahs at this zoo! We were able to visit a cheetah named Windspear at the zoo when we lived in DFW, but there aren’t any cheetahs currently in San Antonio.
I lurv this shot of the coyote eying the little nugget, ha.
Grrrrrr. Triple trouble, I tell ya. ;)
Nanna and her granddaughters. :) Nicely coordinated in blue, I might add.
How stinking adorable is this head-through-hole pic???
I’m so grateful for so many sweet cousin and family pics during this visit. We really lucked out with happy temperaments! Of course, souvenirs helped. ;)
Also. When my sister-in-law mentioned she needed some mums for her porch, we were more than happy to oblige—along with some other unapproved decorations, ha.
Sunday we spent more quality time just being together—and then we got out in the gorgeous evening light for dinner and play at an outdoor location with lots of dining and shops and a fun turf hill for the kiddos to roll down, tehe.
The light was so beautiful.
It was worth it to force Nanna up the hill to get a sunset shot with all her grandbabies.
I mean, could this sunset sky and pumpkin scenery be any more perfect??
We actually haven’t ventured to a pumpkin patch this year, so…nailed it! Mark that one off the list. ;)
Now.
These next to pics really tug at my heart strings.
First: one of my babies, who always seems so old to me, when we’ve been around younger kiddos.
The saying is so true: the days are long, but the years are short. Man, I love these crazies and can’t believe how they’ve grown, day over day, year over year.
And then I look at this one. Me and my siblings:
It’s a beautiful thing, people.
I’m so grateful to have a family that loves one another and does all that we can to see one another and spend time together.
Because…again: the days may be long, but the years are short.
It was pretty tough saying goodbye at the airport today.
It was pretty tough saying goodbye at the airport today.
I hadn’t expected to cry, but it hit me hard, and I was sort of a blubbering mess through security (and I’m tearing up again typing this).
Older bro is my original BFF. Built in, and lifelong. So I’m going to do my best to wish them nothing but the most incredible move and life in the coming years with this major transition. And if I’m a little extra-emotional over the coming weeks as they officially leave the States behind, I’ll give myself a bit of grace.
So…here’s to a happy weekend of family time, an excellent use of the kiddos’ Monday off school, and a decent time getting back into the grove tomorrow.
Happy Monday, peeps!
Over and out.
P.S. It wouldn’t have been a family get together without a forced craft challenge, ha. So here are the few pics I managed to capture!
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