Nalley Family Mini-Reunion

Last weekend, we made a road trip to Little Rock to visit Eddie's family.  It is a 5-hour drive and we hadn't taken a roadtrip since November so wasn't sure what to expect.

And???  They were perfect!!

All 3 of them!

  Although, I do think it helped tremendously that my parents live almost exactly half-way between Rockwall and Little Rock.  It was the perfect place to quickly stop, stretch our legs, grab a drink, change a diaper and get back on the road.

The girls at our pit stop in Texarkana...

Once we got there, the girls were in HEAVEN!!

Eddie's mom had set up a make-shift playroom for the girls with TONS of fun toys.  I'm so sad that I didn't get a picture, but she had also taken the time to spell out, "Welcome Brooklyn" in wooden blocks and it was so cute!!

The next morning, Brooklyn bonded with Gie-gie over breakfast to gear up for her cousins who were about to come over.

Eddie's youngest brother (Chuck) and his wife (Brooke) have a son (Henry) who is just 4 days older than Brooklyn.  Brooklyn and Henry hadn't seen each other since Christmas 2009 when they were just 18-months-old.

They definitely hit it off, though.

And made up for lost time

Ring Around the Rosie.  Lots of Ring Around the Rosie.

Chuck and Brooke also have the most precious 8-week-old little girl named Olivia that we got to meet for the first time!  Couldn't you just eat her up?!?

Then it was time for the attempt at getting a group pic minus sweet Olivia.

Not great expressions, but at least they are all in it and somewhat facing the camera.  And check out those eyes!!  Can you tell they are related?

While we were there, we stayed in Eddie's parents BRAND NEW house.  In fact, this was the first time a meal had even been prepared and eaten in this house!

Eddie's Aunt Edwina (seated next to his mom) was able to come over and enjoy this first dinner with us, too!

Their new house is just a short trail walk away from a park so we made a trip over to check it out.

Eddie's oldest brother, Bo, was also in town.  Before we moved to Rockwall, we Eddie, B and I actually lived with Uncle Bo for a short stint and he and Brooklyn were big buddies.

Tickle, tickle, tickle!  She hasn't seen him in probably at least 6 months, but it didn't take her 1 second to warm up to him. 

Chandler, on the other hand, needed to study him first...she wasn't quite sure what to think.

She did seem to love her Uncle Chuck, though...even with his crazy mustache!

One of the biggest treats for Brooklyn of the whole trip was getting to do the "night night" ritual with Gie-gie and her cousin, Henry!  I was upstairs with Chandler during bath time, but I heard it was big, wild fun!!

Then Gie-gie read them books, sang songs and prayed with them before it was lights out.  Henry actually wanted B to stay and have a slumber party in his room.  How sweet is that?!?  These cousins LOVE each other.

It is very rare that Eddie's ENTIRE family is together at the same time.  I actually can't remember when that last happened, but probably not once in the last 2 years.  So, we decided to take advantage of it and have family pictures made.  If you are interested and and have time, you can see those here:  http://www.photoreflect.com/store/Orderpage.aspx?pi=0FL900X9000001&po=1&pc=98

As you can imagine, with all the little ones, it was a little bit of a circus and some of the pictures are quite comical!!

Then, it was time to head home...with a quick stop in Texarkana, of course.  Last attempts to get pictures of the girls together in their Easter dresses.

Oh well, guess that's just not going to happen this year.  =)

Thank you for hosting, Nalley parents!!  We had a very neat and special time with the WHOLE FAMILY at your house and were not ready to come home!!  Hopefully this happens again before another 2 years goes by!!