The Relates

A long weekend at home was just the jump start I needed to rev up my brain for school. After sleeping, eating lots, laughing til I cried, playing with my cousins, and sewing I was mentally well enough to go back and study.

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There's nothing quite like taking an odd t-shirt or pair of junky pants and with a little zip here and a little zippa-de-do-dah there you have a favorite item!

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The fam was fun too, I guess. :)This was the day before Jake's big 7.

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So we ask him, "Do you want to open your present early?"

"No, that's ok. I'll wait."

"Are you sure? Because you are gonna LOVE it so much you'll probably want to start playing with it right away!"

"No, that's ok. I'll wait until tomorrow on my birthday."

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Any other family would probably stop there, put the present aside, and respect the child's wishes. But not mine! I feel compelled to share some history.

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My family is the kind that opens our Christmas presents 3 or 4 days before Christmas Eve. If we do, by some miracle, make it to Christmas Eve, there's probably only one present left for everyone. It comes from being repressed as children in my grandparents home. Grandma always made us cousins wait til Christmas DAY to open anything! It was traumatizing really.

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It's kind of hard to talk about sometimes...

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So, back to Jake's birthday present. Basically we bribe, connive, and beg him to open it. He caves and has a blast with his camping set, complete with a water bottle, compass, and flashlight. The tent is tiny, but fits him and his new sleeping bag perfectly. It's pretty cute to see him camping in the back yard.

As you can see we are intents campers...hehe
Aaron and Jake having a man-to-man talk about deer hunting.
Babies are always the main event. And why shouldn't they be?I mean just look at this face!