A couple of posts back, I realized that I had never documented my April trip to Kentucky... despite the fact that Quinn met, well, everyone in Kentucky. I promised to reconcile the mistake... here it goes.
There are times when I really worry about raising my kids away from family.
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| For example, I think that visits to 90+ year-old relatives are important. Even though I have some amazing 90+ year-old friends in Charleston (I do!), I would be mortified if I took my children to their house and they broke something. |
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| However, if someone broke something at sweet Aunt Wondaline's, I would be a little embarrassed, but I know that she'd tell me some wise story about a time when one of hers broke something of one of ours... And, I just like going on unannounced Sunday visits. I love this picture, and I look forward to taking Quinn back again when she is old enough to be intrigued by Aunt Wondalene's living room stairs like Cora was :) |
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| First - I cannot belive I am putting this picture on the internet. As a reminder, I was traveling with a 1-month-old baby. Surely I do not look this tired all of the time. Mercy! But, Ryan-o and I have been going back-to-back for a couple of years. It's finally happened - he's taller than me. I remember when he was 4 months old and spit up all over me at Christmas... I was in college. Which makes me feel as old as I look in this picture. This kid (and his siblings) is another reason I worry about raising my kids away from family. It seems like Ryan and Mason are pretty stinking good at sports (from my personal sports assessment). I suspect they are about to make JCHS baseball/basketball/football games more exciting than I ever thought they were. I may have to get the girls cute little cheerleader uniforms for when we are home! |
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| Cora got to meet Aunt Deb - also known as baby rocker extrodanaire. Somehow we didn't get a picture with Aunt Bum. |
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| With Uncle Ronnie. Quinn, you are sleeping peacefully here. Once you are big enough to walk (er, run), he'll taunt you non-stop. |
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| Oh how your Great-Grandma Iris loves you! |
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| And your cousin Lindsay drove in from Ohio to see you and your sister. Look at all of the people who love them in Kentucky! There were others, too, like all the Goble's, Belva Lynn, Aunt Jen, and Timmy Tummy. |
This is another one of those pictures that makes me homesick (same for the next two, too). I was raised next door to my Cousin Melissa (Now FORTY!!! Really?), mother to Mason (here), Mattie and Ryan.
Abby and Lindsay always come to see us, too.
Their mom and I grew up going to church and on vacation together.
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| Abby's mom was a couple of years older than me (Abby and Cora are about the same distance in age as her mom and I). We have made a lot (a gazillion?) friends living in Mt. Pleasant, and we love those friends. However, we tend to make friends that have friends the same age as our kids. My kids hardly ever get to play with kids that are significantly older than them. And, our friends here aren't always permanent. We're saying good-bye to another set of friends this week, and I am always worried about who will announce that they are moving next. It's hard to explain why, but it makes me a little sad. Look at how sweet Abby was in teaching Cora how to do this puzzle. If we lived back home, Abby would probably be a senior Cora's freshman year. I always found that sort of history reassuring. That kind of guaranteed long-term relationship is hard to recreate away from hometowns. |
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| Of course, I see a picture like this and I realize there are negatives associated with living away from family... but there are some positives, too. Just kidding, Uncle Doug! |
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| All in all, despite the drive, Quinny had a great first trip to Kentucky. |
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