laborless day

long weekends are fabulous! gives one the chance to relax, camp, catch up with friends, vacation or just veg out. i spent this weekend with friends and family.

the bute family was in town for a wedding and i can't pass up time spent with kevin and jill and their little girls. kylie is absolutely adorable. isn't it great how kids ask for what they want? thursday night we spent at matty and beck's place bbq'ing and catching up with the butes. often times the adults would get deep in conversation and forget about kylie, but not for long. she would scream at the top of her lungs basically saying, "look at me, don't i look so cute?" and who could disagree that she was the cutest thing around. she melted hearts by resting her head on men's shoulders and running around the lawn throwing tennis balls 3 feet infront of her.

from the bqq, pete and i headed to evergreen for a fun filled family time. take away from this weekend... i like my nieces and nephews that are potty trained and don't have high pitched cries that make me cringe. since there are only 3 of those, all of which are my sister's kids, well those are my favorite right now. sorry nefret, kaylee, eliza, sammy, keegan, duke and caleb, i promise to like you more when you are about 5 years old.

regardless, i had a great weekend spending time with the family. anytime the whole summers clan gets together, it is madness, but good madness. kids running around constantly, video games going, adults having brief conversations and reverting back to childhood tentencies.

i try so hard to pretend to be an adult, but the fact of the matter is when i get around my family, i revert to a 10 year old. being civil is thrown out the window and i want my way all the time. weird mix when there are actual children around. that's why family vacations are best when each adult/couple has their own room to recharge and close the door to the insanity and noise from the family.

Needless to say, i did not have my own room or my own space. the first night i spent on the floor while my husband and brother watched a movie. not comfy at all. the 2nd night, i slept on my sister's futon bed which was better than the first night, but somewhat lumpy. the 3rd, well i didn't make it to the 3rd night, we headed home so i could sleep in my own bed without the pitter patter of feet waking at ungodly hours.

takeaways from the weekend:

• 18 adults/kids at a restaurant is insane. plan to sit by someone you can talk to all evening long. i sat by my nephew who thought i was the best thing since sliced bread for the weekend. he wanted to sit by me for every meal. i've racked my brain to figure out why i was so cool to him, but i got nothing.
• it's nice to be a kid's favorite even if next time you see them, they can hardly remember your name. even adult want to feel loved and special especially coming from a kid.
• "i spy" is the greatest game ever for a bored kid.
• i had my doubts, but wii fit is fun for the whole family and so entertaining.
• and lastly, i love love my family even though they annoy the heck out of me. you read it here, i would do anything for anyone of them.

sunday night grandma took us to white fence farm where we had delicious fried chicken and then the husband and i headed home for a full nights sleep.

Peter's hand in the cow's mouth

family farm animals

me and one of my favorite nephews

monday we headed to park to get a little more time with the bute family before they left town. we dined on kfc (kentucky fried chicken for those less civilized) while bees followed us around. aparently they like fried chicken like the rest of us. kylie was there to smear dirt on her face and good times were had by all.

kylie and emily