After our visit with Kathy and Randy, Charlie and I headed downstate for our annual
Mooradian family reunion. Pete had to travel for work that week, so it worked out well for Charlie and I to travel to see all the family that week too! Charlie and I left Thursday morning with an 8 hour ride ahead of us. I was pretty nervous to do it by myself, but Charlie was a trooper! He slept for 2 hours on the drive through the UP, then we stopped at the bridge and had some lunch at Subway. He ate almost all of his sandwich (that NEVER happens!). My next hope was to make it to Birch Run and stop there. We had to make one emergency bathroom stop, but other than that, we made it to the outlets with no hitches. We walked into a few stores, hit the bathroom, got gas, and then jumped back in the car. We made it home for dinner at my parents, and I truly couldn't have asked for a better road trip from Charlie. I vow I will never do that ride again with just the two of us because I don't think it could ever go as perfect again!
On Friday we met all the cousins and kiddos at a Splash Pad in Farmington. It was such a cool place, and Charlie loved it, of course! After lunch, everyone was dressed and packed to leave, but my son was still in the water! Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures because there were so many kids, and I really had to keep my eye on Charlie. Saturday was the family reunion/birthday party. We all celebrated Grant and Avery's birthday together at David and Andrea's house. It was a SUPER hot day, but luckily they had a nice tent and a ton of water toys for the kids to play in. Charlie had so much fun splashing around with his cousins. He definitely remembered how much he LOVES Anna... he couldn't stop playing with her and definitely kept talking about her days later. She's such a good little helper with him, and you can tell how much she loves him. I really miss having her close by for him =( There are not many pictures from the reunion because it was so hot. We didn't even get a big family picture because the chaos started from the moment we walked in the door!
The rest of the trip was spent with my parents, Dan & Mary, and with my best friend, Christina. We spent some good quality time with everyone, and Charlie enjoyed playing with his cousins and friends. He and Matt are starting to have so much fun when they are together... it's so much fun to watch! Uncle Dan taught Charlie how to play hide 'n' seek while we were there. Matt and Charlie would hide behind the wall while Dan found a hiding spot. Then they would walk together, looking for Dan. He would jump out and grab them to tickle them. Charlie loved every minute of it!
On the way back home, Charlie and I broke up the drive with a stop at Uncle Mark and Aunt Kelly's house. We had dinner there with Grandpa and Grandma, had our usual donuts for breakfast, then headed on our way back home. Overall, it was a great trip, but we were definitely tired after a busy week. It's hard traveling on our own like that, and it really takes a lot out of me being a single parent for that long. We are so happy we were able to see everyone though, and the stress and exhaustion were totally worth it!! We are looking forward to the family reunion next year because we might be traveling somewhere and get to spend the entire weekend with the family! Woohoo!!!
Charlie jumping into the pool to cool off at the party.
Anna helping Charlie "slip 'n' slide".
Spending some quality time with his buddy, Jameson.
Teamwork to ride the bike.
Our nice visit with Tatum, Alex and Reece.
Checking out Papa's motorcycle.
Charlie's night out with Papa and Mimi.
Mimi helped Charlie do all the puzzles.
As part of my birthday present from Pete, I got a new flash for my camera. When I was home in Brighton for a couple weeks, I had my wonderful cousin and amazing photographer, Melissa, show me how to use it. It was a VERY quick session since we were juggling 4 kiddos that were ready for naps, but I think I got the gist of it. I've been snapping some fun pictures of Charlie throughout the day, so I thought I would share a couple of them. The top one is hilarious! Charlie had just gone to the bathroom. He was only wearing underwear and shorts, but when he goes to the bathroom, he has to take them off. So, after he took care of his potties, he decided to run around the house naked. I was in the other room, and Pete called me into the family room. When I came in, this is what I saw! I'm so glad he stayed there for the picture because I think it's pretty dang cute!
Charlie is really getting into playing make-believe. He loves his kitchen these days! A BIG special thanks to Alex, Sara, Anna & Jack for lending it to us... it's getting A LOT of use! This particular day, Charlie wanted me to join him at the table to have lunch. He got out all the utensils for us, and then proceeded to serve me. We had quite the variety of foods to choose from! Every time I thought we were ready to eat, he would say, "we need something else" and run back to the fridge for more. It was so much fun playing with him like that. I'm glad I was able to capture the moment in a picture!
This past weekend, we went on our first family camping trip to Norway Lake. We joined three other families, people Pete works with, for a wonderful weekend in the wilderness. No phones, no showers, and no electricity! This was Charlie's and Payton's first time out, so I was a little nervous... not to mention it was my first time camping again since I was a kid. We got there on Friday afternoon and set everything up. Even in the first 15 minutes, you could tell Charlie was in his element. There were 4 other boys from ages 4-8 for him to play with, so he was in hog heaven! One of the boys, Ethan, was Charlie's favorite. He always wanted to play with him, and lucky for us, Ethan was a champ. He has a 10-month-old brother, so he's had some practice with little ones. We had some wonderful meals, provided by my wonderful hubby, played at the beach, enjoyed some quality time with new friends, fished, played some Catch Phrase, and just enjoyed being out in nature. It was a pretty hot weekend and Pete had to travel again Monday morning, so we got up Sunday morning and headed home early. I'm glad we did because it ended up being 90 here! It was a great first camping experience for us. Payton got attacked by the horseflies, but that was our only negative part of the weekend! Charlie definitely has his Daddy's blood because he was a natural! Pete knew just what to bring to keep us comfortable and taken care of, so that made all the difference in the world! We are looking forward to our next trip!
For the 4
