kansas

I'm home now and going through the usual, 'I miss Kansas-family' letdown that occurs everytime I leave. Of course coming home to my own family is wonderful, but I just wish I didn't have to leave my extended family who live so far away. I think the people in the 'old days' had it right when they had communities made up of families...sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc. There are very few people in my family that I wouldn't enjoy having around all of the time. Don't worry...if you're reading this blog you aren't one of them! ;)

This picture (above) is Addison sitting on a pretend bench at the park. She got such a kick out of pretending to sit on it.

Addison was probably watching Barney or Dora, two shows that she loves.

While in Kansas I stayed with Marie and Devin, but saw my sister every day. Yeah! I loved meeting my brand new grandniece, Ainsley, who was only 2 weeks old, and catching up with 2 1/2 year old, Addison. Ainsley is precious, especially when she sleeps and 'squeaks'. We thought it would be cute to nickname her 'Squeaky', but for people my age that brings up the inevitable comparison to the Manson co-hort Squeaky Fromme...so we don't want that.

Addison is a bright active little munchkin who is incredibly verbal and articulate for someone so young. She sings all the time, much like my Mariah. I was blown away when I heard her singing, Angels We Have Heard on High...including the 'in excelsis deo' part. Gee, I just learned that last year. Addison is precious with her sister and helps out all the time with diapers, wipes, binkies, etc. She also loved helping me bake cookies...and eating them!

Marie and Devin are an awesome team and welcomed me with open arms. Marie is one of the only people I know who likes to sit around and relax as much as I do. It must be in the Maszk gene pool...although my sister surely didn't receive the gene! Marie and I enjoyed our time watching American Idol and The Biggest Loser together. She and Cheryl were privileged to see me do my 'happy dance' with my sweat pants hitched up to my sagging boobs while I danced to one of my favorite contestants singing one of my favorite songs during the AI culling process. HEY...not many people have seen my happy dance show...and it WAS special. Marie threatened to take a video and post it to youtube. (It would be embarrassing, but frankly once you've walked through Mervyns with your dress tucked into your thong, doing a happy dance is mild.)

I shot these pictures while Marie was sleeping with Ainsley. They were both so tuckered out that they never even stirred despite the camera flash and multiple pictures.

Thanks for the memories Riley's and Teetsel's!