Where have all the Texans gone?

Ro and Ree are kind of in disbelief that their cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents left us and went back to Texas. It is WAY too quiet around here, and we’re all missing the awesome cousin hugs, the kids piled in every room for sleepovers, the fun games, and all the neat things we did. Luckily school starts soon to distract the girls from the fact that it is just us rattling around in this quiet ole house.

With four photographers at the ready (me, Ma, Aunt Rejeana, and Aunt Kate) we ended up with quite a few grin-worthy shots of everyone together. Here are a few collages with all of our pics (click any collage to enlarge).

Twelve extra relatives (16 family members, including us) to hang around with meant that the backyard was always teeming with love and fun:

Who doesn’t love swimming? We snuck in a quick trip to the pool while we were waiting for the boys to arrive (they roadtripped here with the grandparents):

Gilroy Gardens (up until the fateful run-in with the monkey bars) was a blast. If you look closely in the last one, you can see that Ree’s fave Wela Wear dress had to be cut off her (none of us were going to bend that arm to try and get it off, that’s for sure) and we used surgical tape to hold it together until we got home:

Ree said if we bought her a stroller and pushed her around all day that she wanted to go with everyone to the Monterey Aquarium. And the little sweetie rallied and really enjoyed herself (with the help of some frequent pain meds):

On the last day, we hung out at a fun local park that has a massive oak tree – perfect for climbing or playing under:

Come back soon Texans! We miss you already, and we’ll try to avoid any hospital runs next time.