Some people spend their first day of their 30's going someplace amazing - to be spoiled and to celebrate in wild and crazy ways. I spent mine getting up at 4 in the morning to run off to the airport for our annual McLean Family Reunion in South Bend, IN. It was seriously exhausting - and the highlight was Lucas announcing to all that could hear that his mommy was now a dinosaur. A charming sentiment. Oh so tired, but what could be a better present than to get to meet my nephew Connor! 
He was absolutely precious as were my nieces, Morgan and Maddie! We had a great happy hour and there was even a special suprise birthday celebration with mini cupcakes spelling out KTA (You see my sis-in-law is also "Katie" and so in order to not get confused I must be the one to change to KTA instead of just KT - I hope you see the injustice in this! (I am just kidding Katie.... though you did steal my name.... just kidding again.... )). The best part was that while everyone was singing "Happy Birthday", Morgan and Ethan were playing the organ shouting out "Going on an Adventure!" - an original song! These two adore each other - Momo and E back at it again!
He was absolutely precious as were my nieces, Morgan and Maddie! We had a great happy hour and there was even a special suprise birthday celebration with mini cupcakes spelling out KTA (You see my sis-in-law is also "Katie" and so in order to not get confused I must be the one to change to KTA instead of just KT - I hope you see the injustice in this! (I am just kidding Katie.... though you did steal my name.... just kidding again.... )). The best part was that while everyone was singing "Happy Birthday", Morgan and Ethan were playing the organ shouting out "Going on an Adventure!" - an original song! These two adore each other - Momo and E back at it again!
Later that night, the rest of the cousins/aunts/dogs/etc. showed up (except for my cousin Kerry who was madly studying for the Bar Exam in LA - and was horribly missed). The cousins were quick to get into all sorts of adventures together. Ethan had a bit (ok, more than a bit) of a cousin crush on 15 year old Lexi. He probably would have sat on her lap contentedly the whole weekend had he let her. Lexi's brother Casey was also a huge hit. And the two of them were so great, letting the younger kids boss them around and even beat them up on occasion (all in the name of rowdy fun!)
The boys (and Brian and I) all got lots of snuggle time in with Connor. Each of the boys took a turn holding and feeding him and were just in awe. 
The boys were also in love with the family dogs - Sandy (below) and a chihuaha named Pamela. Both were underfoot and well-loved all weekend.
Baboo Bill's pool was well used and sparkling all weekend! There was much splashing and craziness all around! Morgan learned to swim all by herself and Ethan loved jumping in with the jnoodles. By the end of the week Lucas was even comfortable with playing on the floaties rather than holding on to us for dear life... 
We celebrated on the 3rd, as much of the family had to go back home on the 4th - and that celebration must start with some patriotic family pictures.... Here are the Spragues....
My dad's side - including my grandpa - Baboo Bill, and my brother and his family....
And the whole set of us! 21 this year, I believe?!
Soon after we did pictures we heard the parade go by... We'd missed it, so I swooped up the kids to make our own parade - and Upa grabbed the wheelbarrow. I'd say they were a hit!
Later on we celebrated by decorating cupcakes! I don't think too many of the M&Ms were snatched - by the kids anyway... The adults are another story!
Lots of time to talk and play! Check out my goofy niece Maddie's sunglasses - the only way she'll wear them! She was such a kick - wandering around everywhere, doing her own thing! 
We made decorative rockets to hang in the backyard - along with some white sparkly lights! It was very festive. The kids had a great time - and all adore Baboo Bill!
My cousin Max gave us a concert in the backyard. The boys were in awe - especially when he let them play on it afterward. Awesome!
And of course there were fireworks - lots of sparklers especially! Even Lucas got to do sparklers this year - too cool (and frightening). Morgan and Ethan (who 2 years ago hid in the van with seatbelts on during the fireworks) were loving it - though they would back further and further away and then try to convince themselves how much they liked it.... After every round Ethan's arms would fly up and he'd yell "Awesome!"
The next day was full of goodbyes for everyone except us, my parents, and my aunt (and my grandpa of course!) The goodbyes are hard every year. And as all the kids get closer to each other, I think it gets harder. It just cements in my head how important it is. Even if it means getting up at the crack of dawn and dealing with time changes. My cousins are so important to me and I want my kids to have that same connections. I want them to have that same support system that our family has - people to rely on and lean on when you need to and to celebrate with! My mom informed me that one of these days my generation would have to take over the cooking. I informed her that would be the time we started getting pizza delivered. I'm all about arranging crafts and projects and supervising pool fun, but that's where I draw the line :). Sorry mom...In between more swims in the pool and lots of time bonding with Baboo, we headed out to the local zoo. It was hot and humid but we still managed to enjoy ourselves.
The highlight, of course, was the train. It was all Lucas talked about the entire time we were there (and the evening after). Huge hit. Huge.
We also managed to squeeze in a visit to Notre Dame to visit my grandma's gravesite - which was a very special time for all of us. We talked about Baboo Shirley and how we remember her - and what a special lady she was. Ethan had lots of questions this time - he was really thinking. We also hit the Bookstore to get this year's game shirts. Lucas was full of it, but it's always fun to get on campus. I have sooooo many memories there from all of our family gatherings.
Saying "bye" to Baboo brought lots of tears and hugs - but we were anxious to get back to Daddy (he'd gone back on the 4th). The travel was equally painful (even more so with the time change), but we survived. I wouldn't say we've caught up quite yet, but we're getting there I think. Of course I haven't unpacked yet - that'd be a start I suppose.....Today was our good friend Nadia's birthday party! It was a princess/knight party and the boys had a blast (as did Brian and I)! They looked very handsome in their crowns.
I couldn't get Ethan to play into the whole princess and knight fall in love thing, but we did have fun trying. 
Lucas' gift that he picked out for her was a doll that has removeable/replaceable hair - too cool! When we got home Ethan seemed a little off so I took his temp - 1o3, Oops. So down went the ibuprofen and water bottles and up went Ethan to bed. No other symptoms, except he's been a bit off the last few days, but I was chalking it up to jet lag.... Ugh. I'm off to go check his temp yet again... And then maybe I'll unpack... Then again maybe not.....
I couldn't get Ethan to play into the whole princess and knight fall in love thing, but we did have fun trying. 
Lucas' gift that he picked out for her was a doll that has removeable/replaceable hair - too cool! When we got home Ethan seemed a little off so I took his temp - 1o3, Oops. So down went the ibuprofen and water bottles and up went Ethan to bed. No other symptoms, except he's been a bit off the last few days, but I was chalking it up to jet lag.... Ugh. I'm off to go check his temp yet again... And then maybe I'll unpack... Then again maybe not.....
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