January 25, 2010

After we said goodbye to the Welch family Tuesday morning, we packed into a rental SUV, and set off to Oklahoma. We arrived late in the evening, too late, unfortunately, to see Graham, but early enough to settle in to the cozy yellow home on Frank street, give hugs all around, and begin catching up with Max and Jenny. Those four and a half days flew by! In the meantime, Max and Jenny were gracious to overlook the piles of bedding and large suitcase stacked throughout their home. :-)



Cuddling


Stories with Grandma, Aunties, and Uncle. :-)

Catching up

And playing games

One evening, we enjoyed the company of M&J's next door neighbor. He kept us laughing with his stories, yet, we appreciated the 'life advice' he shared with us as well.





We celebrated Jacob's 7th birthday while we were there. Happy Birthday Jacob!

Another afternoon, Max gave us all a tour of the University. The architecture was spectacular!


Unfortunately, I was not allowed to photograph my favorite place . . . the library. Just sitting in a place as beautiful as that must inspire great scholarly reflections.

Morning sunshine!



What a crack up!

Graham-boy is very loved.



In fact, we even had the privilege of watching him practice walking.

When Saturday rolled around, we tidied up for company. Dad's brother Uncle Craig, his wife Aunt Rene'; and Dad's sister Aunt Lisa, her husband Uncle Jung, and their two children, Eliot and Elianna drove over from Texas to spend the day. We enjoyed catching up, celebrating two birthdays, and even a great conversation in the evening about courtship and marriage. :-)

Aunt Rene' is sitting beside Mom in the picture above, with Aunt Lisa beside her.

Swings provide amusement for Littles and Bigs. :-)

Aunt Lisa, Jenny, and Graham.

Max and Jenny are only a short walk away from a park. Jeremy was excited about that! :-P

So was Simon it seems.


Two birthday boys, Eliot Paek and Jacob Parish.
Aunt Rene' brought the cake . . .

Along with a stack of fun color and activity books for the Littles. A big thank-you to Aunt Rene'!

Chattin away . . .


Brothers - and both history buffs! In light of our recent reenacting adventures, we had a lot of Civil War talk going on that day.

Uncle Jung is a wealth of information. A few years ago, he and his family moved out onto a ranch in Texas. It was great swapping stories about the many things animals teach can teach us. :-P Some of those lessons aren't so fun. He is also the one who helped us into target shooting. The guys have done a little hunting with him as well.

Gals on a bridge. Original eh?

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We laughed when we saw the next sequence of pictures. These are the events leading up to a family picture.

Can't you hear the wedding photographer . . . "Okay, everyone look at them kissing!" Ha!


The final 'goodbye' shot.


But . . . since those often nasty, necessary words, 'good-bye', are not a pleasant ending . . . I decided to end on a much happier note. Grandpa and Graham!