Family Reunion

Friday morning, we left for a family reunion in Tennessee.  We had the boys all set up with their DVD players.  It is a seven hour drive.  They did great!  There were a couple difficult moments with Drew and his anxiety on the way there and back, but overall, they did great in the van.  I am so proud of them!

My grandma rented a guest house at Big South Fork Ranch in Jamestown, TN for all her grandchildren.  She and my aunt and cousin live about four miles away and her sons and their spouses stayed with her.  Most of our time was spent at the ranch house. 

 Here's a pic of the house.  The ranch was really scenic. 

That's my nephew Kyle talking to the horse. He just loves animals. 

There's me drinking an adult beverage out of a kids' cup.  Classy, right?

This is the side of my family from where Fragile X came.   So there were lots of carrier and full mutation people there.  It was nice because I didn't feel like I had to apologize for my kids' behavior all the time.  And I felt like everyone looked out for them.  Of course, the majority of the time, Drew stood by the door, letting people in and out.  My grandma tried to get him to keep the door closed at first, but I think she gave up after awhile.  

He opened the door for my cousin Natalie a few times, and each time, she said, "Thank you, Honey", so of course, Drew started saying that to her every time he saw her.  Sunday morning, he peeked into her bedroom and said,"Good Morning, Honey," to her.  

He also latched onto my uncle Rich.  He is a grandpa himself.  Drew asked him many times, "What's your name?"  and my uncle would tell him.  I told Rich to say, "Drew, you know my name.  What is it?"  Drew just likes to have a conversation starter and "What's your name" seems to be it.  Here's a pic of them on Saturday morning:

One of Blake's favorite things to do was to play with the pool table. 

My cousin Gail's husband Jason played with him. 

My cousin Robbie was there.  He also has Fragile X and my nephew Kyle really likes him.  He was sitting next to him on Friday night and Kyle asked if he could feel Robbie's mustache.  Rob reluctantly allowed it.

Don't they both have great dimples?

There were so many more cousins and so many more stories to tell, but in true Kristie fashion, I am going to end it here with a link to more pictures.

Vagedes Family Reunion