Family Fun Weekend

We spent this past weekend in Marshall Town, Iowa for the Agan Family Reunion. (my dad's side of the family) My parents and my sister and her family were there as well. Jim had to work on Saturday so he missed out on all the fun! The picture from above was taken at Hickory Park in Ames, Iowa where we enjoyed some memories of past meals. Go ISU!
Grant, Grayson and Helaina at Hickory Park!
The rest of us at Hickory Park.... leave it to Breleigh to keep eating even while getting her picture taken. Sweet potato fries trump photos I guess!

The kids got into dancing at the dinner for the reunion! I guess Breleigh can really get down with her bad self! We will have to watch out for this one!
This is Helaina cutting a rug with her cousin Zephie!
Just another "move" that Breleigh discovered on the dance floor.
Reagan loved to dance as much as the rest! She recently danced so hard at a wedding that she got sores on her feet!
I think I forgot to rotate this picture but doesn't it look awesome! I think Grayson is going to really be able to cut a rug!
Reagan and her cousin Catie! Catie treated all these kids like they were the most special people in the world! They loved her!
Nana bought all the girls coordinating outfits for this event! I think they all look so DARLING!!!


Grayson and Helaina (one year apart in age)
Breleigh and Reagan! A lot of people think they look alike. Heather and I don't really see it... what do you think?
Two silly girls!
The cousins! Grayson is very outnumbered but he seems to handle it with style!
We like to start them out young! hehehehehehe- don't worry it was empty! Later in the evening she was helping an American Girl Doll drink from it! hehehehehehe
Dinner was a the Legion.... my dad rarely drinks but it must have sounded good that night because he enjoyed one! (only one.... wouldn't want to go over the top!)
Auntie Heather bought some finger puppets for entertainment. They were pretty fun to play with!

This was a momentous occasion for Grant. He had never enjoyed a "beverage" in an American Legion before. Cheers!

Proud to be an American

Seaman Edwards! (A.K.A. My adorable, can't possibly be old enough, remember him when he was just a tiny baby- Nick)
This Seaman gets All the cute girls!
We just can't resist a man in uniform! (seems weird to refer to my "little" nephew as a man but he is what he is!)
Siblings! Stacy and Nick Edwards (My niece and nephew)
A very proud Grandma and Papa with their grandson.
Three generations of Edwards'
The grown up generations!
(Top) Mike- Father Nick Carrie- Step Mom
(Bottom) Stacy- sister Logan- brother Lexi- sister
Nick with his parental units!
Father and Son enjoying a good laugh! (never mind that I was trying to take pictures) ;)
A REAL Navy man never forgets how important it is to show some love for his cousin!
Yup -that's me! I am one proud Auntie and I think he looked so adorable in his dress whites!
Oh gee... is anyone really surprised that I had my girls wear their sailor dresses for this big event? They were the talk of Chili's while we were eating lunch. The restaurant was crawling with men in uniform and their families!

We had a great time enjoying some quality time with family and especially with Nick. It was fun to get to hear about boot camp and see how much he has changed. We all sent him as many letters as we could and he was so gracious about receiving them! We were unable to go to the actual graduation (only a very limited number of tickets ) but I am so grateful that I was able to go and give my nephew a hug! These men and women in uniform are pretty important people! I feel so blessed to live in this country and have these awesome people keeping me safe. So, even though I have never felt the need to discriminate between any branches of the armed forces I do feel the need to end this post with.... GO NAVY!!!! (hehehehehehehehehehehehehe)

(and yes.... I was dorky enough to buy myself a sweatshirt that said..... "Navy Aunt"!

Happy Fourth of July

Breleigh is waiting for parade to start! She seemed to like every bit of it. That is, until Monkey Joe from Monkey Joe's showed up. He wasn't even on our side of the street and Breleigh desperately needed to be picked up! hehehehehehehehe
Next year Helaina will know that when the parade starts it also means the candy starts! She didn't really know that this year!
Arriving early leaves plenty of time for pictures!

We stopped at Casey's before the parade so the girls could enjoy their breakfast while we waited for the parade to start. Fun stuff!

All in all we had a great time at our FIRST parade. We made our way to Bettendorf early this morning and scored a primo spot, right in front of Mc Donalds. This worked out perfect for us since Jim is FOREVER needing to use the restroom and Breleigh is in the very beginning stages of potty training. We speculated on who would have to go first.... Jim or Breleigh? It was Breleigh! hehehehehehehe
Since this was our first parade we were pretty naive as to what would take place. (and when I say "we" I mean the girls.... of course Jim and I have attended many parades!) Helaina didn't know about all the goodies they would be passing out. I did have the foresight to bring a couple of grocery bags for the girls goodies though. Helaina lacks the aggressive gene she needs to fully reap the benefits from parades. I don't think I am actually complaining though. We were seated by a group of older children. Two boys, atleast 8-10 years old kept literally taking candy right from below her fingers and then proceeded to stand in front of the girls during the parade. I REALLY wanted to say something to them but.... I didn't! Jim probably thought I was overreacting but COME ON! (oh.... and no adult figure ever discussed with these boys that maybe they should not stand in front of other kids!) Ok... my rant is over! We had a great time at the parade and Helaina was thrilled with the candy and goodies.