Keith, party of...15?

The reason we head out to Cali every year or so is because my Mom's family is from and still lives there. After my sister got her degree in fashion design she knew she'd have to move closer to a design hotbed. Alabama is many great and wonderful things but design mecca certainly is not. So my sister* transplanted herself across the country as well and now lives a cozy life out there with her husband (rad Dave) and her daughter (sweet Charlotte). So all my maternal aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and my sister live within miles of each other in the Monterey Bay area - Watsonville to be exact.

Dave and Meghan just bought a new home last month and we were SO excited to see it. Meghan hosted a whole slew of us one night for lasagna (her specialty) and we all had a great time testing out every nook and cranny of her kitchen, dining room and living room.

Predictably, the girls preferred the front yard. It's so sweet - complete with a white picket fence. Hello American Dream!










I love this next shot. I feel like I'm intruding on their private toddler conversation. Charlotte's in the middle of a sentence that I imagine goes something like this, "...yeah, and my mom was all, 'CHARLOTTE PUT THAT MIMI AWAY!' and I was like, 'mooooom, get a life!' "

Or something. Humor me here.

Meanwhile Meghan was getting all domestic in the kitchen...

And I relished not being the hostess so I hung out outside snapping photos as people arrived...

My (not so) little cousins, Noah and Aaron...

So we all have those family members that make us feel old just by their very being, right? You know, the ones that sprout three and a half feet between visits and then talk like linebackers when the last time you spoke they sounded closer to Minnie Mouse? Yeah. Noah and Aaron are those people to me. When I was in high school and they were visiting Noah used to tag along with me and a my friends as our little mascot. I'll never forget the night we took him to O'Charleys (he was probably 7) and he couldn't take his eyes off of a couple making out across the room. Poor kid. I'm sure he was traumatized. As we walked out I asked him if he had fun and he said, "yeah...well...except for those people having sex at the bar!" Oh man my friends and I laughed so hard! I get a little teary-eyed and punchy just thinking about it! Poor Noah, that story is bound to live in infamy with me just as the beer-collecting toddler story does with my aunt and her friends.

I digress. These boys make me feel old.

Check out Aaron's locks. I would kill for hair like this...

And last but not least, my favorite shot of the day. I know, I know, you guys probably hate it. It's totally snapshotty and poorly composed but I *love* it. I knew I loved it from the minute I clicked the shutter. Whatever, I'm a freak like that.

Hope you're having a great week!

* For the record, rad Dave is pretty much the sole blogger over at Charlotte's Web but I hear Meghan takes the pictures so she gets the linkage this time. :)