Stacer Days: Visitors from across the pond

My brother Matt, his wife Fi, and their eight month old son, Raphael made the long trip from England to Texas to spend a couple of weeks hanging out with the family. They flew into Austin and stayed at my sister's for a few days, so my parents came up to get in on the action. At first it was just a little Stacer boy action...

Aaron like his Grandpa... just a little.

Then we went over to my sister's house to visit with everyone....

Then out to dinner that night. If you are wondering where all of the photos of that giggly, precious, eight month old, English nephew of mine are... well he's still too shy for the internet. You'll have to take my word for it, he's a perfect mix of his Mama and Daddy, with puffy cheeks and a smile that takes up his whole face. One of the happiest babies we've run across in a long time.

The next morning we went for a stroll. I'm holding up the back-end of this train... it was all that Autumn and I could do to keep up.

The rest of the group came over to our house for pizza and a little hang out time....

Aaron was pretty excited to "play Legos" with Uncle Matt.

The fighter jet Uncle Matt made for them.

A few days later we loaded up and headed south to spend some more time with Matt and his family at my parents' house. Our visit overlapped with my sister's so all of the grand kids were in one place for a day or so... we thought we'd better document this, as it will be a long time before that happens again (and by then there will be at least one more)...

Adam (5), Grandpa, Braelynn (18 months), Aaron (7), Grandma, and a tease glimpse of Raphael (8 months)

That night we celebrated Thanksgiving in April. My brother missed out on his American Thanksgiving last year, so we recreated it for him. It was a good treat. I'd be fine with having a Thanksgiving feast more often, or that could just be my six-month pregnant belly talking.

The next day everyone went their separate ways for a time, so we decided to kidnap Grandpa and hit up an old favorite spot from our days of living in Boerne. Alan used to frequent James Kiehl Park for a little fly-fishing on the Guadalupe River and some secluded-nature time. It is a neat place where the water is quite shallow in some areas, enough for the boys to play around while the big boys walk up stream to fish.

Aaron displaying one of Grandpa's catches.

I didn't really come prepared for them to wade in the river this trip, so I put on their grubbiest play clothes and they went at it. Adam took a little convincing, as he was under the impression it was just too cold (and it was) to play in that water. Aaron, however, went in straightaway and did so singing and laughing, never once mentioning the cool temperatures. I sat in a chair under the bridge to stay out of the drizzling rain/fog and enjoyed the peace and tranquility of the setting. Well, until Adam was fully comfortable and making his usual amount of noise.

They eventually got their entire bodies wet! My only rule was they had to keep their heads dry. Crazy kids...

Back to the house that afternoon, in dry clothes...

Adam...Maybe if I sit real still, he won't realize that I'm here.

Saturday morning it was a happy surprise to find out the Corvette Show in Boerne was happening. So, despite the still drizzly weather, we loaded up and headed to town. After a stop for piggies at Bear Moon Bakery, we walked down Main Street and attempted to take in a slightly unbelievable number of Corvettes.

After a while, they all start looking the same. Is it wrong of me to thing that? The new ones are pretty, but I was holding out for the older ones... 60's and 70's.

Nothing like a Daddy-back nap.

Grandpa and his buddy.

Adam, Grandma and Wild Bill.

We found a British car in this sea of American excess...to make Aunt Fi feel better :) It was just Adam's size. There was a bumper sticker on the back that read "100% BMW free." - which is funny, (in the 1990s, BMW acquired the Mini brand). It think we have tractor tires that are larger than those.

That afternoon the weather cleared perfectly and we all piled into our car and went to Fiesta Texas. The boys love it there and though they are already tall enough to ride most rides, we are holding off on some of the larger ones until they get a little thicker... In the meantime, Alan was stuck doing most of the riding and I was sidelined... belly and all.