Vacation 2014 Day 1

I don't have many pictures from yesterday because I was too excited to take any.

We got to the airport about 5 minutes before Emily, Ryan, and Graysen came through the door to where we were waiting.  I actually had tears in my eyes when I saw that baby.  Seeing pictures is nothing like seeing the real thing - a toddler now and knowing what she wants and where she wants to go.  I was a little worried about her reaction to us, not having seen me in 6 months and Mike in 3, but she gave me a sweet little grin over Emily's shoulder, and her eyes showed recognition of the bird calls (I guess that's what they were) Mike was making.

They tried to put her little backpack on, and that was not what she wanted.  Legs all of a sudden wouldn't work, and she made it known vocally that that was not the right decision.
She's so adaptable, though, her bad moods and pouty faces only last a minute, and she's easily distracted.

She slept on the trip home but woke up when we got home.  She met Great-Grandma and smiled and held out her arms but wouldn't sit in her lap.  Later on, GG got out her necklaces, and that was a big hit.  They sat on the bed and went through them all, and Graysen must have said, "Wow" and "Ooohh" 100 times.  She spent 30 minutes or more putting them into a cup and taking them out and opening and closing the boxes.  I think there are pictures in someone's camera; I'll get them later.

I think her favorite thing in our house was her little blue chair.  Once she got used to it, she was either sitting in it or, more often, carrying it.  Mike said she was using it like her lion tamer's chair to keep her grandparents at bay.

These pictures were taken right after we got home, and she was still in the trying-to-figure-out-these-people mood.

I'm up before everyone else and just enjoying the quiet time before a very busy day.  Stephanie and Gray will arrive around noon.  The have just had their 17th wedding anniversary, and Emily and Ryan had their 5th one yesterday, so we'll have cake and barbecue and lots of fun.

I love my refrigerator this morning.  Top shelf:  Graysen's milk, banana bread, and everything else we could pile up there.  Second one:  Mama's week's supply of McDonald's apple pies, leftover crawfish, broccoli salad and G's sweet little bottles and cups.  Third shelf:  Smoked brisket, smoked macaroni, barbecue sauce, and deviled eggs.  Bottom shelf:  Anniversary cake from Costco.  I've heard their cakes are really good, so we'll see.