the good life

We spent the weekend with my family in Augusta. My family has never been the type to argue or feud (the three children during the years prior to their high school graduations being the obvious exception), and I think I've discovered that the secret to this is that we pretty easily all agree about what constitutes a good time, and we stick with doing those things. 

Things We All Think Are Great:
1. Holding babies.
2. Eating.
3. Being outside.
4. Shopping.
5. Holding babies.
6. Eating.
7. Jesus.
8. Being pampered.
9. Eating.
10. Taking pictures.
11. Laughing.
12. Holding babies.

Seriously-- stick to doing the things everyone likes and you are guaranteed to have a fabulous weekend. Unless you start fighting about whose turn it is to hold the baby (mine, always mine)...and then you can just appease yourselves with food and get back to the good times. So here's what our weekend looked like.

Saturday Morning: Matt and Erika Bike the Augusta Canal.

 It's been years since I've biked or ran the Canal (and Matt's never been), and it was as fabulous as I remembered. I'd be lying if I didn't catch myself thinking I want to move back to Augusta a few times as we rode...there's just nothing like this in Athens! Sigh.

Saturday Afternoon: Sarah and Erika Get Their Nails Did.

I laugh hysterically as I watch Sarah laugh hysterically as her pedicure guy evidently TICKLES HER TO DEATH. It was ridiculous. And Sarah's a VERY LOUD laugher, so I'm pretty sure everyone in the shop hated us was highly amused. [my toes- Essie 'in the cab-ana', my fingers- Essie 'clambake']

Saturday Night: Sarah and Erika Have a Photo Shoot in the Back of Dad's Truck on the Way to Dinner.

 Having photo shoots in the car has been our tradition since about 199whenevertheyinventeddigitalcameras. I'd like to think we've perfected the art. I'd also like to say that the front-facing camera on the iPhone leaves something to be desired.

Saturday Night: We Have a Surprise 60th Birthday Party for my Dad at a BBQ Restaurant!

We have fun celebrating my dad (who was TOTALLY SHOCKED, which was extra fun!), eating, and holding Carley slash taking pictures of ourselves holding Carley. 

You know all those years of childhood you spent making sure that you and your siblings got the EXACT SAME AMOUNT OF TIME doing something limited/coveted (sitting in the front seat of the car (before that was illegal), playing video games, choosing what movie to watch, holding the new puppy)? Well, this skill comes in super handy again once there is ONE baby and FORTY-SEVEN hands that want to hold her (rough estimate). Sarah and I can shut down pretty much everyone else in the room pretty fast (Jake & Emily- out, they get to have her all the time. Our parents- out, they live 2 miles away. Emily's parents- out, they live 10 miles away. Anyone else- out, they don't love her enough) so we have just the two of us to share her between. So far we've kept things moderately friendly, although we certainly keep tabs on who's had the most time and who is proving she does/does not love her the most [for instance, while I was holding Carley, Sarah accidentally bumped (barely brushed) C's head with her elbow. CLEARLY SARAH HATES HER AND IS A TERRIBLE AUNT OMG HOW COULD YOU DO THAT?!??!]. Obviously I'm winning, but Sarah keeps it a pretty close race. 

Sunday Afternoon: Father's Day Cookout at Jake & Emily's House.

 I'm sure you're all shocked to think that we might spend the afternoon passing around the baby and taking pictures. Matt even got some turns this time...sometimes Sarah and I are saintly like that.

Later Sunday Afternoon: I Woo Carley to Sleep Using my Top-Secret, Patent-Pending, Highly Effective Baby Whispering Techniques.

Everyone else ate, I spend 20 minutes convincing Carley that life isn't completely terrible and that she won't miss anything fun if she closes her eyes for a few minutes. As soon as I got her to calm down a little in my arms, Sarah decided that my time was up and more or less snatched C away. Then, 5 minutes later, when she puts the sleeping baby into her crib, she tries to steal all the Baby Whispering credit. The nerve, right? It's okay. We all know who the Best Aunt really is.

All in all, it was a completely delightful weekend. In case you can't tell, I absolutely love spending time with my sister and my family, and I am head over heels for that precious one-month-old (!!!!), 45-lb (ish) chunk of baby. And I have the photographs to prove it. Boom.