Ashley is my third cousin from Trenton, New Jersey. Although we have never met face to face, I have seen pictures of her and heard about her all my life. Her grandma and my grandma are sisters-in-law and have kept in touch over the years and her mom and my grandma have been pen pals for as long as I can remember. Thanks to Facebook my cousins and I have been able to keep in "cyber touch" with our long-lost cousin. She had the absolute stellar idea to fly out our way this summer to meet all of us in the Okie state. We have been looking forward to it and counting down for a few months now and on Friday she finally landed in the heartland........
Aunt Lisa and Bailey went to pick up Ash at the aiport with an eye-catching sign to greet her with. Unfortunately the sign didn't get any action that day. Just as her flight landed in OKC there was a bomb scare that caused the airport to be shut down....no flights coming in, none going out, people stuck on planes and a traffic jam driving into the airport.....Lisa and Bailey had a long afternoon waiting in the car and Ashley was going stir crazy in a "secure location" somewhere in the airport. Come to find out this bomb scare was all because of a box containing a megaphone that played Christmas music. Scary stuff! ;)
After getting a not so friendly greeting at the airport she was greeted outside by Lisa and Bailey. Actually it went more like this....they drove by and quickly shoved Ash's bags into the car and she jumped in the car and drove off because of all of the traffic. United at last!!!
Now it was time for her to meet the rest of the fam. Hallie and I were beyond excited to get to Enid....she just wasn't so much excited about the drive in the car to get there. She let me know about her distaste by screaming for about 75% of the trip. Great fun, let me tell ya. We were met at the car by a very excited Dara...she grabbed her Hallie girl and didn't let go all weekend. ;)
"Hey ya'll! The party is here!"
Garrett and Bailey had kidnapped Ashley to take her across town to meet Aunt Lana at work. We waited in suspense for her walk through the door. I'm serious....I was SOOOOOO excited!!!! And even more excited when she finally showed up.......
See my cheesy super excited smile!?
First things first: did she have an accent? We had been practicing our Jersey accents for weeks (ok maybe just me) and she had already informed us that she didn't have one. I wasn't buyin' it though. We spent the evening perfecting our Jersey accents, swimming and feeding our faces. I couldn't resist ordering a yummy Cake Lady cake for this occasion....
Ash came to Oklahoma bearing gifts for Hallie that her and her mom had picked out. Hallie opened up the cutest little outfits, one of which I can't wait for her to wear as one of her birthday outfits.
David and Lisa were wonderful hosts as always and we had a GrEaT evening......
Hallie hadn't forgotten about her love for the water and once we poured her into her new swimming suit (apparently she is rapidly outgrowing her 12 month clothing) she was begging to go outside.....
"Um, excuse me, is it time to swim yet?"
The little fish had a blast in the water.....
Bathing Beauty
Fish Kisses
Cheers to Jersey
I love them....I don't know why....but I love them! ;)
Oh and I can't forget the most exciting moment of the night. We were all sitting around relaxing outside by the pool when someone started screaming and everyone but Ashley and I were staring toward the corner of the house with looks of fear and disgust. What on EARTH is going on?!?! Finally we saw what everyone was so worked up about.......
Heart attack city!!!
While the girls ran away, huddled and screamed, Spencer, David and dad headed over with shovels and other killing devices and chopped his head off. YUCK!!! They guys tell us it was a bull snake which is harmless but a snake is a snake is a snake (shiver). Of course dad had to threaten chasing us with the headless snake hanging lifelessly over the shovel. More screaming and running ensued....
Disposing of the intruder
Hallie just couldn't resist staying up late to avoid missing any of the fun. Her bedtime ended up being 1:00 a.m. Yes, You read that correctly. This is after falling asleep at her regular 8:00 p.m. bedtime but crawling out to greet everyone a short hour later.
Looks tired but apparently not tired enough to miss all the fun :)
After trying several times to rock her to sleep I eventually just gave up and let her run around and beg Dara for Cheetos....
"Are you the one with the Cheetos?"
We broke Ashley into the fam by watching some old home videos...they solidified the fact that Dara is and always has been ridiculously entertaining! I was feeling pretty old and gray for getting so sleepy but Jersey happened to be the first to pass out on the couch...then Dara fell victim to sleep followed by Garrett. I guess I really can hang still! Ok it could have had something to do with the crazy, hyped up ten month old crawling around everywhere....
Saturday was such a gorgeous day. I convinced Dara to take a run with me that morning....I thought it might make up for all of the binge eating we would be doing that weekend. Turns out it just kicked our butts...by 9:30 it was already in the high 80s. We brought our sweaty selves inside and were in trouble for not waking up Ash to go run with us. Hallie joined us for half of the run but spent the other half giving Lisa a workout inside. Hallie was in need of a nap so we made our way back to my dad's house to restore her good mood. The nap didn't happen. Instead she had Gman chase her around the house from back door to dog food bowl over and over. Packed and ready for a fun day we joined the whole fam for brunch at David and Lisa's before we left for OKC. Hallie spent the meal on Dara's lap being fed various new foods but she stuck with her favorite....bananas. Cool part about this is that she actually said "banana!" It sounded something kinda like this....."baaaa.....nana." I fed her bite after bite prompting her to say it again for mommy. While Ashley fed her facebook addiction, Hallie went over to check on things.....
"Mind if I update my status real quick?"
The fact that Hallie hadn't had her nap yet was actually a blessing in disguise because she passed out right before we got in the car and slept most of the trip....
"There's a good possibility that I will sleep all day"
I drove the "27 and over" vehicle with David, Lisa, dad and Hallie while Garrett, Bailey, Spencer, Ashley and Dara rode together in the "23 and under" ride. I think David and dad would have traded places with two from the other group after having to be Hallie's servants during the last fifteen minutes of our trip. She woke up none to happy to be riding in her carseat (what's new?!) One servant held her Einstein video in front of her while the other held her bottle and fed her. Lisa and I enjoyed the view and entertainment from the front seat. She had those boys trained by the time we got to our destination. The girl knows how to get her way! Our first stop along the way: Pops.
Ash had done some research on what us Okies do here for fun and she had made a list of things she wanted to see and places she wanted to go. One that list was Route 66 so Lisa thought Pops would be the perfect place to go!
"These gals know what I like!"
Love this girl!
Pops with his pop at POPS. ;)
Hallie continued her training of the men during our trip. She has started some serious pointing as of late. Where she points, you will go. So Garrett and her ended up on the side of the store checking out the pretty trees....
"I've got them all whipped now"
Garrett makes me laugh on a regular basis. What makes me laugh even more?!? Hallie and Garrett together. They are pretty cute when they play together but once a whine or a cry is heard he hands her over or leaves her be. My witty cousin says "I don't do crying". Lol. I wish I could say that!
We left Pops and headed to our next stop along the way. Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill was on Ashley's list of places to eat so we posted up on the tailgates inside and waited for a big table.....
David deserves props for stepping foot in the establishment because he had vowed never to eat here....
Toby's biggest fan...lol
After quite a long wait with a very cranky and restless Hallie we finally sat down. Riley showed up soon after and just in time because momma needed a break. He rocked her to sleep in cousin Aaron's carseat....LIFESAVER! She has never needed a nap so badly.....
She even looked mad while sleeping...imagine that
My cousin Matt, his wife Amy and their son Aaron also ate dinner with us. Hallie should've been taking notes about how to act in public....
Sweet blue-eyed boy
I won't go into detail about how my child was really acting because I don't want to relive it...let's just say she had been passed around numerous times and was running out of people who wanted to put up with her crankiness. Aunt Lisa was a trooper and relieved me as I was about five minutes from going crazy! That girl was wearing her grumpy pants at dinner for sure!
The west end of the table peer-pressured Ash into tasting an Oklahoma delicacy.......
Calf fries
Next stop after dinner. A Redhawks game! Ash is a huge Yankee's fan and goes to games now and again since it's just an hour long train ride away. A minor league game was on her checklist so the fam took in a ballgame together. Two babies at the game. One was on their best behavior...I'll let you guess which one.
Aaron & Matt
Not only was in a great evening with my dad, cousins, aunts and uncles....but it was so good to be away from home doing something with my little family of three together! These days those occasions are few and far between. They keep me smiling when I just don't feel like it.....
See what I mean....
"Fits pretty good mom"
Hallie was a bit challenging during the game and wanting to crawl and climb and play. After the fun of clapping and cheering subsided for her she was looking for something to munch on....this popsicle seemed to do the trick.....
"Momma, I never said I was an angel..."
Bed. Time. It came in the 5th inning. She was exhausted and in need of a comfy bed. Good thing Riley had plans to stay at our Mustang house that night with our girl. That meant Hallie would get to sleep in her crib and would surely have a good night's sleep. Riley and Hallie gave momma kisses and said goodbye.....
"You're OUT!"
She was only fooling though because she woke up to give cousin Aaron a high five before she left. They discussed their most recent favorite foods, new toys and Hallie quizzed Aaron about how he stays so calm for such long periods of time. I hope some of his advice rubbed off on her. They are just too darn cute together!
"Great game, we should do this more often cuz"
By the time the 7th inning came around, Garrett was in need of some serious stretching and everyone else was T I R E D....
He takes the 7th inning stretch pretty serious
Sunday was an even more gorgeous day. Again I recruited someone to go run with me. I nabbed Dara and Garrett and we tortured ourselves in the 90 degree weather. Cake and pop at midnight didn't mix well with a run that next morning. Bailey, Spencer, Ashley, Dara, Garrett and I got our laughs for the day watching Hangover 2.....almost as good as the first one!!! The sun was calling our names and our tummies were rumbling. Pizza and margaritas were on the menu! I love my Hallie Grace but I must say it was heavenly to lay poolside without having to chase around a munchkin all day. She was definitely in good hands though.....Riley and Hallie met with our new realtor in Mustang Sunday morning while Hal took advantage of her abandoned crib...
"I'm never leaving!"
Poor Ash had to do homework that afternoon for her summer class while we badgered her about it....
Seriously!? Ditch the work and get in the pool!
Darling Dara
Cuddly Cooper
The Lovely Lisa
Gaudy shirt Garrett
Beverages for Bay
Adorable Ashley
Family means the world to me and it felt so great to finally welcome Ash to Oklahoma. I can add one more crazy cousin to the list now! There has already been talk about visiting Jersey sometime in the near future!!Unfortunately Hallie and I missed out on most of the rest of the week's fun. They took Ash to Stillwater to "eat at Joe's", to Shattuck to visit Grandma and the rest of the family, bowling and a farewell dinner tonight and many hours spent hanging by the pool. We did however get to spend some time with her on Wednesday at my grandma's house. I was in Shattuck seeing a therapy patient and stopped in to say hi before I headed back home to pick up Hallie. She rode back to Woodward with me to pick up baby so I made sure to give her a five second tour of our humble abode before we made our way back out to grandma's....
Ashley, you are one of a kind and will always be my favorite Jersey girl! Thanks for all of the lessons on Jersey culture and setting us straight on our accents! Love ya and don't be a stranger! P.S.- you can always come to grad school here.....;) Love you!
P.S. - while I'm on the topic of family.....I want to give a big huge shout out to Uncle David and Aunt Lisa. They are some of the most generous, giving people in my life. They kept us well fed all weekend, put up with our loudness, kept Hallie entertained and planned a great weekend for the fam to spend together! Thank you Detrixhes!!!
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SURPRISE!!!! One more night with Jersey! Ash's connecting flight was cancelled on Friday morning. We got our wish and she was able to stay one more day! After planting the seed in her head about staying a couple extra days she tried to change her flight to Sunday with no luck. Bummer. But the travel gods granted her one final day in this great state and I was glad to make the trip to Enid for one last night of fun on Friday. David and Lisa made some smoked chicken and other yummy goodness....the family flocked over to chow down. One person was missing...Miss Dara. But we made sure to keep her updated on our shenanigans through texts and videos. We had a farewell night full of family videos that have become classics over the years and LOTS of.........
......laughing......
......swimming (well Garrett anyway)......
..........and dancing........
We are now taking donations to add to the "Bring Jersey to Oklahoma on a Monthly Basis" fund. Just mail me a check if you are interesting in supporting this great cause. She is back on east coast time and missing Oklahoma. We miss you too Jersey!
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