Ewan and I got back last Monday night from an incredible family reunion in North Carolina. It was my dad's side of the family, including his four siblings, their children, and their children's children; that is, my parents (my siblings couldn't make it, nor could Troy), aunts and uncles, cousins, and first cousins once removed, or Ewan's grandparents, great aunts and uncles, second cousins, and first cousins once removed. Whew! We spend a lot of time trying to figure out those relationships, but this sums it up pretty well.
Anyway, we had an amazing time. It's a big family and everyone is spread out all over the country (NY, CA, NC, OK, TX, etc.), so it had been a long time since many of us had seen each other. Some of my first cousins had never even met each other, and most of us had never met 
each other's children. Of course, some people couldn't make it, but we had a pretty good turn out of about 30 people. My Aunt Sue and Uncle Bill pulled off the amazing feat of hosting this many people for the weekend, including having several of us stay at their beautiful home. They're one of only a few families who live on Hidden Lake in Wake Forest, NC. It's a newer gated community, with most of the properties and houses still on the market. We had full access to the community's pavilion, where we had the main reunion on Saturday, as well as docks, boats, etc.
One of the highlights of the weekend for me was getting to see Ewan and all my cousins' children playing together. I have such fond memories of playing with my cousins at my grandparents' house in D.C. when we were little, and it brought back a lot of memories. I got a few great videos of the kids (and adults) playing, but unfortunately I managed to accidentally erase most of them when I downloaded my photos onto my computer. At least I got several good photos, though, the rest of which can be seen here.I think everyone had a really good time, and there was a lot of talk of holding a reunion annually (in different locations), or at least not letting as much time pass before we do it again. Hopefully next time we'll be able to get even more of the clan there.
It is worth mentioning what our trip was like getting there and back. Our journey was a long one, including delays both directions, a re-routing to Memphis on the way there, and sitting on a non-moving plane for an hour-plus both ways, during which I eventually gave up on trying to hold my squirmy 10-month-old and resorted to letting him crawl up and down the aisles. Many people on the plane fell in love with him and gave him all kinds of attention, but I think a few were not as fond of him (or me), particularly those whose legs he pushed out of his way on his turbo crawl toward first class, and those who were trying to sleep as he motored past them, squealing at full volume. Despite getting tired of sitting still for hours on end (and I would worry about a 10-month-old who didn't), Ewan was such a trooper. He never cried, and fussing was at a minimum, and he was generally entertained by the whole experience. We also got lucky and were seated next to nice, young women on all legs of the flight, and people were really helpful, overall. (Although, I must say that I didn't end up really needing help. I feel like I've become a pro at traveling solo with a baby.) Finally, a benefit of the delay on the way back was that we ended up taking off around Ewan's bedtime, and he slept for almost the whole flight, somewhat restlessly, but not bad. I managed to catch a few z's, too. Ewan did really well in North Carolina, too, with the exception of his usual fighting sleep at times. All this, despite having two top teeth on the verge of coming through. I am so grateful for his wonderfully easy temperament. And, even though the journey was a long one, it was so worth it. I knew the moment I got the invitation to the reunion that I had to be there, even though I knew I'd be flying back to NY just a couple weeks later. Family is so special to me, and I wouldn't have missed this for the world!
So, thank you, thank you, thank you to Aunt Sue and Uncle Bill for hosting the reunion, and for all the work you put into it, as well as to everyone else who helped and made the trek to Hidden Lake! I really hope we can all stay in touch and do this more often!
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