As I’ve alluded to a little bit before on here, I have some extended family in Connecticut. But to be clear, when I say that I have some, what I really mean is that I have a lot. Like, a lot a lot. I have more uncles, aunts, cousins, second cousins, and cousins once removed than I know what to do with, and it’s wonderful!
(photo courtesy of Crystal, my cousin-in-law once removed… that’s not too confusing of a title, is it?)
While Mister E was the driving force behind my decision to move to Connecticut, my family played a large part in it. Mister E and I knew that we wanted to be together and when it was a question between him moving to Seattle or me moving to Connecticut, we both agreed that it made sense for us to both be close to family at this time in our lives.
And boy, am I happy to be close to them! I mean how can you not fall in love over and over again with this face!
That would be my cousin’s three year-old daughter. When I asked if I could take her picture, that is the face that she gave me. It just melts my heart.
And this would by my cousin’s oldest daughter who will charm you to no end with how eager she is to help and please you.
Oh, and this would be my uncle’s dog, Gunner. Even though we’re not related by blood, he’s still part of the family.
I feel so lucky to be able to take part in family gatherings here in Connecticut. They’re a fun bunch who really know how to have a good time!
And what fun it was to all get together on the Fourth of July in New Hampshire! Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t too cooperative, so a good portion of the day was spent inside playing games.
However, once it did clear up, a small group of us made a beeline for the lake to check out the pretty views.
I love seeing my family grow and expand, and could easily spend the entire day playing with all of the little ones in the group. Why is it that as soon I’m finally old enough to not be placed at the kids’ table anymore, that’s where I’d rather be?!
And like I said, dogs are very much part of my family, so they are usually welcomed at most family gatherings. That’s why I was so disappointed when I made the decision to not bring Prince to New Hampshire. But I figured that with his eye condition, it would probably be best to limit his exposure to other dogs. But there’s always next year!
Aren’t those pugs the cutest?!? They would be Daisy and Donald – and they’re brother and sister which just make them all that much cuter. And that last picture would be my all time favorite picture of Gunner. If you look closely, all four paws are off the ground and he’s totally airborne!
Besides kids, games, and dogs, our Fourth of July was filled with so much good food! I can’t remember the last time that I ate so much in one day! Unfortunately, I was too distracted by all of the festivities to take many pictures, but here are just a few of the delicious things that I enjoyed that day:
From the top is chocolate covered strawberries, s’more cupcakes, and my uncle’s caprese salad that I already recreated here. Some of the unpictured items include pasta salad, potato salad, chicken salad, steak, green bean salad, salmon, lemon sorbet, spinach and artichoke dip, and so much more that I’m probably forgetting.
It was certainly a feast and I left with so many new food ideas and recipes to try. You’ll be seeing some coming up on the blog soon!
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