Family Visit

Last Saturday, my brother, Howie, and his family - wife, Hannah, and brand-new daughter, Eliana - came to stay with us overnight before we all went to our family reunion the following day. We knew they were going to arrive after Aiden and Seth were asleep, so as we were getting the boys ready for bed, we were asking them if they remembered who was going to be at their house in the morning. Their answer was, "Uncle Howie! Aunt Hannah!" We prompted them with an, "And...?" The answer we got then was, "Mogacyca!" After another, "And...?" we got the response we had been looking for: "Baby Ellie!" In the morning, Seth and Aiden were thrilled to meet Ellie for the first time and to see their aunt and uncle again after 6 months, but the first thing they asked Howie about was his motorcycle. As the weather forcast was clear for the day, Howie took the Harley out of the trailer and drove that on the nearly-two-hour drive we had to the reunion, while Hannah followed with Eliana, and we drove our van. Before leaving the house though, both Aiden and Seth had to sit on the bike and also beep the horn. That (and getting to have lollipops for the first time ever at the reunion) were the highlights of the day for the boys!
We had a great time visiting with my uncle, cousins, second cousins and other extended family from my mom's side. It was a nice break for Dan and I too, as Aiden and Seth spent most of the afternoon palling around with my cousins' girls, who are all between the ages of 8 and 12. Before we left, we got a picture of my dad with three of his soon-to-be seven grandchildren.
It made me happy to see how well Aiden and Seth did with Ellie and how they weren't jealous at all when I was holding her. Hopefully the arrival of their new sibling will be an easy adjustment for them and they will be wonderful big brothers.