Atlanta or Bust...

We packed up on Friday and headed to Atlanta to see Aunt Anna, Uncle Calvin, cousin Arielle, cousin Gabriel and Uncle Jon. Jude seemed to get excited as Momma began to pack our things to go. It took us about 7 hours to get there and thankfully Jude slept most of them. However, once we arrived he didn't sleep much. So, the grownups ended up with about 3 hours of sleep the first night.

Saturday morning probably around 5:30am, Jude and Gabriel met. We had to try to contain Jude from brutalizing Gabriel because he was so excited to interact with him. Gabriel is only 5 months old so he can't give it back. :) They liked to look at each other and smile.Arielle and Jude were another story. They were all over each other. Considering Arielle is 2 and 1/2, Jude held his own. His weakness was that he couldn't stand up and so got pushed over alot. Arielle started calling Jude, 'my Jude. She kept asking when Jude was napping, 'where is my Jude' or she would try to get into his room to wake him up because she wanted to play. They became fast friends.Then, Saturday afternoon, Jude got to meet his Uncle Jon. The beard went over well and Jude kept playing with it. Also, because Jon and Lauchlin sound so much alike, Jude kept staring at Jon because I think he was confused as to why Daddy's voice was coming out of Uncle Jon's mouth.

It was neat to see the Groff siblings together, even if it was only 3 of them. Always good to hear the Groff banter going on around the dinner table. One topic of conversation was how good of a nickname Lauchlin had given Jon a number of years ago. Jon had come out of his bedroom wearing different patterns in his top and bottom. He got the nickname 'Jonny Patterns'. It has stuck. So much so that Arielle somtimes calls him Uncle Patterns. :)

Lauchlin and I both got to spend some quality time with Arielle. She was able to master our names surprisingly well. She sometimes called us Aunti Mack and Uncle Lauch which sounds very endearing coming from a toddler.

At the end of the day, Lauchlin and I both agreed that we have great affection for our niece and nephew. There is something very special and unexplainable about family ties. We had a great trip with some neat memories. The amazing thing is how different each of the children will be once we come together again. Priscila will be added into the mix as well.

We are now back to Memphis but very grateful for a wonderful trip.

Affectionately,

Mackenzi and gang