Visiting Family :))

Grandma Marty and Grandpa Rick are here from Montana, for a 2-week visit, which means we are having lots of impromptu family get-togethers, and lots of great photo opportunities!
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On Tuesday evening, Grandma Marty and Mommy picked up Andrea after daycare and brought her out to Essex, to visit, and see Aunt Claire's new house. Daddy was at a Tiger's game with some people from work, so we got to visit out there until the wee hours of the morning. Andrea was amazingly good, considering the long day she had!

Aunt Claire's new house has a nice pool, so Andrea wanted to go right in, even though it was a bit cold. It also happened to be the first time Andrea has ever worn water wings. She was a bit nervous when Mommy let go, and she was floating on her own, but she did pretty well.


After dinner, Andrea wanted to go in the pool AGAIN, so we put her on a raft and let her cousin Jordan escort her around the pool. She loved it--she was splashing, and laughing, and playing at passing the beach ball with him.



When Jordan got cold, she STILL wanted to go back in, so Grandma Marty rolled up her dress and dipped Andrea in from the pool stairs.Was she done yet? No way! When cousin Joanna got home from work, she wanted to go in the pool with her, too!
Finally, we managed to get her out of the pool and into some warm pajamas (she was shivering). She spent the rest of the evening eating a mountain of watermelon, and eventually fell asleep on Aunt Claire's bed.
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Yesterday was July 4, so in the evening, we all piled into Aunt Claire's van and crossed the border to go to Aunt Donna and Uncle Greg's. Their house is on a quiet cul-de-sac, and they and the neighbours have been having a July 4th fireworks party on their street for the past few years.

It was another long day for Andrea, but she held up great. After all, there were plenty of people to fuss over her (she was by far the littlest one there), lots of treats to eat, and a large bucket of ice to get into (she loves ice).

I was surprised by how well she handled the fireworks, especially since they lasted well past her bedtime. She only got scared at the loud, screaming kind of ones; and she kept running between Daddy and I, giggling nervously, and pointing to the sky. (By the way, I think they all broke the bank on those fireworks. They were great! And they had so many, they just stopped letting them off, because they got tired of it!)

We had to bring her U.S.A. hat Grandma Marty and Grandpa Rick got her when we visited them last year--it suited the occasion.

Andrea's cousin Caitlin was her special buddy last night.

Here's Andrea enjoying the fireworks from the comfort of Daddy's lap--they weren't too scary, then.

If Daddy and Mommy weren't close enough, Grandma was always nearby.
Sparklers are always a nice way to finish the evening.
The fireworks didn't finish until late, so we popped Andrea into her pajamas and headed home as soon as they were done. She dozed off in the van, before we even crossed the bridge. She's had two busy days!