I (We) Heart Texas!

In the months of May/June (yes, this is another overdue blog post ;)), I got to go back home twice - YAY!

Girls Weekend Thanks to Baby Theo :)

My very dear friend, Anna, is due with a bouncing baby boy in August. And, thanks to her impending motherhood, we got to have a baby shower in Dallas honoring Anna and baby Theo. Now, maybe that doesn't sound too out-of-the-ordinary, except that out of this group of friends that formed (originally in Dallas) about 10 years ago, several of us have moved to far off places. AND, for the shower, a lot of us came back for a girls reunion weekend and to celebrate the newest addition to our group. FUN times! :)

The Gang

All of the shower attendees (and Ryan popsicle heads :))

At different locales throughout the weekend....

Weekend of Fun :)

Car selfie on the way in from the airport

Me and the mommy-to-be :)

One of the hostesses was with us in spirit (but physically in Hawaii :))

Mimosa Popsicle at The Rustic - so fun! :)

Banana pudding at The Rustic - so freakin' good!

Parish Family Reunion

Every two years, my father's family gets together over Father's Day weekend for a family reunion. Parish is my fraternal grandmother's maiden name (in case you were wondering how the name 'Parish' is related to me ;)). These reunions are always fun - it is good to see everyone, catch up on life, see how everyone has grown/changed, meet new additions to the family... Plus, there is always good food and lots of 42 playing! (That's a domino game for those of you who aren't from Texas, or are from Texas and for some strange reason have never heard of 42).

Playing 42 (and teaching them young!)

Me and my nephew, Keagan

My brother, Jacob, our nephew, Nykkolaas, and our cousin, Ashley

Nykkolaas and a HUGE checker set - a much more enjoyable game for the young ones :)

 The Family

The Burketts (in attendance):
From left: Jacob (brother), Nykkolaas (nephew), Matt (husband), Carissa (me :)), Keagan (nephew), Michael (dad), Cindy (mom), Jerry (uncle)

The Parish Clan - I think the number of family members in attendance was around 85!

Also, during this trip, I got to stay over in Dallas an extra day to spend time with my sweet friend, Marla, and her precious children. Plus, I got to visit my brother's new house and spend some extra time with my rambunctious nephews :)

All together, a great couple of weekends with family and friends.