distant, but close at heart

Dear friends,

I traveled to my family the past few days mostly because my dad's cousin, Andrew was in town visiting all the way from England.  I don't ever remember meeting him before, so this was an extra special visit.  He also brought his wife, Debbie and their two children, Isabella and Max--who were absolutely the cutest things ever and their darling little English accents were so cute! 

Having distant relatives is bittersweet.  You of course, want then to be closer, but are fascinated by everything at the same time--the journey, the place they live, the currency, the government, the way the general public views American's, etc.  I loved getting to listen to all of these things.

Our get-together was at a lake, as it usually is with my family (on both sides).  I got to experience real tubing--it was a BLAST!  We went to fast!  I held on for dear life and braced myself--today, my entire body is sore.  Isabella went with me the first time, she kept wanting to go faster--the brave little soul.  Max went with me the second time, he enjoyed tubing in a more leisurely sense, which was exactly my pace too.  As we were bringing the boat to shore, Max looks over at me and says "did you have a fun time?"  With a gigantic smile on my face I answered "Yes, Oh my God, I had so much fun.  But, that first run was a little scary!"  He replies "I know!!  I could hear you screaming all the way from the front of the boat."  

Love Always,