All You Need Is Love

After spending the last three days with family, I have come to a conclusion...

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE!

However sappy it sounds, it's the truth! Being surrounded by family just reaffirms how important my loved ones are to me. Carrying conversations and laughing with family members I don't see nearly enough holds a special place in my heart.

Wednesday evening, my parents, Aaron, Ella and I went to the fair in town. We all had a blast! I absolutely LOVE hanging out with my parents. They are such hams and we always laugh and have a good time.

Ella loved the small ferris wheel. We were concerned it'd be too high for her. Her response, "I'm not scared. I'll be brave. I can do it!" Yes, ma'am!

Gotta love the black & white shots!

Jumping on the lily pads into the rainforest adventure, where a zoo of snakes, parrots, monkeys, etc. awaited.

I spy with my little eye a TURTLE!

My parents soaking in their favorite little girl.

This same artist drew caricatures of Sister and me when we were young. Cartoon Ella is so cute (but I think the real Ella is cuter!). And, please disregard my half-blinked smile. It was the best picture we got.

Caterpillar rollercoaster time!

This swing is a lot bigger than the swing at the park, huh Ella?

Ride #2 on the swing. Aaron decided to take the camera this time.

Everybody loves the Tilt-a-Whirl, including Ella!

This ride didn't look that high up, but once up there, Aaron was nervous. He said he was really scared falling! See for yourself!

Aaron wasn't scared at all on this ride, he was just having fooling around. Oh my gosh, he had my parents and I cracking up! He really fits in with the 12-year olds to his left.

My beautiful mom and Ella.

Ella sat down on the motorcycle the wrong way at first. Haha!

Aaron's fastest pitch was 70 m.p.h. He was kinda disappointed it wasn't faster, but I thought he was great!

There were a ton of "car rides"...ranging from Monster Trucks to Corvettes for the kiddies to ride on. Ella just went from one ride to the next. She had a blast!

Weeeeeee!!! For some reason, the slide's lights weren't on.

Aaron got off this ride and asked, "How old am I?" Going on these rides and looking around and only seeing young teenyboppers made him feel really old.

Yesterday, Aaron's cousin, Vicki (who Ella calls "Mickey") and her new husband, Derek, visited from Bend, Oregon. They went on a late week-long honeymoon in Monterey, and being the awesome people that they are, decided to stop by for a visit and stay overnight. I didn't take any pictures (I know...shocking!), but it was really great having family visit us in our home. We shared stories, laughter and good times. Thanks for coming, guys! We loved having you. :)

Then, today, Aaron, Ella and I headed over to my grandparents' place for some swimming and yummy dinner. I absolutely love my grandparents. Their stories and warmth always make me feel so happy and comfortable. My grandpa has so much knowledge with geology that Aaron just craves to absorb. Grandpa loves talking about rocks, wood, etc. and Aaron loves learning about things like that. My grandparents have a whole cottage of collectible items that grandpa loves to share details about. Aaron always has an eager listening ear and is willing to learn new things.

And grandma has such a sweet soul. She always goes above and beyond for family. We had snacks, a full course dinner and then cheesecake for dessert. All just for us! I can tell she loved having Ella take to her right away. In fact, Ella didn't want to leave "great grammy." Ella cuddled, joked and hugged my grandma like they were best buds. It makes me so happy seeing that!

Give Aaron and Ella a body of water, and there will be throwing!

Ella being brave in the deep end. Don't worry, Aaron was close by.

Where we chitchatted. I love my grandparents' yard!

Beautiful, breezy Ella!

Crazy Ella!

Great-Grammy and Ella cuddle time!

Great-Grammy and Ella joke time!

So, if any of you out there are going through a tough time, just remember that at the end of the day...the greatest gift is to love and to be loved. I am very thankful for my family. I love you all!