The Little Ones

I recently took a quick trip to my homeland, McAllen, TX for the funeral of my cousin Sam. I was so glad to be able to go, and it gave me the opportunity to catch up with some of the relatives I haven't seen in awhile. We got together several times over the couple days that I was there -- usually with food involved. The night before I left, the whole family gathered at Garza's, our usual Ost/Johnson family hotspot.

The kids are growing up soo quickly. This is Elizabeth Rose -- my erstwhile namesake. Her nickname also stems from one of my oldies but goodies, Buns. Of course, her version is much cuter: Bunny.

Her sister, the beautiful Caroline. Shh, don't tell her that she's so gorgeous. I think she knows it already. Caroline just couldn't understand why I was so much older than they were. I mean, shouldn't her friends be closer in age to her and Elizabeth? It reminded me of when Caroline S. used to call Jen and myself (along with some others) her "college" friends. She didn't care that she was only 4 years old and we were in our 20's. . friendship knows no boundaries.

These two girls are very close in age, which can cause a bit of friction, I heard. Lorien, called Lolo by her family (too cute!) is a little livewire. But, she's definitely outdone in that department by Rachel, her cousin. Rachel spent a little bit of time talking to baby Kate. She blew her kisses -- looking at my stomach the whole time. Pretty smart.

Here's Lance, daddy of the 2 blondes and Caroline, with his latest and greatest achievement, little Joseph Timothy. I wish I could have gotten a better pic of the baby. He's so cute. His momma spikes his hair in the front and dresses him in totally sporty outfits. He's currently wearing these adorable socks called Trumpettes that have a tennis shoe printed right on them. Very adorable! Even the the occasion for my visit was sad, it was nice to reconnect. I love my crazy family!