Great Falls Reunion

Two years ago, we went up to Cape Cod for a family reunion on Chris' mom's side of the family. This year, there was another (slightly smaller, aka no matching t-shirts) reunion that took place in Great Falls. It was closer for us this time, which was nice, particularly with Eleanor. It was also the first time Eleanor got to meet most of her Boston relatives! We had a great time swimming in the pool and catching up with family.

After the pool, we started grilling, sitting around and eating, playing corn hole, and Eleanor's Uncle Jonny played some guitar which she was enthralled with.

Eleanor didn't want to miss out so refused to take her afternoon nap. As could be expected, she got more tired as the evening wore on and eventually just passed out. After that she stayed up until 9:15!

We also celebrated a few birthdays with some delicious cake.

Our reunion continued the next two days as we hung out around northern Virginia. Sunday we spent relaxing around the house for the most part. Eleanor spent her mornings out on the porch playing by herself waiting for all the cousins to wake up and then played on the floor with whoever was willing to entertain her.

That afternoon we headed over to the neighborhood pool to swim. We are slowly trying to get Eleanor used to wearing a life vest for our trip to California later this month and so far she is still not a fan. 

Monday we decided last minute to take the day off work and go to Kings Dominion with everyone. I probably haven't actually been to Kings Dominion since before I graduated from college, so it's been years. There were several new roller coasters I hadn't tried, and some that I had but that I don't remember being quite so rickety! Chris and I were able to pick up a "parent swap" pass from guest services so that we could both ride the roller coasters and not have to both wait in line (which as you can see, were basically non-existent anyway). We spent all morning riding coasters and honestly, never had to wait more than 10 or 15 minutes in line. It was wonderful! Eleanor also got to ride her first ride, the carousel, though I guess I didn't take a picture, sadly!

After lunch, we took Eleanor over to the water park because she had been such a trooper all morning in 90+ degree heat, and she lit up with excitement. I set her down near some fountains and she trudged right through them laughing and squealing the whole time. It was awesome to see her having so much fun! We spent basically the entire afternoon there and didn't end up leaving until after 6pm. By the time we got home, we were all exhausted from the trip, and thankfully we all slept really, really well.

It was a great weekend with family. Eleanor did wonderfully despite staying up way past her bedtime, the lack of naps and seeing so many new faces. Can't wait for the next reunion!