Catching Up - Reunions with Family

 Unfortunately, since James had to start work immediately after we left Korea, we weren't able to take any time off to go visit family after our move. Thankfully, some of our family were able to come to us!

First, we got to see my brother Nate and his band, Judah & the Lion, when they played a concert up in Columbia. They even gave us a shout-out which was pretty fun. It was strange being the "old adults" on a college campus, but hey - we enjoyed ourselves!

Next, Grandma Nancy came to visit! Originally she had planned to be here to help us with Kaden while we unpacked all of our stuff... But our shipment of household goods took too long to arrive. So she camped out with us in the empty house for about a week and helped me keep our very active toddler entertained! We played on several playgrounds, went for long walks, read a lot of books, and visited the Swan Lake Iris Gardens and the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia!

At the zoo.

Looking at the elephants.

Kaden LOVES feeding the giraffes. The photo below is one of my favorites ever. Pure joy!

Shortly thereafter, I flew up to Louisville with Kaden to reunite with my side of the family. We stayed at my grandparent's house for a couple of days and caught up with my parents, brother, and cousins. Then my parents drove with us down to Sumter and stayed with us a few days. On the way, we stopped for a night in Nashville to see Nate and the guys perform on a radio broadcast! Kaden loved staying up late and going to the concert. While here in SC, we also visited the zoo and made a circuit of the local sights. It was great having them around to spend time with Kaden! I also enjoyed showing my dad around our new house, since he helped us out a lot with the home buying process.

Pizza with Nate before his big show!

These guys all love our little man so much. It makes my heart happy.

playing in the back yard

On their way into the zoo

In mid-June, we had an opportunity to drive up to Charlotte to see Judah & the Lion perform in a festival. It was extremely hot and humid out, but Kaden still danced along to the music in our tiny patch of shade and loved every minute of attention from his Uncle Nate!

The festival was in an extreme sport-lover's paradise called the U.S. National Whitewater Center

 Finally, we had the special treat of Aunt Claire (our sister-in-law) and cousin Alice visiting! This was the first time getting the cousins together. Alice loved spending time with Kaden. Initially he loved having her around to play with. But after a while, I think he got tired of having another little person invading his space. It was a good learning experience for all. Regardless of how Kaden reacted, we loved getting to know our beautiful little niece! I wish we lived closer!