Visiting Hours Are Now Over

We have had quite a busy summer this year.  Thankfully, it's kept me busy and entertained.  We have enjoyed having the company of family and friends, one right after the other, for the entire month of July! It all began after our trips to Miami.

First up were my in-laws... all of them!  We had Vovo' and Vovo, Rosana and Otavio, as well as Titia Mi and Tio Alfredo, come for 3 days during July 4th weekend.  If you know my sister-in-law, you know that she LOVES to keep busy... so we did.  We took Marco to the Greenville Zoo for the first time, and he was both curious and impressed by all the large animals.

Here's Marco with Titia Mi walking through the mist.  He kept getting the shivers every time they'd go through:

Here's Marco with Mau, at a photo opp on the bear:

The next day was July 4th, and there was a festival downtown.  We all went down to Falls Park, and actually walked in the river.  Marco didn't just want to get his feet in though, he wanted to JUMP in, head first if we'd let him.  He got all muddy and dirty, but had a blast.

Here he is testing the water with Mau:

Marco was able to take a little nap in his stroller so that he could stay up to watch the fireworks... at 9:45!  I was worried that he'd be afraid of them because it was very loud, and we were directly below them.  But, my little warrior was not afraid at all!  In fact, he kept pointing to "la luz" and was in awe of them.
Here he is:

We had such a great time, but it couldn't last.  Unfortunately, most of my in-laws could only stay for 3 days, but my Mother-in-law got to stay for TEN WHOLE DAYS!  It was really wonderful having her here.  She spoiled us with some good cookin', helped me take care of Marco, and enjoyed the pool and park with him. She even babysat for us so we could go out for our 3 year wedding anniversary... that was a special treat!

When she left, we only had one day of break before the next visitor arrived.  My bestie, Jen, came to visit for 4 days.  I've been trying to convince her to come for over a year.  It's always either her asking me to go to Orlando, or me begging her to come to boring Greenville.  Finally, she caved!  We had a really nice time hanging out, going downtown, hitting up the pool, and loving on Marco a bit.

Here we are, bravely climbing the rocks at Falls Park:

And here's Jen, sharing some snuggle time with Marco before bed time:

When Jen left, I had a 5 day break before my next visitor arrived.  My little cousin, (who's not so little anymore), came for an entire week.  Mariah was promised a trip to see me this summer if she kept her grades up throughout the second half of last year.  And I'm so happy that she did!  It was awesome getting to hang with her and getting see the woman she's growing into.  Aside from the typical downtown, shopping, pool, bouncing babies dates, we also worked on her college acceptance essay.  It took forever!  Marco started walking while Mariah was here, and of course, she takes all the credit! She also got a really good taste of what it's like to have a baby... and I'm glad she did!  I hope that we can make her visits into a yearly tradition!

Here's Mariah with Marco on the bridge at Falls Park:

On the same day that she left, my brother Migue and his fiance' Alaina came for a visit.  They were doing a drive-by.  They had a wedding to go to the next day about an hour from here, so decided to stop off for the afternoon and spend the night.  It was great having them come and showing them around our little city.  Alaina took Marco off my hands completely, and I could tell he was having a lot of fun with her.

Here we are at the EVER famous Falls Park Bridge (what a surprise!)... Marco's passed out in the stroller!:

For now, visiting hours are over.  We loved having everyone come and stay with us, but we're also ready to get back to our normal lives.  But, not for long... my mom and Cesar (Aba and Abo) will be visiting in just a few weeks!