The Pates come to town!

We were lucky enough to have two back-to-back weekends of family in town: First my parents followed by Eric's parents from D.C., and Ryan, Jolyn, Sam and Holly from Kansas. The last time we were all together was for Christmas, so when they suggested coming around Liam's birthday, we were really excited. 

Eric's parents arrived a day earlier than the Wichita Pates so we had the opportunity to catch up and eat some yummy Indian food the night before.  The next day we woke up way earlier than my body likes to in order to watch the Royal wedding!  Like so many people around the world, Becky and I woke up before 4 a.m. to make scones with a side of lemon curd.  As an aside, I don't know that I would have ever enjoyed having "curd" before I knew how tasty it is!  It needs a way better name though.  Waking up early did not disappoint.  It was so glamorous and I was giddy throughout the whole thing.  By the end of the weekend, I am pretty sure that the menfolk were way over us watching behind-the-scenes coverage.

It was so much fun to see the cousins interact the entire weekend.  Liam adores Sam and Holly. It was really heartwarming to see how much he looked up to Sam. 

Playing with the water table with Sam.

Holly and Sam introduced Liam to the world of water guns.

Splash free for all!

Cuddle break for Grandma Becky and Sam.

Liam loves a good chase....as does Chloe.

A ladybug that Holly found fell into Cooper's beard, where it found safety.

Crack kills.

The next day we had another little birthday party for Liam.  He was super excited to receive his first bike from Eric's parents!  I did a lot of research on the best bike for him to have at this age and found this adorable and easy to use Radio Flyer.

He loved his bike so much, that he wouldn't get off of it for his birthday song and cupcakes.

Enjoying the icing and sugary goodness.

Back to the bike!

It was a good thing that we had two days of nice weather, which meant lots of water fun, grilling green chile cheeseburgers, going to the park, and taking advantage of free bounce houses at a neighborhood block party.  Because the next day, the temperature dropped like thirty degrees!

Off to Barnes and Noble where the kids poured over books and played with the train table.  And the grandparents may or may not have spoiled the kids rotten!

 And a trip to the new Cabelas in Allen.  The kids had a nice time looking at the fish tanks and the wildlife exhibits.  And Holly even got her first Disney Princess fishing pole!

Sam and Liam hanging out in the shopping cart.

This chair may look a little....contrary to my contemporary design tastes, but it was soooo comfortable. 

Afterwards we went to the Cheesecake Factory where we once again ate.  I would be embarrassed to tell you how much we ate this past weekend.  So I will just say that we were very blessed with full bellies.

Hugging during an afternoon viewing of Tangled.

It was such a great weekend and we were lucky to have lots of time to visit with family!