15 for 7

Hello August! How are you already here??? I've been insanely busy lately. My sisters and their families, along with my parents have been here for the past week - hence my title - we had 15 of us for 7 days! It was crazy, fun, insane, loud, and wonderful - all wrapped in one week. And boy did we cram a lot in! We enjoyed the pool a lot, did two separate beach trips, a trip to Newport, RI, a trip to New York City, hikes, and parks. I've included some pics of the past week. The kids had a great time together, and we adults enjoyed ourselves too. Of course there was always someone crying or heading to time-out :), but it was good all in all. This was the longest that we have ever all been together. I knew from the get-go that I would have a hard time when they all left, but I had no idea just how bad it would be....

So, they left yesterday morning at 7, and since then I cannot count the number of times I have cried. Yesterday especially I was a WRECK! I have never been so emotional. Usually I'm sad when company leaves and have kind of a "down" day, but this was ridiculous! I cried throughout the entire day!! I told them if they ever all come out together again, they cannot all leave at the same time. I just can't handle it. I feel bad for Jared having to deal with it, but I just couldn't control it. I think it was a mix of saying good-bye to everyone at one time, going from 15 to 5 in 1 minute, and also just a release of the stress/craziness of the week. I held myself together pretty well amidst it all, but when they all left, it all came out - in tears. Today I've been much better. When I felt like crying, I held back and tried to let it pass. However, I did cave in a couple times. My goodness - this is annoying. I've never been this emotional, not even when I was pregnant. So, anyway, that's what I've been dealing with the past two days. My poor husband! What a blessing he has been!!! I'm not looking forward to tomorrow - my first day alone since the afternoon of July 23rd. Say a little prayer for me!!

I hope you enjoy the pictures. I may post some more later

-The three sisters, Carol-Lori-Jennifer
- Sand castle time at Watch Hill in Rhode Island
- Jared and Aliza enjoying some waves at Watch Hill
-Naphtalia and Nora having some chow
-Jared and his nephew, Jacob
-Aliza and Eben with Grandad on the Cliff Walk in Newport, RI
-Groton Long Point (CT beach)
-Rainy bus ride through NYC. It was kinda fun with the rain, especially since it only lasted about 1/2hr :)
-Boat ride along NYC shoreline. It was insanely hot outside, but there was air inside the boat. We were very grateful. We rode out around the Statue of Liberty, past Ellis Island and back. It was a really nice tour. (Craig and Jen are behind us)
-Pool party! It was really hot the morning after they arrived. And after getting the camper up we were super hot. Even my Dad got in the pool, which rarely happens!! Good times :)