weekend pics and a Ds observation

We had such a wonderful time this weekend. We try to do a get together with my Mom's side of the family at least once a year, twice if we're lucky. My aunt found an awesome cabin near Lake Whitney this year. The cabin was perfect - lots of room for everyone and well stocked with anything you might need - dishes, movies, games, toiletries, etc. The surroundings were rustic and beautiful.

4 generations were represented - my grandmother, my mom and aunt and their husbands, my siblings and I and our spouses, and our kids.

My grandmother brings me to my Ds observation. I know that this isn't true of all individuals with Ds, but I do think that the chance to have a greater capacity for empathy resides in the bonus chromosome. Kira will make her grandparents crawl through fire for a smile. The second a GREAT grandparent walks into the room? She runs over for a hug. Even though she rarely sees her great-grandmothers and I know she doesn't recognize them, she knows that now is the time for a great big hug.

warning: the rest of this post is very pic heavy and probably only of interest to my family.

Mountain Man Derek

This pic cracks me up.
The guys couldn't get TV reception in the house.

This was the only spot where they could get reception for this particular game.

When the next game came on, they had to move the tv to another spot!

um...you might be a redneck if...

I'm not sure what Jackson was doing,

but based on my face he was about 2 seconds from getting in trouble.

Heading out for a walk in the woods

Our view on the walk

This pic makes me think of those shots where you see all of the paparazzi behind a star.

Jackson making rolls with my aunt

My cousin carving a pumpkin

Kira protecting her pumpkins from my cousin

She carried those pumpkins around all weekend - so cute.

cutie girl

cutie boy

Jackson learning chess from my cousin.

My sweet cousin spent about an hour and half teaching him.