Last Visit to Augusta

I just got back from my last trip to Augusta. Augusta, Georgia is the city that I grew up in. I leaved there from birth to eighth grade. Now quite a few family members live there so it is a one stop shop of family bonding. First I visited my step sister, Cortney, her husband, Aric, and her fourteen month old girl, Taylor Ann. Here is her doing what she does best- laugh.

Next on the scheduled hangouts was dinner with my father's brother's family at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. Here is me with my uncle, Ace, and my aunt, Jeannette.

Here you see my cousin, Reita, who I spent most of my summer with, since I babysit her in Atlanta. I love this little girl.

And this is the whole gang! From left to right- Ace, Jeannette, JoAnn (my cousin), me, Kathleen (my sister-in-law), Reita, Cameron (my brother), and in front is Harriett, the best niece ever.
After that tear filled goodbyes that night I spent alot of time with my brother, his daughter, my sister-in-law, and Lola (my dog/bff).

I met Lola at the Fulton County Animal Shelter back in March of 2004. I took her on April Fools Day. Since the first minute I met her I knew something happened to her in her past to make her extremely skittish. She hates doorways, doesn't like sudden moments, and takes a while to warm up to people. She is not mean at all, just scared of everything. Needless to say it was a hard week getting Lola to chill out at my brother's house. She isn't used to having so much attention paid to her (I guess I am a horrible parent). By the end of the week she had gone on a walk with Kathleen, laid on the couch downstairs for hours, and ran around happily in their huge backyard. I am so happy that I have family willing to put up with my crazy dog and give as much love as I do.

On Thursday night I had one last family dinner. Here is a picture of dinner with my mom's side of the family. From left to right- Grandma Anne (my mom's mom), Me, Harriett, Cameron, Kathleen, Cathy (my aunt), and Joey (my mom's brother).

It was nice to visit everyone. My grandma even made me oatmeal Friday morning before I left and sent me home with a bag of boiled peanuts.

What a great visit. The only down fall was having to say goodbye for 9 months. The hardest goodbye was Lola. If you don't really do the "pet" thing you may not get how much your pet become apart of who you are. Lola is with me more than anyone else and vice versa. I know she will have a blast with my brothers family (he has two great kids that are going to spoil her rotten), but I can't help missing my partner in crime.