THE GRIFF IS IN THE HOUUUSSE

Mid-March had come with little to no incident, and with it arrived my nephew! Last summer I managed to arrive the same day that he did, and boy had he grown.

Rachel for scale

Oh yeah, MyJohn and wife came too.
For my brother, it was business as usual. The Xbox booted up, and everyone else fell into place.

Halo Multiplayer

Dad, now Grandpa, ran amok with the Griff as I photographed his adventures.
We saw MeeMaw, which is what I have insisted on calling our mother since it drives her nuts.

Grandpa introduced Griff to the "other baby."

Once we got out back, I had ridiculously good lighting and a myriad opportunities for moments. These ones are some of my favorites.

8 months and working on walking to momma

Dirt!

Griffin was fascinated by the rooster. He just kept staring, and got stoked when he'd crow.

Yay!

River rock is better than dirt because it is cool and doesn't stick to our feet.

And this is the moment everyone nearly broke their cameras and phones.

Don't put that in your mouth!

Griff is a very serious baby, always thinking. He always seems to be in deep thought about whatever he encounters.

MyJohn's visit also coincided with a home game for the L.A. Kings. I tried to get some contrast photos of the team intro, but most of them are blurry from the screen glare.

Once the game started, I was too rowdy to be taking photos. Plus, I was seated right next to a pair of Canucks. They had to get schooled on Kings' fandom.

All us grownups and a few of the kid sisters had gone to the game with our Mom's side of the family, as that is where our hockey roots are. It was an awesome experience. My uncle was incredibly patient with the younger girls, explaining game play and rules as things happened during the game.

In my childhood, I grew up with my uncle as a sort of brother extension, as we spent a lot of time with both sides' families. This made us all pretty tight, but as the years wore on we all drifted, so I had no reason to think the younger girls would have a bond with the extended family. That's why this moment kind of teared me up.

That's my uncle, and the youngest sister. She was a bit tired, and snuggled right up to him. My mommy senses tingled with joy, and that's how these few days' adventures closed out.