Raina

Matt and I have 13 nieces and nephews between our two families. Crazy! The ages range between a few months old and almost 17 years. They are all unique and different and wonderful.

A few years back, my mom brought Ayla, the oldest of the bunch, to visit Matt and I. Grandma took her for a special trip to spend some time exploring San Francisco and being with us. She had promised the same trip to Raina but, as my mom’s health has been the top concern of late, that trip didn’t seem to be possible.

Raina is turning sweet 16 in September of this year and Matt and I decided to make that trip happen. We flew her out to spend some time with us as an early birthday present. She arrived on Thursday of last week and was supposed to leave today. We’re all enjoying her being here, the boys wait by her door in the morning to wake her up when I say it’s o.k., so we’ve extended her trip by a week.

I’m sure I’ll post more of our adventures but here are a few shots from her first night here at the farmers market in San Rafael. It’s right down the way from Matt’s new office so we met him after work and walked around, eating, getting henna tattoos and letting the boys jump in the bouncy houses.

I would love to think this is the beginning of a trend. That over the years, each of our nieces and nephews could come and spend some time with us, so that we could get to know them better. Each and every one.