Carson, Briana, Melanie, Rayanna - OH MY!

Wheww! This week is probably my most busy week of the year! I don't expect another one like this until late October/beginning November when I'm getting ready for Halloween and 3 birthdays!
My (bossy) big sis planned a vacation to North Carolina. She was heading to see our niece, Savannah, graduate high school. I happily agreed to keep my 2 year old nephew, Carson for the week. John and I owe her BIG for all she has done over the years to make our vacations and "moves" possible! Problem was, John was out of town the week before (while school was on a 1 week break before summer session started!!) and would be out the week of, ugh! Luckily a very close friend of ours that we have known and LOVED since she was 7, Briana (now 18!), agreed to ride to Texas with Heather and Carson. The trip would have been rough for Heather without some help with him. Briana was also a TON of help on all of our outings. We went to the sprinkler park, train, park, pool, Sonic, and Snow Cones - each several times! I handled it alone when we got home and she hit the Internet for hours! Briana is so easy. I don't have to entertain her at all and forget she is even in the house. She keeps busy and quiet on her phone, watching TV and playing on the Internet. She also helped watch Carson during his afternoon naps so I could take Mikey to speech therapy. Needless to say, I'm not sure how I would have done this without her! I'm so glad these 3 boys got to spend this time together. I really hope we get to do it at least one week a summer from now on. They really are BEST cousins! Hope Briana's available! Or maybe Heather will "host" next year! Ha ha ha ha!! THAT was funny...to me!
So Friday rolls around and my best friend, Aunt Melanie, and her 8 year old daughter, Rayana, are knocking on the door at 8:30 am! Mel left Tulsa at 4:30 am and didn't make ANY stops!!!! That's WILD for a preggo lady! She walked through the door and straight to the potty though! I'm glad she got here early because we had a ton of activities planned for the kids and a roast in the crock pot that would be ready for lunch. My boys LOVE Rayana! Also, Briana happens to be Melanie's niece. So, does that confuse you, or make it ALL "come together!?" Ha! Heather and I actually met Briana through Melanie, years ago. Mel & her sister, Tiff both have a history growing up similar to mine & Heather's. So, we all formed a quick bond and have felt like family ever since. Mel also has a son, Tony (12), who had basketball & church camp, so he stayed with his Granny. Mel is preggo with number 3, Londyn Grace, and we are anxiously awaiting her arrival in August! Her baby shower is coming up next weekend in Tulsa. I'm looking forward to going and hoping to make the trip to Tulsa ALONE! I feel like John just might make that possible after all my hard work the last 2 weeks. Ha! Mel & I have another close friend, Leah, that lives in San Antonio and is also coming to the baby shower. She came in on Friday night so she could ride back to Tulsa with Mel on Sunday. We had a HOUSE FULL but we had a BLAST! It took all of us women to keep up with the kids while we were out. John didn't arrive home until Saturday, so he missed most of the fun!
Heather arrives back sometime tomorrow. She will stay the afternoon and then head back to Tulsa. I guess life will slow back down (to a VERY fast pace) by Tuesday!