Today was just the perfect summer day.

I love people, I love being surrounded by them. People of different colors, people from different backgrounds, people of all ages.. But I especially love being surrounded by my family.

Loud households filled with laughter make my heart happy. Andrew's loving family welcomes me with open arms each time my name is even brought up into conversation. But today, I wasn't with Andrew's family. Instead, I was surrounded by my own family: 7 more people than normal.

My aunt, uncle and three younger cousins are staying with us for the weekend. Preparing for them is time consuming, but well worth it once they arrive. Yesterday my mom and I spent the entire day baking and cooking an assortment of different foods to please a variety of vegetarians, meat lovers and those of us with one big sweet tooth; while my dad spent the evening making sure all of our pool accessories were filled up with air.

My mom's brother and his family arrived this afternoon. After an unsuccessful trip to the bank and a successful trip to Walmart, I was ready to spend the next few hours swimming and playing games in the pool with my cousins. Leah and I had a blast, soaking up the sun... And the water.

By this time, my grandparents had also arrived. Dinner tonight consisted of an elaborate BBQ: cheeseburgers, hotdogs, veggie burgers, hot sausage, macaroni and cheese, corn on the cob, salad, and let's not forget our homemade hot fudge brownie sundaes for dessert. Somewhere in the midst p all of that Leah and I even manages to fit in a makeover, some piano playing, and a few intense games of Just Dance.

After dinner consisted of some quality conversation with my grandma, and a little stroll down our country roads at sunset with my aunt and two of my cousins, a quick stop at the barn, and the discovery of a beautiful Monarch butterfly laying steadily in the grass.

When we came back home, we attempted to watch Inception but about 30 minutes into it agreed that we were all too tired to stay awake any longer.

So here I am, in bed, reflecting on this perfect summer day, and missing my man.. Wishing he could have joined in on all of this summer loving and family time.

Someday!