it's all relatives

The best part of this vacation (so far!) has been getting to spend time with Mike's family members here in Colorado Springs. On Friday night, we had dinner with Uncle Ken (who shares "the best" birthday with Henry) and Aunt Angela, and it was SUCH a good time. We hadn't seen Ken and Angela since Liam was a baby, so catching up was really fun. The boys were at their charming, non-interrupting best; seriously, I was so impressed. I've never seen them that well behaved. We stayed for a long time after the check came, just chatting and catching up. And even when the boys got tired and started itching to get out, where there would normally be complaints and giant sighs and rolling of eyes, this time, Henry just turned to me and said, "Mom, I'm really enjoying this and I'm glad we came, but I might be getting too tired to keep hanging out."

Saturday morning was even more interesting because we went to visit Mike's Uncle Richard and Aunt Susan and his cousin Tad, who he hadn't seen since he was a TEENAGER. (That's kind of a long time ago.) I had never met them, so we had no idea what to expect, but they were so warm and lovely and welcoming. They invited the boys to make themselves at home and play with the toys they keep for grandchildren visits. Richard took Liam and Henry for a long walk with the dogs around their property (and of course both boys managed to get their shoes soaked in the creek). Susan made us a delicious lunch of flatbread pizzas and apple pie, and after lunch the boys went outside to sled in the snow, climb up wood piles, and generally wear themselves out. Best of all, we got to learn not only about their lives and how their kids and grandkids are doing, but Mike learned some things he hadn't previously known about his grandparents. I'll sum up for posterity: Mike's grandpa was Angelo Eugenio Fort, and he worked as head waiter in a restaurant in New York. He could speak seven or eight languages, which made him very popular with his clientele, who included Frank Sinatra (!) and Ed Sullivan (!!). He vacationed every year in Long Branch, New Jersey, with Mike's grandma, Lena, and eventually their kids. They stayed in a huge rooming house with shared bathroom facilities, and it was the highlight of every summer. Richard and Susan even showed us a picture of Angelo and Lena, pre-kids, strolling down the sidewalk in Long Branch.

Another interesting tidbit: Mike had always thought that his last name was shortened from an original longer Italian name, but it turns out that wasn't true. Angelo was from Santa Lucia, Italy, and not only are there still a lot of Forts there, there is a whole street bearing the name. Cool, right?

To top off our family visits, Saturday night we had dinner with Mike's cousin Aaron, who we last saw in Chicago around 11 years ago. Uncle Ken was able to join us this time too, though he got to see the more non-angelic side of the boys (we'll leave it at that). It was so wonderful talking and catching up. Aaron is starting a new job next week with an airline, so he will get to travel a lot on his days off -- a topic I (naturally) had great interest in. We missed out on seeing cousin Courtney, who was snowed in and couldn't make the drive to Colorado Springs, but it has been so good for the boys to meet more people from Mike's side. And of course, Mike and I have loved feeling so welcomed by everyone.

Today's a big travel day, and we're starting off early in hopes of seeing the sun rise somewhere beautiful. Stay tuned!