Additions to the family!

Last weekend, I was lucky enough to fly to Virginia/DC/Baltimore to meet my newest nephew, Emmett, who was adopted into our family by my brother Eric and his wife Ira. He was sealed to his new parents (or united for eternity, for those who don't speak Mormon-ese) in the Washington, D.C. temple, and then blessed by his dad in church the next day. I decided at the last minute to try to make it there for the weekend, and then all of my siblings but one ended up coming, too, in addition to my parents. The temple was beautiful and peaceful, and particularly meaningful to be there with most of my family.


Emmett is a ball of motion, and adorable (shown above with his new sisters). He is affectionate and fun, and I think he is a great addition to the Sharp clan. He has a lot of confidence and seemed to have no problem getting acquainted with all of the new family he acquired recently.

I also met my little niece Addison-finally!-who is the daughter of my brother Brian. Isn't she adorable? She is so sweet and silly, and she laughed at all my silly songs and rhymes. I almost stuffed her into my carry-on to take home with me. She'd totally pass as mine.


My mom with Addison-

Did I mention that I went ALONE. Yep, without the kiddos. And yes, of course I missed them, but I'd be lying if I said that I didn't totally relish the relaxing plane rides, the near-empty purse, the easy bedtimes, and the hassle-free mealtimes. It was just my 2nd time away from my kids, and it was just lovely. Derek is such a good sport, and I did not worry for a second about any of them. Needless to say, they all survived just fine and had a great time. And I did miss them. I promise.

My sister, brothers, and I had such fun goofing off together, staying up late chit-chatting, taking quick tours of DC sites, hanging out with Eric's family and my parents, and stuffing ourselves silly.

This is me and my sister with our oldest niece, Hannah (Check out her blog. She's only 13 and pretty incredible, if you ask me, and I am so not biased at all.).


Lilly and I performing a trick that we spent the day mastering--

Many thanks to Brian & Crissy, and to Eric & Ira for hosting and feeding me, and having adorable children for me to be an aunt to.