Holy family, Batman!

There is something about the months of April and May that means hanging out with some branch of our family at least once a week.
Not that I'm complaining, but it truly shows how different each branch truly is, and it's something I've grown to appreciate over time.
For instance, last Sunday we drove to Vacaville for my maternal grandfather's 81st birthday lunch at a "popular" Mexican restaurant.
I made a beeline for the seat across from my dad and one of my brothers. I basically chose the boy end of the table.
As much as I like my girl time, boy time is very much needed for my sanity.
My side of the family tends to be very outspoken, and that was in full bloom last Sunday with my side of the table.
We talked about cars, public safety (one of my uncles is a paramedic/firefighter in San Francisco), speeding in cars and getting away with it (nice Dad, real nice) and raising chickens in the backyard.
The chicken conversation did take a turn for the worse.
"You don't name chickens cute names, you name them after ways you cook them. Come here, Broiled. Leave him alone, Seven Herbs and Spices!"
Some how we got into talking about hamsters and terrible things people do with hamsters, and we had the coolest waitress.
"You know, gerbils are better."
When I asked her to elaborate, she didn't have an answer for me, and someone told me I should research it and write a book.
I will pass.
Lunch was awesome, I enjoyed every minute of it, and hope we all do it again soon.
We attended a birthday party yesterday for my husband's little sister, and my favorite part of the whole day was picking out a birthday present for her.
In addition to the flower pot (complete with real flower) that I painted for her, we decided to get her a doll to help her cope with the impending birth of her little sister.
At Target, we headed to the doll portion of the toy department.
Little sis likes Disney princesses, and her favorite is Belle. We found some baby dolls that were like junior versions of Disney princesses. They had Aurora, Tiana and Ariel.
We chose Ariel, since there was no Belle, and there was a matching Ariel tiara that could be purchased separately. Prior to choosing Ariel, though, there was some discussion about the fact that she had legs.
Legs, not a tail. Hubs was the one who brought that up, saying that she was born with a fin, not legs. The doll doesn't quite match up with what is featured in the movie, since Ariel wasn't born a human, he says. We decided that was okay, though, and got it for her anyway.
We were the first ones to the party, and in the first five minutes of being there, little sis was a duck, horse, chicken and took me on a magic carpet ride. It was adorable.
The thing I love about hanging out with that particular branch of the family is that I think all of us, even the grown-ups, are all kids at heart, and like to have a good time.
We enjoy each others company, and aren't afraid to be goofy, like getting on the floor and coloring, and sending text-message commentary to one another.
I've also been a lot happier this week. I recently came to the realization that I need to remember to go with the flow more often, and make it a point to have a good time wherever I am. I've also decided that I'm going to say no more often, and not do every single little think anyone wants me to do anymore. This doesn't mean I'm going to be slacker, but my family (hubs, dog and future kids) is my number one priority, so if something conflicts with that interest I choose my family.
I've also decided to hold those close to me accountable for their actions. If you do something that affects me or my family in a negative way, I will tell you how I feel about it in the nicest way that I can. Life is too short to allow people "roll over" me.