Family Reunion

We just got home from a week of reunions with family and friends. It truly was a wonderful week despite being very event filled, with little down time. We are fortunate that we have good relationships with pretty much all of our family members, so it's always a joy to see everyone. And we have a family who is willing to put a hold on their busy schedules to accommodate our visit and make us feel welcomed and loved.

The first few days in CA we were with my side of the family. There are only three siblings (plus our immediate families) left since my mom, dad and older brother are all deceased. My brother and sister and their families live in Southern CA near the beach, so we took every opportunity to hang out on or near the beach each day we were there. One of the days we walked along the waters edge, getting our feet wet and running as the larger waves chased us up the beach. We laughed a lot and the weather could not have been better. It was a sweet time.

I think besides missing my family, the only other thing I miss about not living where I grew up is the ocean. Every time we visit CA, I'm reminded of how much I love the sound of the ocean, the warm days and cool nights. But even that isn't enough to lure us back because I don't think I could handle the traffic in Southern CA if I had to drive in it all the time. It really is something else!!!

We also visited Paul's side of our family and that visit was totally different because instead of our group consisting of 6-7, it was more like 45 people ranging in age from 18 months-92 years old. Paul is one of 10 kids, so with all of those siblings and their family's and some of their kids family's, we had quite a crowd. It was wonderful to reconnect with everyone, although I had a brief bit of sadness because my kids weren't there and I know they would have had a blast.

We all hung out at the park in Paso Robles and listened to a band that played Swing music the first evening we were together. The next day we were at Avila beach, where we played in the sand and water, consumed many somewhat sandy sandwiches, and some of us got more sun than was good for us despite the multiple applications of sun screen. Oh well.... One of Paul's brothers brought his small sailboat so we took turns going for boat rides. Paul's 92 year old dad even sailed. We ended the day with a giant bonfire on the beach which felt great once the sun went down. Someone brought marsh mellows, chocolate and graham crackers, and I can't even say how many smores were made and consumed by all who were there. It was a wonderful way to end that glorious day.

We also spent time with long time friends, again taking advantage of the beach and the good weather. We were exhausted at the end of our time spent in CA, but what could be better than a vacation spent with people we love dearly, hanging out in some of our favorite places and talking about how God has blessed us and how rich our lives are because of His goodness to us.

This trip was a gift from the Lord and thanks to all the cameras, digital cameras, and video cameras that were there, plus computers, we can relive those precious times and share them with those who weren't fortunate to be there.