The Crew at Mom's for Friday Brunch (missing Hugh, Monica, Kate, & Jack, who were here on Thanksgiving Day-They had Thanksgiving with Monica's fam in the Houston area, then headed here to catch the rest of ours-& Ross, who is a pilot and jumped at the opportunity to fly some Ags into CS for the game so he could hang with us. So glad we got to see them!)
Thanks, Chris, for taking our pic! I noticed when compiling my pics for this post that one of my very favorite relatives seemed to be missing from the above group pic. If you're into Where's Waldo, give it a whirl. Cousins I'll call them 'The Mature Generation.' (Kay, Bruce, Ann, Joan, Sue, Carol, Walter, Joe)
Cousins Let's go with 'The Younger Generation' while we still can. (me, Grant, Charlie, Mollie, Diana, Sarah, Robin, Emma, Cole)
The Spice of our Family+ Grandmama-You each add so much to our fam! (Grandmama, John, Brian, Bob, Karyn, Huimin, Aaron, Mike)
Pics from Thanksgiving Day
Me w/ Robin
Diana & Walter
Aunt Sue & Huimin
I am so disappointed that this is the only pic I have of Carol's Right-of-Way Bouquets. (Look behind Grandmama in the pic below.) Each time we get together Carol brings and arranges flowers. She does this beautifully and since everyone knows I don't do decor, I'm happy to have it provided. This year most of her supplies were collected along the side of the road, hence the name 'Right-of-Way Bouquets.' They were so pretty and they lasted almost 3 weeks. Thanks, Carol!
Charlie, Grandmama, & Joan
Carol, Mom, & Luke
Sarah & Aunt Annie
Brian on Carving Duty
Sawing Varsity's Horns Off
Grandmama & Luke
Mollie & Diana
Walter, Huimin, & Joe
Bob, Karyn, Joan, & Mom
Aunt Sue, Emma, Grandpapa, & Robin
Mike & Jack
Everyone had a fabulous time, except Luke, who was either unhappy or completely beside himself the whole time. (He spent 3 days being held by Mom, Grandmama, & Sarah.) With the exception of bidding everyone farewell on the last day-yes, seriously-here's the only time I saw him smile. Aunt Annie and Mike were on the patio with him and J, away from all of the action inside. I love these two pics. :)
Aunt Sue is a wonderful lady who has raised 4 boys-4 BOYS!. She assured me that L's behavior is normal and that all kids are different. I so appreciate her sweet words over those couple of days while I was trying to be hostess with L tugging at my pant leg the whole time.J, on the other hand, LOVES social situations of all kinds and is instantly comfortable pretty much anywhere. (I probably don't have to tell you he gets this from his father.) The boy ate it up and here are a few shots to prove it.
w/ Robin
w/ Mollie
w/ Sue
w/ Diana-She volunteered to read to him before bed. :)
w/ Carol
A Few Things to Note
-Aunt Karyn came through with her homemade flour tortillas, hot off the comal (New Spanish word I learned! And hopefully I spelled it correctly.) with Mollie's help for our traditional Mexican dinner Friday night. Thanks for your hard work!
-I think it was after the Mexican supper (and a few drinks-J/K, Grandmama!) when Grandmama did an actual back flip right over the couch. Apparently she and J were sitting on the back of the couch and from there I'm not sure exactly what happened. (This great-grandmother will go to any length to have a great time w/ J & L!) In true form, she arose from her flip still holding her Coke upright, having not spilled one drop. Of course, she is only 49... :)
-It is a big undertaking to host such a large family gathering, but everyone chips in and it could not be easier. Thanks to you all for providing food, helping cook, helping clean up, and, most of all, helping with my kiddos.
-Grandmama is awesome, so I guess she fell back on that during her 28 years of hosting-without email to send out a sign up sheet and doing everything by phone or letter. It's not the same these days, but I had the privilege of Thanksgiving in Crystal City for my entire childhood and I'm just happy we still spend it together. :)
John Porter, this is for you. (Since you love photo ops so much.)
John! I need a pic for my blog!
Let's get one of us together! (Insert our new tradition-started last year-of Ross popping into a random pic.)
Smile if you love me! (Or if you're done w/ the photo shoot.)
Love you, John Porter! :)
1 comment:
Great posting, and I know how much work it took. We also had a great time (as we always do) it's one of the great benefits of marrying into the family. That and all the beautiful women like Ann.
Uncle Mike
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