As well as we all got along last time, we got along even better this time. Everyone was more relaxed (no anxiety about wondering how things would go) and we just eased right into the visit.
I don't think Mom was more than six feet away from Uncle Michael the entire visit.
And just as Mom tended to monopolize Uncle Michael, I tended to monopolize Michelle. Sorry! :) Talking to her is just too much fun. And not only does she write, but her daughter Jasmine likes to write as well. Oh heaven. It's amazing how much we all have in common.
We were originally supposed to get together in September, because Mom, Wendy and Michael all have birthdays in that month. After Uncle Michael was injured at work (and his leg is still recovering from that) we had to postpone it till October. Long story short, this get-together got pushed all the way to November. Along the way we "collected" Michelle's birthday in October, my birthday in November, and Michelle's daughter Zuri's birthday in November. So we were celebrating LOTS of birthdays.
Uncle Michael had to have a hat:
In the picture below, the card he's holding says "Uncle Michael" and he's saying "That's me!"
He was raised as an only child, and he is loving being a brother and uncle! :) This card was from my sister, the good neice, because I'm terrible about buying cards. ;)
Mom gave Michael this frame with family pictures in it.
From left to right, top row, is: their brother Gene, their brother Freddy, Uncle Michael, and a pic of our first reunion. Bottom row is a group shot of the siblings, grandma, mom, and great grandparents (Michael was named after his grandfather).Mom gave Michelle framed pictures too, and in her card was this recipe, written in our grandmother's hand.
Okay, now Zuri. I just have to blog about Zuri opening her gifts from my mom. (These are Michelle's two daughters. The older one is Jasmine, and the other is Zuri.) Knowing Zuri was a "girly girl," mom got her pretty girly gifts. She was a little worried about it, hoping Zuri would like them.
I don't think she needed to worry.
First she opened her card, which sings, and which caused Zuri to giggle excitedly.
Then she pulled out the tiara. More giggling. (Notice big sister's expression, which I thought was too funny. She thought Zuri was hamming it up a bit on our behalf - which I'm sure she was - but we didn't mind.) :)
Pulling out the puppy:
More giggling:
Oh my gosh, it was too friggin cute. A little too late I realized that you don't record Zuri opening presents with a camera, you do it with a video. I tried to get her giggle on tape, but by then she was done.
Next she went around the entire room and gave everyone a hug:
Even big sis. :)
Here, Michelle is pinning on an angel pin I gave Zuri. It has the November birthstone in it, something she, I, and Grandma all share. I explained the significance of that, and the angel, but she may be too young to appreciate it. That's okay. Her sweet smile is all I needed:
I also wanted to get something for Jasmine. A few years ago now, my friend Kimmy gave me a Willow Tree figurine before she moved to Yuma, and I thought something like that might be a good idea. When I went to Hallmark to see what kind of figurines they had, this was the first one I saw:
It's called "Blessings" and as soon as I saw it, I snatched it up. I love the open arms, because it makes me think of the way we've all accepted each other with open arms. I love the name of it, because having them come into our lives has been one of the biggest blessings of my life. And I love the way the figurine looks, like a beautiful young lady, just like Jasmine.
These are just some nice pics... my sister and her husband Louie (awwwww):
My mom's best friend and long-time friend of the family, aka, "Aunt Jan."
I do seem to recall there were some boys around somewhere. In addition to my three and my sister's two, Michelle added one more to the mix. They did play outside some, but really wasted no time finding the Playstation and Grandma's computer games.
They all got along just fine! :)
Girls giggle, boys make faces. Whatever. ;)
Even though it wasn't Kumani's birthday, Mom wanted to give him a little something anyway. :)
Unfortunately, Brian missed the entire thing. Due to a screw-up by someone in corporate offices in Dallas, (long story) Brian ended up working the whole day Saturday taking care of it. Michael et al tried waiting as long as they could, but it was a loooooong drive home and eventually they simply had to go. (Brian was disappointed he missed them, and one of the first things we did when he finally arrived was to pull out my camera, look at all the pictures, and try to fill him in on what he missed.)
Before they left we took LOTS of group shots. The birthday kids:
The cousins:
As you can see, Zuri was quite upset. She knew they were leaving after the pictures were over and she did not want to go. Mom tried to comfort her:
But it didn't work:
I wasn't happy that she was so sad, but still it touched my heart. I didn't want them to leave either.
More group pics. My sister and her family:
And, of course, we had to do a "generation" picture. Now, this is something that we used to do with my grandma all the time. Grandma insisted on it. And it was always just four people: my grandma, my mom, my sister, and me. That was it.
And, of course, we had to do a "generation" picture. Now, this is something that we used to do with my grandma all the time. Grandma insisted on it. And it was always just four people: my grandma, my mom, my sister, and me. That was it.
.
We were a close-knit group, and grandma's death impacted us deeply. We haven't been very good about taking generation pictures since then (I think partly because we're still mourning the person who's missing, even nearly a decade later).
.
So, this last picture is probably my favorite, even though it's too dark, kinda blurry etc etc. This is hands down the largest generation picture I've ever been a part of.
It felt great.
How weird. ;)
