Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Home for a couple of days Updated

Thank you, all, for your lovely comments, thoughts, and prayers. Mom has been doing fairly well, but she starts Thursday with another "procedure". So, it is off to another round of doctor appointments and back to Mom's to stay for at least a few days.

Pictures taken with crappy cell phone camera. Sorry. As always, click on the picture for a larger view. :)



On Highway 101 (Highway 1) before getting to Santa Barbara. It was getting dark, but it was so beautiful.


The Channel Islands were so clear and close. Sorry they don't show up well here. You can just barely see the fog starting to roll in.




Stole this from Carmen. Thanks, Dear. What a difference in camera quality. Channel Islands from Highway 1 Santa Barbara County, California.

Actually, we (my husband, daughter, and I) "snuck off" to beautiful Santa Barbara, California, for my mother-in-law's 80th birthday party and a mini family reunion.

Of my in-law's ten children, only one son couldn't make it. (He is self-employed, this is his busiest season, and his substitute workers came to the party.) My husband is the oldest child, and our son is the oldest grandson and the third grandchild. (I'm pretty sure Carmen is the 6th grandchild.) In-laws have eighteen grandchildren ranging in ages 34 to 3.

Carmen & Molly. Molly is the 2nd to the youngest great-grandchild. Molly belongs to one of our nieces.

Six grandchildren and two of the seven great-grands weren't able to come.

Grandma and Grandpa with a little over half of their grandchildren. Pictured here: grands aged 32 to 3. By the time this was taken, a couple of the grown grandsons had left the party. (The oldest grandchild had just had a baby, so her family wasn't at the party - too far to travel with a itty-bitty one.) The two next to Grandma are twins. The 3-year-old was so tired. Too bad he has his face covered. He is just a doll. Okay, they are all cute :D

So disappointing that everyone wasn't there; all of us would have loved to have seen them. All of Mom S's siblings were there along with all (her family side) of her nieces and nephews and some of their children! It was a rushed trip (two long days of driving one way) and a little stressful, but it was great visiting with those who were there.

Our son D & his better half K. lol Really, both are super "kids".

Our son and his family met us there, and then we traveled north to their house for a day a couple of days.

Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge in the fog. It was a chilly 57 degrees.



The size of the supports on Golden Gate Bridge is amazing.





This is a view from D & K's driveway. Yes, that is a small, very old, private cemetery.


So good to spend a little time with our "kids"! Our (step) granddaughter will be a senior in high school! Where does the time go? I didn't get a decent picture of her with this camera. "Kirs" was being her normal silly self, and yes, her hair is purple.


"Kirs"

"Kirs" and her Aunt Carmen


Our grandson will be in the 8th grade. He is still on the little side. Although you can't tell it here, he's only about an inch shorter than his Aunt Carmen. (He's always hungry, so I expect he'll shoot up tall this school year.)


J with his Aunt Carmen
Rough housing in the house. Both old enough to know better. LOL

6 comments:

Trudy said...

I love all of the pictures. What a wonderful family gathering. Amazing that almost everyone made it.

Thanks for the lovely comment on my blog.

Life With Dogs said...

I have never made it to San Fran, but I concur on the bridge supports. Amazing!

Amber said...

** don't need to post this comment.. just for you :)

I just wanted to let you know I think I might post your comment, if it is okay with you.... let me know :) but I won't. I really always appreciate your advice and comments, because it helps me see all sides of the event. I had not really thought of it like that, but after my conversation with him last night... I am realizing that it really does not make a difference, b/c we are not going to date right now.

So thank you, very much. I love reading your thoughts! :)

Amber said...

I love seeing your family! It is so nice to have family gathered around, just spending time together. :)

I can not believe how foggy the Golden Gate bridge was! I went there two years ago - and it seemed so tall! (it was super windy too.) In your pictures you can hardly see the top! wow!

Shay said...

Our family only ever gets together for weddings and funerals :-( Well, there are a lot of us and we're a tad spread out!

Glad you had a nice time and after the summer you've experienced, you earned it, I think.

gemoftheocean said...

These are great pics! What fun.