A Family Reunion

So, this weekend the three of us loaded up the car and drove to LA for my parents 50th wedding anniversary party. We were sorta hoping to fly down, but it costs more to fly from SFO to LAX than it did for each of my 15 Canadian cousins to fly down from Ontario! So drive we did. Snnnnorrrrre! Can't someone change the scenery on the 5?

Did you all know that the central valley in California is the breadbasket of the nation? That might not be the official title but it really is. One would think that 500 miles of crops would be a scenic lovely rural thing, well let me tell you, on that scale it's nothing but smelly!
Ok so, let us start the tour with the hotel room. Being the traveling family that we are, Little Rita is completely accustomed to hotel room rituals such as take out pizza eaten from the box while sitting on the sleazy bedspread watching cartoons or whatever else is on TV that prior to the '08 Olympics, we were seriously deprived of. Other rituals include not letting the maid in no matter how messy the room gets, using all the towels and beauty products provided, and jumping on the bed. In these pictures we are passing a football "kitty" and trying to catch it on camera. Took about 50 tries.....After about 20 minutes we heard pounding on the floor/ceiling.....oh, oops! We forgot we were on the 3rd floor!

So then off we went to my moms house where we reunited with relatives and friends of ours that I have known my entire lifetime. I almost don't know what to say. It was so awesome. I saw cousins that I hadn't seen since I was 8 years old, uncles and aunts, friends of my parents that have known me since I was an small child. There were so many people there that I knew, I barely could figure out who I wanted to spend this precious time with.

Ok here we have from Right to Left because it'll be easier that way, my dad, then mom, then LR, Me and Gary above. Right next to Gary is my baby brother, J. Ok then over there on the far left, that is my sister, J, and everyone in the middle is her kids and 2 grandsons. Believe it or not, one son is missing. He's 15, and he was texting! LOL Now I'd say that of the 75ish people that came, about 60 of us were related. I am hoping that one of my cousins will send some more pics my way this week.

What's that up there in the sky, Susan? It's a bird, it's a plane. These are my second parents when I was growing up, and my very best childhood friend, Susan. Yes, we were quite the pair on our street, Susie and Susan. With barefeet and rollerskates we wore a dent in the sidewalk between our two houses. Most weekends and just about every night in the summer, we were never sure which house we would sleep at, but one thing we all knew, was that Susan and I would be spending the night together, listening to music, making jigsaw puzzles, watching all night movies and eating candy.

Susan and Gary chill in the pool room. Eventually, everyone under 30, and some of their cooler parents, ended up having their own good times in the pool hall!

My Canadian cousin, another Susan, who I had not seen since I was 8 and she 6, my mom (a canuck too!) , and my cousin Lynn, also from Canada.

Susan and Susie again. The cousins version this time. Now, I have spent zero time with this woman in my adult life, andyou know what? It's high time I did! My god, my shoulders are fabulous, aren't they? : p

So I will end with this fun picture which is my sister and her 2 daughters, me and my daughter.

I am feeling verklempt. More pictures later, but I just wanna say, that next summer my sister turns 30 (haha!), and all the chicks are meeting in Las Vegas. 25 girl cousins, sisters, hip moms and friends in Las Vegas! No husbands allowed. You know what they say about Vegas...
Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!