5.16.2005
weekend happenings
went to Monterey on friday after work to help my folks get ready for the weekend - we were hosting a mini family reunion of sorts. we did this 2 years ago for my great aunt's 95th birthday and realized that it would be a good thing to do on a more regular basis. the event 2 years ago was the first time i had met many of my more distant relatives - they're all 2nd cousins to me but hey, they're still family!
my mom's aunt, cousin, and cousin's husband stayed at our house while the rest of the folks found hotels nearby. they started arriving on saturday around 1:00 and we had sandwich fixings ready for everyone. my 2nd cousin's son (does that make him a 3rd cousin?) and his wife came with their 7 month old baby daughter who was just so sweet. most people hung around through the afternoon, checked into their hotels, and came back for dinner around 7. my dad manned the bbq and grilled salmon, beef, and prawns, while my mom made salads and chicken. somehow i think i did help but now that i think about it, i'm not really sure what i did.
it was so great to talk to everyone. Emi (the baby) was just the life of the party until she went to sleep. i sat next to my great aunt (my Grandma's sister) and we looked at old photo albums. it's amazing how good her mind is at 97 years old. and it's hard to believe that it's been almost 17 years since Grandma died. i think about her every day but looking at those pictures with Auntie Hiroyo really got to me. i wonder how long it will take before i can talk about Grandma without crying.
anyhooo, we cleaned up and got to bed by 11:30 and then everyone came over for breakfast. it was good because the breakfasts were staggered and not everyone came at the same time. that definitely made it manageable. some folks were off to their respective homes after that while some went to the aquarium before heading home.
i'm glad that we got together and hope that we do it more often than every 2 years. i wish my brother could have been here for it but hopefully he'll make the next one. sounds like it will be at one of my mom's cousin's houses in SoCal next year.
because of the reunion i had to miss hockey practice, but it was well worth it. i don't see them often, and we don't see eye-to-eye on all things, but they're my family and i love 'em.
my mom's aunt, cousin, and cousin's husband stayed at our house while the rest of the folks found hotels nearby. they started arriving on saturday around 1:00 and we had sandwich fixings ready for everyone. my 2nd cousin's son (does that make him a 3rd cousin?) and his wife came with their 7 month old baby daughter who was just so sweet. most people hung around through the afternoon, checked into their hotels, and came back for dinner around 7. my dad manned the bbq and grilled salmon, beef, and prawns, while my mom made salads and chicken. somehow i think i did help but now that i think about it, i'm not really sure what i did.
it was so great to talk to everyone. Emi (the baby) was just the life of the party until she went to sleep. i sat next to my great aunt (my Grandma's sister) and we looked at old photo albums. it's amazing how good her mind is at 97 years old. and it's hard to believe that it's been almost 17 years since Grandma died. i think about her every day but looking at those pictures with Auntie Hiroyo really got to me. i wonder how long it will take before i can talk about Grandma without crying.
anyhooo, we cleaned up and got to bed by 11:30 and then everyone came over for breakfast. it was good because the breakfasts were staggered and not everyone came at the same time. that definitely made it manageable. some folks were off to their respective homes after that while some went to the aquarium before heading home.
i'm glad that we got together and hope that we do it more often than every 2 years. i wish my brother could have been here for it but hopefully he'll make the next one. sounds like it will be at one of my mom's cousin's houses in SoCal next year.
because of the reunion i had to miss hockey practice, but it was well worth it. i don't see them often, and we don't see eye-to-eye on all things, but they're my family and i love 'em.
# posted by cheddah : 11:13 PM
