Grandma Davis passed away on July 4th. We knew that it was coming for a few days and had time to prepare ourselves. It was very important to cousin Davis that we still have our 4th of July party, so while Granny and all of her siblings were spending their last moments with Grandma we had a barbecue and the kids played in the kiddie pool we set up in the backyard. It was strange, a party and a loss at the same time. The kids didn't understand though, and it wouldn't have helped anyone for us all to have been there. I think grandma would have smiled at us and been glad. She must be so much happier now... being back with grandpa and finally not having any pain.
The family had as much drama being together as they always do. It started before they even arrived and continued past their leaving. It saddens me to seem them bicker and have such a lack of respect for one another. I wonder if they will work to remain a family now that both of their parents are gone.
I miss having grandma around. I'm happy she gets to have her reunion with Grandpa and her own parents and so many people that must be important to her.
I missed the funeral as it was the day after we left for our family reunion in Florida. Jeff stayed behind and joined us Saturday night. The first two days, traveling and then getting set up were stressful without him, but I'm glad he was able to be there to support his family. We stayed in a really fancy condo the first night and then the 32 of us shared two large homes the rest of the week.
It was really great to have the WHOLE group there this year. That hasn't happened for a really long time. There were a few newbies, married in, engaged and Jackson. I guess I've always been a little outside of the group being so much older than all of the rest of the cousins, but it hasn't been hard until having kids first. I think once there are more kids running around we will have more kid oriented things going on, but for now it is a little tricky having the only little guys. Mostly, I just felt like I couldn't have as much time to actually talk with everyone because I had to keep a constant eye on them. I didn't feel like I could help much with cooking and cleaning and such either because I'd have to have someone in turn watch the kids. My mom did most of the cooking and she did an awesome job planning and preparing. She also worked really hard and felt bad about not spending as much time talking with everyone.
I really enjoyed watching my cousins growing up. Three years ago many of them were pretty grumpy about being at the reunion and they all seemed to be enjoying themselves this time. I think they were having fun getting to know one another and participating in the things that have become family traditions. My family is pretty diverse and it is so neat to see us learning from one another. I'm just amazed at some of the things they do... artists and history and linguisitics experts, engineers to name a few. They are all very interesting people that I'm proud to be a part of.
One evening we were invited by a friend of Nancy's to a barbecue. They treated us wonderfully and were so generous and kind. They smoked ribs and a turkey and potatoes, even alligator. We brought a few other sides and it was a real feast. On our last day we gathered as a family and talked a little bit about everyone. At that gathering a letter was read from the host of the party. He talked about what an honor it was to just spend that one evening with us. He said things like "it gives me hope for our world." I felt like we're the ones that should be thanking him as he was so generous and here he was thanking us just for coming!
The week was full of fun activities... tubing, Disney, an awesome Tiffany glass museum, a trip to Cocoa Beach. We had a great time, and would you believe I never pulled my camera out once? I can't believe it. I'm hoping to get some pictures that others took!
The family had as much drama being together as they always do. It started before they even arrived and continued past their leaving. It saddens me to seem them bicker and have such a lack of respect for one another. I wonder if they will work to remain a family now that both of their parents are gone.
I miss having grandma around. I'm happy she gets to have her reunion with Grandpa and her own parents and so many people that must be important to her.
I missed the funeral as it was the day after we left for our family reunion in Florida. Jeff stayed behind and joined us Saturday night. The first two days, traveling and then getting set up were stressful without him, but I'm glad he was able to be there to support his family. We stayed in a really fancy condo the first night and then the 32 of us shared two large homes the rest of the week.
It was really great to have the WHOLE group there this year. That hasn't happened for a really long time. There were a few newbies, married in, engaged and Jackson. I guess I've always been a little outside of the group being so much older than all of the rest of the cousins, but it hasn't been hard until having kids first. I think once there are more kids running around we will have more kid oriented things going on, but for now it is a little tricky having the only little guys. Mostly, I just felt like I couldn't have as much time to actually talk with everyone because I had to keep a constant eye on them. I didn't feel like I could help much with cooking and cleaning and such either because I'd have to have someone in turn watch the kids. My mom did most of the cooking and she did an awesome job planning and preparing. She also worked really hard and felt bad about not spending as much time talking with everyone.I really enjoyed watching my cousins growing up. Three years ago many of them were pretty grumpy about being at the reunion and they all seemed to be enjoying themselves this time. I think they were having fun getting to know one another and participating in the things that have become family traditions. My family is pretty diverse and it is so neat to see us learning from one another. I'm just amazed at some of the things they do... artists and history and linguisitics experts, engineers to name a few. They are all very interesting people that I'm proud to be a part of.
One evening we were invited by a friend of Nancy's to a barbecue. They treated us wonderfully and were so generous and kind. They smoked ribs and a turkey and potatoes, even alligator. We brought a few other sides and it was a real feast. On our last day we gathered as a family and talked a little bit about everyone. At that gathering a letter was read from the host of the party. He talked about what an honor it was to just spend that one evening with us. He said things like "it gives me hope for our world." I felt like we're the ones that should be thanking him as he was so generous and here he was thanking us just for coming!
The week was full of fun activities... tubing, Disney, an awesome Tiffany glass museum, a trip to Cocoa Beach. We had a great time, and would you believe I never pulled my camera out once? I can't believe it. I'm hoping to get some pictures that others took!
