Party Time!

It has been a whirlwind weekend! We have been in Idaho for my Mom's 70th birthday. My sister, brothers and I planned a surprise party for her. We managed pretty well keeping it a surprise. One brother said a bit too much and then the ten pounds of thawing hamburger pushed it over the edge! We ended up having about 40 family members come and wish her happy birthday! It was fun to have a reason to see family. We are really a very close family but with life moving along it seems that it is so easy to not make the time to be together. The older we get, the more people are involved. I have 36 1st cousins on my Mom's side alone. So, every one of those cousins is married and I believe all of them have children except one. I have cousins that are now grandparents. That makes for a really big family! I feel blessed to be a part of a family that generally really enjoys each other!

My sister and I have an unwritten rule that we don't both come to Mom's at the same time. It is just too crazy. The house is just not that big! So, this has been a bit crazy! I brought my four and two extra's and she has her three. Then we always have my nephew who lives next door. It makes for LOT's of bodies! Oh, well, it also makes for memories that will be remembered long after they all have children of their own.

I tried to get pictures of everyone before they left the party on Saturday. I only missed one cousin! Oops!