What Family Really Means...

I am very lucky to be a part of my husband's family. Growing up in a small family (just my parents, sis and me), I was at first overwhelmed by the noise and chaos associated with my husband's family (he has five siblings). Holidays and gatherings were crazy and fun, but for someone like me, very different and quite honestly, a little scary. Now, after 25 plus years of being a part of this loving and fun family, I can't imagine anything else. I don’t know what I’d do without them. When I married Greg, I didn’t get a choice…his family came with him, but if I had the opportunity to choose, I would have handpicked them!


Every other year we all meet at the beach (usually Hilton Head) or in Phoenix (where my husband's aunt and uncle live). Most of us stay in one large house (well, actually families have branched out to other homes). 
This year, we celebrated Greg's parent's 60th wedding anniversary. We commemorated it with a book of memories, which my niece gathered and assembled into a book for them. Every child and grandchild wrote a memory (or many memories in some cases) of the happy couple. It was a great idea and of course, they loved it. We had a heck of a party...complete with singing dog (see video). Here are some scenes from our trip (most were taken with a phone so sorry about the quality):

                             Dinner for 30? Restaurants really love us (not really).

...so do miniature golf courses.

The happy couple!

Making dinner with my sister in law.

Dancing to Jimmy Buffet

and finally... Taz, singing to Piano Man (the only song he sings to). That's my brother-in-law as backup singer.

I want to emulate my in-laws because they always, always put family first. I love that they travel great distances to see their 14 grandchildren (all over the U.S.!) make first communions, graduate and play sports--they've seen every one of my kids play every sport. They have always tried to be here for every important occasion and I so appreciate that, and so do the kids. I really hope that someday, we will be half as good as parents/grandparents as they are…thank you, Win and Lou, for setting the bar so high. We love you both.