Family, Food and Fun

It's been well-chronicled here in the pages of The Gang's All Here! that I am at my happiest when I get to spend time with family and friends. I'm an extrovert. I love my family. I have a deep appreciation for the generations that came before me and for the stories that link us all together. So this past weekend away was like a chocaholic at Hershey. Or a foodie at a restaurant convention. I was in happy-family, Italian-food, cherished-relationship paradise. And I wanted it to never end.

Early Friday morning (the earliness astounded even me!), we traveled with the whole Gang for our first car trip to the Norwegians cozy little cottage. Li'l Empress was a dream to travel with: cheery, smiling, and sleeping her way north the whole way. We were joined there by my brother's family for a night of cousin-bonding and Phillies cheerin'. All that expended energy was fed supremely by yummy lasagna with all the fixin's. My sis may look Irish, but that girl can cook some Italian. My oh my. Shaggy was delirious!

This is my brother reading a bed-time story to the cousins.

I have a feeling there are some fun times ahead for those two little girls!

Practicing scales with Shaggy and Cousin K

Saturday we drove a couple hours north and spent the entire day at my Aunt R and Uncle B's house. Since my grandma turns 90 in the middle of the winter and they live pretty far north in New England, the party/reunion to honor her was planned early to allow as many to travel as possible. I was so excited to spend time with my aunts and uncles, my cousins (missed ya Chris!), my second cousins, great aunts and uncles and other distant cousins. Here's a few pics of the festivities.

The guest of honor

My Aunt G, My Mom, Grandma and My Aunt R
"The Girls"

The Gang with Grandma

It was a special treat that my mom's friend J showed up to honor my grandmother. Mom and J have been friends since they were about 15 years old. I have excellent memories of the years of friendship between our families. Not to mention a wonderful living example of true, enduring friendship between women. Aren't they both gorgeous?!

There's so much more to share, but I'll save all that for another post. Uncle C's meatballs and real, authentic cannolis deserve a post all their own. Really.