family gathering

...This past weekend, I went to Friona with the boys for a family reunion. You see, my grandfather has 5 brothers and sisters. They may be getting older now, but still find the time to get together.

I am amazed at how even though we are all older and the grandkids are having kids now, I feel the same as when I was a little girl and we would go to my great-grandparents house for get-togethers. The older women still gather in the kitchen, bustling around, all trying to set food up and later, clean dishes. The older men still gather in the living room, either to watch a game or talk about their golf game and how terrible they played that day. The younger couples and their parents sit close to the youngest children, watching them play and horse around and making sure they don't get hurt. It is different now because now I am no longer one of those children playing. My kids were some of the oldest children there. But I loved it. I loved getting to see my cousins and their families again (or meet their kids for the first time).

Here is a few reflections of my weekend:

*Full Circle

Friday night, the boys and I went with my brother, his son and my parents to the homecoming football game. Casey and I hadn't been back to watch a game since we graduated so it was a little strange and it made me feel old because I hardly knew anyone anymore. But it was fun to watch the boys, especially Rhett, watch their second cousin play football. They thought he was the bomb. So on Saturday night, it was such a thrill when Brenner (the football player himself!) played football with all the little cousins. Rhett was in heaven! Brenner earned a gold star that day. What is so neat about this whole story is that when Brenner was small, he loved going to the football games to watch Casey play! He was such a fan of Casey that only years later, did he realize Casey had a twin sister. Ha! Ha! Now Brenner has 3 fans, one of which is Casey's son. Very cool indeed.

*At least we can laugh about it

After the football game, we went to my grandparents house for a few minutes to see my cousin, Michelle and her kids. Michelle has three adorable children, two girls (one Rhett's age, one Noah's age) and a boy. Michelle and I were talking about school and of course, the subject turned to the flu as often is the case nowadays. Casey walked over and asked what we were talking about. After hearing that we were talking about the swine flu, Casey looks over at her third grade daughter, Baylen, and says, "What were those pigs thinking? Giving us the flu!" And she says back, quick as a whip, "I know! And I thought pigs were smart!" Hilarious!

*Four class reunions, lots of tractors, two queens, and a marching band

Saturday morning was Friona's Maize Days parade. The kids loved it because of all the candy that was thrown to them. Trailers full of people celebrating their class reunions passed by, some older than others, but all happy to be there. Miss Friona passed by and so did the homecoming queen, but they didn't throw candy, so the kids were not interested. Little Miss Friona did throw candy so she got a better response. It is all about the candy. One guy passed by throwing what it looked like the contents of his truck. Turns out it was notepads advertising his business. Next year, throw candy!

After the parade, we walked around the park where I bought my children whips. Indiana Jones whips. I know. What was I thinking? Hey, Rhett has only whipped himself once so far. :>

*Holly, the hero

Earlier last week, I emailed my friend, Holly, because I thought she might be going to the parade. She was so I asked a favor: get my kids Texas Tech jerseys! They are impossible to find in OKC, can you imagine that? Well, she came through and already, Rhett has worn his 3 times since Saturday. So thank you Holly. We are forever grateful!