Whirling Dust storms. . .

Whew!  This is one tired birthday girl!  Yes, today is my birthday.  I'm not sure how I feel about the number part, so I'm not going to mention or even think about it.  If you want to know what it is, look at my prior years posts for this day. . .

The past week has been a whirlwind of activity. 

Aidan has hockey on Wednesday nights, so last Wednesday, that's what we did.  Then, very early on Thursday, (the middle of the night, according to Aidan), we got up and went to the airport so Aidan and I could catch our 6:00 am flight to Las Vegas and my mom's house.  Mom picked us up at about 9:30 her time.   And then we were off to her pool for an hour and a half so Aidan could swim some.

The rest of Thursday we hung out and did some errands and then went out for a nice Mexican dinner. 

Friday, we got up, packed up Mom's car and headed out to make our 3 1/2 to 4 hour drive to Newport Beach, California.  We had planned on arriving there, taking into consideration potty breaks and lunch, about 2:00 with a 9:00 departure time from Moms.  Due to a massive chemical spill on the main road (there are only two roads down) down to Southern California, we had to take a detour and so spent 10 hours on the road.  Yes, that's right.  10.  Yikes!!! 

I really hate the desert--no offense to desert dwellers--it's just not my thing.  So, 10 hours put me in H E double toothpicks!!!  This was what we saw for about 9 1/2 hours:

Yeesh. . .

My sister checked us in and then we were able to meet everyone at the restaurant for dinner.  That was nice.  When we got to our hotel, we did not have to get in the car and go anywhere else until the next day.

The next morning we all got up--there were 15 of us in our core party--and had breakfast.  Then, Mom, my two sisters and one of my brother in law set off to buy flowers for the graves and my other grandparents niches.  While they were gone, I supvervised Aidan, Tyler, and Jaycee while they swam and had fun together.  Kendall stayed also as did my other brother in law.

After getting cleaned up, we headed off to the cemetary for my Grandfathers memorial service.  It was a beautiful day and it was a very nice statement written by my mom and read by my sister.  Other cousins and aunts were there and I think there were probably about 40 or so of us.  Aidan looked awesome in his new suit!

AFterward, we went off to my Great Aunts, Aunty Babe, house and had a buffet and just hung out visitng for a few hours.  The kids changed and played. . .in the street!. . .and had a really great time.

 Afterward, my sisters and I, our kids and grandkids and our mom as well as a couple of cousins, their kids and grandkids, went back to our hotel and we hung out around a fire pit eating pizza while the kids swam in the pool.  A most enjoyable evening catching up with all of the family whom I haven't seen in sooooo many years!  And the view was wonderful with the backdrop of Balboa Bay behind us. . .

 The next morning, Sunday--really???--we had breakfast together and then got some pictures of the kids:

The younger ones. . .

The first cousins. . .

The first cousins and two first cousins once removed.

After all of that, Mom, Aidan and I headed back to Mom's house where we crashed. . .oh, except we did order in Chinese and I did three loads of laundry!!

Very early Monday morning, Mom drove Aidan and I back to the airport and we headed home. . .where we have been walking zombies ever since!!

Next up, beach trip. . .will I actually get through all I need to do and pack in time to leave at 6:00 Saturday morning?? 

Stay tuned to find out!!