vacation

Just a few family members in the yard during the reunion. This yard was the very same yard my dad and his 10 brothers and sisters grew up. Now my Aunt & Uncle own the house and keep it open to us. Inside the house is exactly how I remember...but even better. It is down the street from the house where I grew up. There are so many memories there. More were made this weekend.

So far I'm having a great vacation! The family reunion was so fun and it was wonderful seeing so many people. I didn't take as many pictures as last year but did take a few. The night ended with my Uncle shooting of the most amazing fireworks over the river! We had a big thunderstorm in the afternoon but that didn't stop us! The party went on for hours...

My mom (in the pink) and an aunt and cousin....

My dad (on the left and my grandmother's cousin David (seated). My dad met him in the last few years and found that they are related. He is perhaps the oldest living relative of my grandmother. My mom has been doing geneaology and has found some fascinating facts. Stories that are lost. Questions unanswered. This man has some of the answers. My mom has traced my grandfather's family back in Gloucester to at least the 1600's which was when the city was founded. My grandmother's family goes almost as far back in Essex, MA, Maine and Canada.

The back porch. I'm so jealous. A fire pit and my favorite view in the world. The "river." Actually it's a tidal creek but my dad grew up calling it the river. So that's what it is to me!

Me on the boat dock. I remember when my dad and an uncle bought the red boat. I might have been around 8 years old. My seat was always in the front! I haven't been out in it in years. The water was so warm. Memories of playing on the dock as a kid flooded back. It was the best to get permission to swim in the river. But I hated not being able to see the bottom which is gooey mud!

Cary. Being goofy for the camera. This was his first time meeting many of these family members and he had fun. He joked at the end, "Growing up we never had fireworks like that!" The fireworks did rival any I've seen myself!

One of my Aunt Lisa's flowers. She told me the name but I can't remember what it is. I thought it was a Hibiscus but it isn't. The apartment complex I just moved into has some gorgeous dark red flowers of the same variety. I need to take a picture of them. The blooms are almost as big as my head!

One of my uncle's roosters. They are really beautiful.

Today and yesterday I spent at the beach with my mom. Yesterday was the absolute perfect beach day. Today was hotter but I went in the water for the first time this summer (I'm sad to say). It was warm. We joke here that locals don't go in the water until August. There is a week when it all of a sudden feels warmer. Before that it is freezing! Not as bad as up in Maine, but still the kind of water that makes your legs hurt when you first go in!

After the beach today, my mother, my sister and I went to see the movie "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2." It was pretty good. A definate chick flick. Tonight I hung out at the apartment pool for bit with my sister. She is the pool attendant for her summer job this year.

Now I'm just relaxing for bit! Hopefully will catch up with everyone's blogs. I haven't been a good reader or writer lately :) Tomorrow I'm off for breakfast with a friend and then hanging at home with Cary before he goes off to work. It's supposed to rain.

Happy Monday!