Monday, January 16, 2012

Our CA Family

This was the scene ahead as we drove down the Santa Susanna pass on the 118 going to Thousand Oaks yesterday...gorgeous. This was my daily view when I was going to college over there, but I don't recall appreciating it as much as I do now.


Our nephew, Ted, and his wife, Johanna, invited our California family and us over for a cookout today. Ted's younger three sisters live in Colorado. Ted and Johanna frequently host family get-togethers which is great because they seem to really enjoy doing it and have such a perfect home for entertaining.



















Their daughter, Christina, and her boyfriend, Joe, were there. It was great seeing her again and getting to meet him.


Merl, our niece Judy, Johanna, and Rich enjoyed sitting OUTSIDE to visit. I had nearly forgotten how fabulous it is to be in a warmer climate for the winter. Judy is Ted's sister.



Patrick is Judy's and Merl's son. When you haven't seen kids, like Patrick and Christina, for a number of years they really change...like, they're grown up and stuff now...gasp!



Our sister-in-law, Helen, is Ted's and Judy's mom. She stays wonderfully the same, never seeming to age.



Rich is watching Ted make his special beans...I hope he was paying attention because those were some darned good beans!


Time to eat...everybody brought something, Ted grilled the meats, and it was all delicious!


Hadouken, Johanna, and Brewski were winding down for the evening as we all got ready to leave. Their dogs get along great and had played all afternoon so they were ready to rest. Hadouken is Christina's dog and was so comfy sitting with "Grandma" that he did not want to leave.


This was our family, we shared holidays and lots of other family events, when we lived in California so I loved getting to spend a few hours visiting with them while we're here. Today is our last day here and it is clear that I planned this poorly. A week is not enough time to explore all the places that I would like or enough time to spend with the folks who were such a huge part of our lives when we lived here.

Lovin' Life ~~ And Family Ties

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