The Relatives Came

That would be us this time. The relatives who drove lots and lots of hours to visit relatives far far away. I finally bought this book for my in-laws a few years back because it reminded me so much of our family and all the long distance visits we've had back and forth. When our kids were small, I couldn't read this without choking up a bit. Wonderful illustrations, too.
Oops, looks like I left out the T on the word The. This book is a must for any home library.

On Saturday night, all the relatives poured over for a big backyard barbeque. Hamburgers with all the fixin's were the main attraction, but there were many side dishes including my mother-in-law, Lorraine's, potato salad. She uses fresh dill growing in her garden and adds diced dill pickles. Oh my it's good.

I whipped up the salad I've been making 49 times this summer (maybe not that many), Ina Garten's Sun Dried Tomato Pasta Salad. Thanks for the idea, Kristi! It's a winner.

Ashley and I tried to wear skirts the whole time (we are listening to your wise advice, Tracy!).

A close up of Ashley's skirt. Target, people. Yes, Target. Cuter than cute.

Four cousins on a bench. The 3 dark haired folks are cousins, the light haired gal is married to the cousin on the far right (in green). It's so good to reconnect with extended family.

Derrick's mom, Lorraine, cousin Diane, and Derrick.

Three golfers have time to chat. Longtime friend Herb, Uncle Vince (Lorraine's brother), and Gramps. And, there will be a quiz on these names later.

Oh so many people on the deck. And, not everyone could make it. Some were gone camping, others were occupied with other things.

Lots of visiting and catching up going on.

A few are moving down to the fire pit where the evening will finish off. Friend Herb, Derrick, and Elliot.

A view from the yard.

Derrick talking to his beloved Aunt Veronica. He was very close to her when he was a youngster. She is the youngest daughter of a family of 7, Derrick's mom's siblings. She used to babysit him her fair share. Poor Veronica. :o)

We hugged every single one of those folks on the deck. That's why I started with the book The Relatives Came because they talk about all the hugging you have to do. It's a lot of hugging.

Forgive me for all the blurry pictures about to come up next. All of a sudden lots of dancing broke out and no one stood still. This is Ashley, Aunt Veronica, and Aunt Marci (married to Uncle Vince). I felt it was worthwhile to include the blurry dancing photos. Please forgive.

Veronica & Ashley gettin' their groove on.

Cousin Diane Houle dancing with Aunt Veronica (Osika) Park. Somehow, Veronica was behind all the dancing. No wonder Derrick adored her as a child. She is Fun.

In fact, she wouldn't let anyone pass through the breezeway without grabbing them for a dance. Two sisters laugh together. This is Derrick's mom, Lorraine. Grandma Houle to my kids.

Lots of hugging and kissing ensued. See the book The Relatives Came. It was just like that!

Very funny when Veronica caught our tall shy boy, Alex, and made him dance before he could enter the house. Poor fella. Nah, it was good for him. He even smiled.

Ethan was like, "what?" Somehow he made it through without having to dance. Whew. That was a close one.

Time for a fire.

A perfect ending to the evening. You can't put a price on catching up with all those relatives.